Larry we are not comparing apples to apples. That 10k was mostly travel costs, correct? I'm sure LAX teams that go away every weekend for tournaments are in same boat. But many do not. Why go away when LI is the hot bed of lax.
I didn't even really count all of the travel costs. When you are #1 in the USA, you practice 4 times a week. My son is a keeper, so add that training in as well. We were all over the country too and had a team bus. It was a lot of money BUT guess what... we would do it all over again. Can't put a price on the bonding it created AND my son was way too busy to get into trouble with his friends. There honestly was no downside.. You can't do these things and worry about money.. For us, it wasn't about that at all.
I couldn't agree more. My daughter plays travel lax and is committed to a D1 school. My son plays travel baseball. It costs a few thousand dollars a year, but we feel fortunate that its within our budget for them to do so. They are both very busy with sports between practice, extra training and games and have a lot less time to just hang out or watch Netflix. The time spent with our kids and the people we've met (most are great although we've come across a bad apple or two) and the memories we've made are all worth it.
Totally agree.. My son was on the same team from age 11 through college. We developed a lot of friendships and continue to nurture them. The closeness that it creates can not be measured as anything but priceless.. AND, you can't do it hoping for full rides in college either.
