First Read: Paying to Pay

Dr. William V. Raszka, our Associate Editor, offers the following insight into a current topic in the news:

?Can I have a check for $40?? My daughter had just come home from lacrosse practice with yet another team sweatshirt in her hands, and was asking for money to pay the team manager. The sweatshirt looked great, and she clearly liked it, but I could not help feeling that we had purchased far too much team paraphernalia over the years. She has played for three high school varsity teams, a travel soccer team and, intermittently, travel lacrosse teams. Each season, all raise money, team spirits, and camaraderie by selling shirts, sweatshirts, sweatpants, caps, and even blankets (in Vermont, parents on the sidelines can get quite cold indeed).

With four children, our house seems stuffed with team gear. The expenses associated with youth sports teams grow each year and, as reported in The New York Times (Sports: April 24, 2012), no sport seems immune to the phenomenon. Even baseball and softball have become quite expensive. I sound curmudgeonly, but when I played youth baseball, there was no initiation fee. The local parks and recreation department ran the program. Fathers of the players volunteered their time. I had one uniform (donated by the local electrician?s union) for four years. Broken bats were glued and then screwed back together. Now, joining a baseball league can cost hundreds - if not thousands - of dollars. In most places, the local parks and recreation department, crushed by budget cuts, is no longer involved in youth sports.

Youth sports leagues and teams are independent with their own budgets. Teams hire coaches and young athletes are equipped with the best equipment available. ?Good? baseball bats now cost more than $200. Add in a glove, batting glove, helmet, cleats, team uniform, practice outfit, and travel, and the cost can be staggering. My daughter?s travel soccer team offers scholarships, but I know for sure that a few players on her lacrosse team cannot or should not spend $40 on a new sweatshirt. Parents can just say no, but this can be difficult.

The professionalization and increased economic cost to youth sports seems inexorable. I have been part of it, but I do miss what seem now like simpler times. Anyway, my daughter did not quite understand my concerns. I eventually gave her the check and the sweatshirt was added to our collection.

Noted by WVR, MD

*This filler excerpt can be found in the August 2012 Pediatrics print journal p. 253, or via online here.

Source: http://pediatricsblog.blogspot.com/2012/08/paying-to-pay.html

hatchet leah messer freedom riders 9th circuit court of appeals gisele bundchen tom brady randy travis arrested dickens