More than the game

Highlighting the financial burden of club sports and its inaccessibility for lower-income families.

BY HAYLEE HUYNH Co-Feature Editor

Blood, sweat, tears and financial turmoil.

These words describe not only the hard work and dedication that goes into playing a high-commitment sport outside of school, but also the distress that comes along with finding the funds to pay for them.

Club sports offer student athletes the opportunity for additional practice in their sport before attending college. It allows them to stay in shape during off-season, provides a higher level of competition, and is integral in obtaining athletic scholarships for universities. However, these advantages come with a price tag, amounting to an average of $6,000 per year across all sports that families spend to put their children on an independent team, according to TD Ameritrade.

“Soccer is typically $2,000 to $3,000 a year plus travel. And travel can be really expensive, right? It really depends on what level you’re playing at and where you’re going,” Athletic Director and Girls Varsity Soccer Coach Melissa Schmidt said.

This cost can pose a heavy burden on the families of athletes, forcing them to reduce their overall spending to support their children.

“My family is pretty supportive. If I like [soccer], they’re supportive of that. So I know they’ll do anything to help make it accessible to me. But yeah, I think [price] is a big part of this,” junior, club and Sequoia varsity soccer player Ashlee Landin said.

The competition club sports offer often intimidate those who are new to the sport, causing them to be discouraged from joining if they haven’t participated from a young age.

“I definitely have friends that wanted to try out for clubs, but it’s kind of the same thing. If you want to join a beginners club I’d say that’s accessible. But a competitive or high-demand club [is] hard to get into, you’d have to start as a kid,” junior and former club soccer player Gisell Beltran said.

The financial inaccessibility of club sports prevents students from trying out for Sequoia sports, mirroring the same discouragement those experience when attempting to join a club.

“I feel like 90 percent of us [play club], but I think it discourages some people,” senior, club and Sequoia varsity volleyball player Aniyah Hall said. “I know people who would be like, ‘oh, well, I don’t play club, so I don’t want to try out.’ I still try to encourage everyone to come and try out and see how they like it, but some people are just uncomfortable.”

Because the majority of varsity athletes are a part of a club outside of school, it limits the opportunity of skill development for other students that don’t have access to the same funds.

Percentage of college athletes that had participated in a club sport

“It’s painful to me to know that you really do have to play club soccer to make a team here. But what it comes down to is that repetition and that amount of time that you spend playing, it makes a big difference,” Schmidt said. “The kids who are playing year round at a higher level, and getting that extra coaching [...] all year, they just come in with a different set of skills. [...] And that’s hard. Because clubs cost a lot of money.”

Not only do private teams determine a student’s eligibility for varsity sports, it is also imperative if they are seeking an athletic scholarship.

“Pretty much all the recruiting for soccer happens in club and there’s big club tournaments that the recruiters go to. It also varies if they’re D1, D2, D3, so there’s a big variety,” Schmidt said. “We also have a lot of students here at Sequoia who are going to college for sports that aren’t high school sports. So like this year, we have two rowers, a gymnast, you know, so that’s 100 percent club.”

According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), 84 percent of current college athletes across all sports and gender distinctions had been a part of a club sport before playing at the university level, excluding football, cross country, and track and field. Club sports provide the chance to reap the benefits of the extended time commitment.

“Advancing club clubs opens a lot of opportunities,” Beltran said. “Our team got up to gold premier and then eventually college level. So with that it just opens opportunities for you.”

Diversity is another issue in the club sports arena, causing the financial inaccessibility to overlap with a lack of minority representation.

“[I would include] a little more diversity, just encouraging more people of color to play because [...] I know for volleyball there’s not a lot of people of color that play at all. So I always try to encourage my little cousins because I like to see people like me play,” Hall said.

Despite these issues, there are local organizations like Madera Roja Fútbol Club that are working to make club sports more available financially for families, only charging $225 annually as opposed to $6,000. Clubs like these will help to minimize the gap in sports access between lower-income families and wealthier ones.

Above all, students and families should choose to do what is best for their situation and needs.

“If anybody’s looking to do a sport, they should [...] figure out what’s right for them,” Beltran said. “Don’t follow whether your friends are staying on it. If your friends leave, don’t leave. If you want to stay, stay.”

Information via NCAA.