High school sports/budget cuts

[SnocatzDad]

We do collect additional fees for fall and winter. I was just comparing our summer fees to HS ball because the seasons are relatively similar in length.

[slapperdad]

I cannot believe softball OR baseball teams need paid pitching coaches in High School, title IX or not. I believe it is excesses like this that put the magnifying glass on the budgets of athletics in general when times get tough like they are right now.

You obviously haven't seen our pitching!

[smokenmirrors86]

Depending on your view of high school sports, you can thank or curse football for keeping high school teams playing. Virtually every other sport that competes in high school has some other organization/infrastructure that promotes competition. Whether your daughter or son plays golf, basketball or runs track, they can compete without high school. Football is another story. Competition cost is generally too high for independent organizations to exist. So, the government subsidizes football by making sure your local high school has a team. If Johnny gets to play football for Central High, then the flood gates are open and any sport that can get a piece of the budget will play for Central High too! And don't forget to thank Title IX for making sure our DD's get to play softball.

If USSSA ran a football division, schools might just start leaving sports to someone else.

[looking in]

If USSSA ran football, there would be no college football or NFL! If the goverment is subsidizing football, why did IPS just drop it at 3 schools? I know, bad turn out. But, they had enough to play!! They were saving money because they only needed 1 bus to get to games, not 5 like Warren Central!

[backstop13]

So, the government subsidizes football by making sure your local high school has a team.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...I can see my man Mitch going for that. In a lot of cases football (and boys basketball) subsidize the other sports. If the govt subsidizes football, then why are there less football playing schools that basketball playing schools? Why wouldn't those schools just let USSSA run their sports programs?

Since this is a softball forum...our school pays a head coach, varsity asst, head jv coach...then we have a couple of volunteers.

[slapperdad]

Smokenmirrors Merry Christmas, I don't know what else to say to that!

[clayface74]

Our coach does fundraising all year long. They also have a couple of corporate donors. The local Booster club is very strong and buys uni's every 3 years for every sport. I know that each student pays a bus fee to pay for busing to and from, plus other fees to help cover cost. I will say that the SB program here is very strong financially but the coach has under acheived in his tenure.

[smokenmirrors86]

It is true in Indiana that the state government subsidizes football, and if your child attends a public school and competes in any interscholastic sport on school property, I'll bet that sport is government subsidized too. The booster club may buy the windscreen, the uniforms, and do the janitorial after the game, but that facility was paid for by taxpayers. In most cases grass doesn't get watered, floors don't get refinished, or field turf doesn't get installed with out some tax money contribution. Any booster club buying liability insurance on its own? I don't know about all school systems, but I have done budgeting work for 2 townships in Marion county, and in these 2 townships tax funds are used by the athletic department. I wouldn't think things are alot different elsewhere.

I still believe the pressure from supporters to keep the high school football system alive helps keeps high school sports going. Yes, there are more HS Bball teams in Indiana and all of them could go play AAU if they wanted to. Most of us here can't wait for HS softball to be over each year to go play ASA, NSA, etc. Our neighbor kid plays USTA tennis tournaments year round. Football needs HS!

I don't want high school sports to go away, and I'm hopeful football will help keep them going.

[watcher]

Some schools have already cut the Frosh-Soph teams from the programs and I hear a few more schools will follow suit this year. I guess they could carry a roster of 25

[backstop13]

It is true in Indiana that the state government subsidizes football, and if your child attends a public school and competes in any interscholastic sport on school property, I'll bet that sport is government subsidized too. The booster club may buy the windscreen, the uniforms, and do the janitorial after the game, but that facility was paid for by taxpayers. In most cases grass doesn't get watered, floors don't get refinished, or field turf doesn't get installed with out some tax money contribution. Any booster club buying liability insurance on its own? I don't know about all school systems, but I have done budgeting work for 2 townships in Marion county, and in these 2 townships tax funds are used by the athletic department. I wouldn't think things are alot different elsewhere.

I still believe the pressure from supporters to keep the high school football system alive helps keeps high school sports going. Yes, there are more HS Bball teams in Indiana and all of them could go play AAU if they wanted to. Most of us here can't wait for HS softball to be over each year to go play ASA, NSA, etc. Our neighbor kid plays USTA tennis tournaments year round. Football needs HS!

I don't want high school sports to go away, and I'm hopeful football will help keep them going.

I can agree with everything you said here, but this is not what I took from your first post regarding football/subsidizing. But like you said, tax payer for ALL of the fields. Just becasue football doesn't have an equivolent non school option doesn't make it the monster. That could be my misinterpretation (as a HS football coach I might have jumped to conclusions). Of course football needs high school football. I do not have a kid in high school, so I don't yet understand why so many hate HS softball. I guess I will have to wait and learn, but I look at high school sports as a chance to play for your school and community. Sure they might not be as good as your travel team, but take it for what it is and enjoy watching your daughter play and have fun...she didn't HAVE to play for her high school. I don't know any better at this point, maybe my opinion will change when I do have a dog in the hunt.