Travel Ball Costs… The Softball Community Responds

A few weeks ago, our topical issue story asking Is Club Softball Getting Too Pricey For Many Top Players & Their Families? received a strong response from various interested parties in the sport, particularly club coaches, players and their families.

We published a compelling and in-depth e-mail from one such “softball mom” who gave her perspective in an article titled: Inside Pitch: One Mother’s Perspective on Travel Ball Costs.

On social media and via email the response was impressive and the opinions strong and passionate after we stated: “We’d love to hear your thoughts, stories, opinions and ideas… email: [email protected] (and we still are interested in further dialog on the topic so feel free to write us).

Below is a small sample of those who had something to contribute; we included name and other info unless asked not to and edited for style, grammar and spelling.

And, let us put in the obligatory, “These comments do not necessarily represent the views of those at Extra Inning Softball (but they sure do make for interesting reading!).”

Finally, be sure to check back on Thursday as we’ll have a unique twist to this ongoing topic!

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It’s sad to say, but all club sports are becoming a privilege of mainly upper middle-class families.

I’m sure many families easily spend in excess of $10,000 per year when you figure in team dues, uniforms, equipment, travel expenses, lessons, etc.

We fundraise over $30,000 year from sponsors and events hosted just to fund our main 18U team exclud

ing player travel, and I’m sure our families still spend over $8,000 year in travel expenses and lessons.

There are a lot of great coaches out there who, like myself, have paid out-of-pocket for qualified players who otherwise couldn’t play due to expenses. Most do not advertise this because of fear of people trying to take advantage of their generosity.

I grew up with a single mother and know there’s no way I would have had the opportunities either with the cost today.

Even back then, we had to do fund-raisers and my grandparents usually took me to most events or I traveled with a teammate’s family and we didn’t travel anything like teams do today.

I’m not sure what the answer is, but there’s definitely talented players out there who miss out on additional opportunities due to the expense.
— Jeff Filali, Tulsa Elite

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