Fall sports season is here, and while I know that sports can teach our young athletes so many things, there comes a time when we’re losing focus, and the rules of youth sports and the costs associated with them has gotten out of hand.
I debated on writing this column for a long time. I know I’m going to have some people disagree with me, but that’s fine. I’m going to write this from my perspective. What perspective is that? I’m going to write this from a single parent, business owner perspective that is well aware that my kids are not going to become professional athletes, but I’m doing the best I can. I’m also looking at this for high school athletics and college.
First, on the high school side. I am a huge believer that a student-athlete should never not play a sport because of cost. I know high schools have different ways to cover the athletic fees, but there is so much more that goes into the “costs” of high school sports. It’s the team shirts, the backpacks needed and the uniform rules.
Marshall High School is an Under Armor school now. This means as they order new uniforms, they have to be Under Armor. However, they used to be a Nike school. Since the girls’ soccer team doesn’t get new uniforms for two years, their uniforms are Nike.
The girls are provided with a home and away uniform, and their first year of soccer they are provided one pair of black socks to be used with their home uniform and one pair of white socks to be used with their away uniform. They do not receive shin guards but their shin guards must be the ones approved by the MSHSL and run about $40 a pair. They also must have cleats that are not covered with their uniform. These are added costs each family must take on. In addition, if they need additional socks because one, their feet smell and they play 2-3 games a week or two, their socks are ripped up from turf fields, they cannot go online and order the socks that are $5.90 for two pair. Nope. Because their uniform is Nike, they have to be Nike socks, currently online for $14.99$18.49 per pair.
I don’t know how many soccer games you’ve been to, but I’ve been to a lot. Even when my child is standing still out on that soccer field, I cannot tell you if her black socks have a small Nike swoosh on them or not. And it doesn’t matter if they do or don’t. The brand of her socks is not going to make her a better player. But to follow the rules, I invest in additional Nike socks each season. I also invest in offbrand socks because they can be used for practice. In two years, when Natalie is a sophomore and Marshall, girls’ soccer gets new Under Armor uniforms, guess what? Yep, they are only allowed to use Under Armor soccer socks, which means the Nike socks we have purchased for the last three years are suddenly no longer approved.
These types of rules or agreements with sponsors for high school sports are unnecessary and do not have any baring on the quality of athletes. Yes, uniforms might look fancier, but a team’s success isn’t determined by what they wear. In a world of bullying, high schools should not be setting a standard of having to have a name brand to play.
Speaking of setting a standard, let’s talk about college athletics.
Brady is entering his sophomore year at the University of Minnesota. He loves the college. He’ll be moving back next week and we have already seen that tuition bill that includes a 6.5% in-state undergraduate increase. When that news broke in June, my heart skipped a beat. In just one short year, I’ll have two in college so I keep a close eye on the costs.
However, the July news of the University of Minnesota adding a $200 fee ($100 per semester) to all students was a hard pill to swallow. I understand that athletics bring money into the school and that college athletes can be paid, in addition to their full ride, but those expenses need to come from the athletic budget and the boosters, not on the backs of the students already paying an increased tuition.
Brady isn’t a full ride student. He receives some financial aid. He takes out loans. He works on campus. If he wants to attend a football game, he has to purchase a ticket. It is reported that the new student fee will generate $7 million in revenue. My student, who will graduate with loans while working during college is paying toward someone else’s free ride.
I’m sorry, but that should not be coming from the kids who are already paying to go to school there. And last week I came up with an idea to either cut back on that fee or spread those dollars to other students. Last week, Gopher Football shared a video on social media highlighting the second week of camp. Those kids were working hard. Much like many of the other students that attend the U and work full time jobs in the summer. However, in this video (which was sponsored) they also showed the coffee cart showing up to give the team coffee one morning with U of M logos on top. It highlighted their team bonding when they went to dinner and a movie. They attended a soccer game. They attended a Vikings preseason game. They went to an arcade and mini golf location. They had an ice cream food truck brought in. They ended their week with a steak dinner.
Now, does the team need to bond? Of course. Do they work hard and work up an appetite? Absolutely. Were these special extras probably paid for by the football boosters or other organizations? Yes.
That doesn’t solve the problem of adding $200 to the cost of every student attending to support the athletic programs only.
We could eliminate some, not all, of these extras and put that money toward the athletic budget. Instead of a steak dinner, the athletes can eat on campus and a sponsoring donation can come from the steakhouse or the booster club that paid for the dinner.
Or those same perks can be spread out. That coffee cart could provide free coffee to the students working in the campus library. I bet a lot of the student tutors who work on campus would love to be treated to a steak dinner. Their contributions to the university are just as important and should be celebrated and recognized.
If nothing else, it’s a horrible PR move to tell students you’re adding an athletic fee and then publicly share all the perks student athletes receive.
Our spending on athletics at the youth and college level are getting out of hand. We need to support our athletes, keep them safe and avoid injuries. But we also need to realize that the life lessons that come from sports are not coming from the brand of the jersey or the perks they receive. If anything, this isn’t the message we should be sending to our athletes.
