Sports: fun for the kids, not for the parents
Signing up for sports, dance, or cheer requires more than just hard work, practice, and dedication. It requires money—a whole lot of it too. El Estoque explores the financial costs that students have to pay in order to participate.
Soccer Spendings
After 10 years of club sports, the bills really start to add up for parents. Therefore, it’s important for the players to make the most out of their parents’ money even if it means taking out precious time from academics.
"I have to be more committed so I don’t waste my parents money," junior Alex Onishi said. 
As Onishi gradually progressed from playing on AYSO to De Anza Force: Class 1, so did the costs of these clubs. De Anza Force: Class 1 demands an annual $2,000 payment in order to cover the fields where practice is held three times a week, coach and referee salaries, and the higher division tournaments in which the players compete every weekend. However, this does not include any travel or equipment costs. While the additional travel fees add up to around $1700, the equipment fees total out to a little more than a thousand dollars for four pairs of cleats, uniforms, eight pairs of socks, and shorts.
However, Onishi claims playing club soccer is all worthwhile as it helps him improve his skills, and serves as a form of stress relief to help him escape from his tough junior year.
"Soccer helps me to keep in shape, it’s fun, and it’s actually really relaxing too. I study all day and then take a break to go out and play soccer, and then I go back to studying," Onishi said.
Flier Fees
Senior Kelli Sum has played basketball on the Foster City Fliers since the seventh grade but recently began to question if it fit her budget for the year. However, the fees that would’ve prevented Sum from playing couldn’t quite match up to the sentimental value of playing Sum treasures.
"Honestly, I don’t think the cost of it was a factor for me when I first started. But now economic times are really difficult, so I almost didn‘t play. I did though because I’ve been playing with these girls for years, and this would be my last," Sum said.
The Fliers offer a great program and is actually one of the cheapest clubs in the Bay Area. Practice is held just once every Friday night at Sequoia High School to accommodate school basketball practices, the players reuse their uniforms throughout the years, and the coaches are volunteers.
The breakdown for the fees includes a flat payment of $350 for registration, but Sum still has to account for the out-of town tournaments and the high gas and hotel fares, which add up to an additional $350. And although she is not picky about the latest release of Jordan basketball shoes, the equipment nevertheless costs up just around $100 including shoes, shorts, and other necessities.
Despite these costs, Sum admits the experience of playing on a club team was not only supplemental to her growth as a player, but also as a friend.
"It’s definitely worth my money though. It helped me improve a lot for school basketball, but it’s also a social network thing because there are girls that are from different parts of the Bay Area," Sum said.
Financially Freaky
Senior Katherine Ong has been dancing for 11 years and is currently the captain of Marquesas, the MVHS dance team. According to Ong, each member on the dance team has to pay a hefty sum of $2000 to $3000 per year in order to participate in all the events. The team participates in five competitions in which they need to pay for private choreographers, costumes, competition entry fees, and travel expenses. A large percentage of the cost goes to paying for private choreographers along with the cost of going to National’s in Anaheim every year. Because of the lack of funding from boosters, the dance team holds fund raisers such as car washes to help alleviate the cost.
"A lot of the girls on the dance team take outside classes," Ong said. "Which is not included in the $2000 to $3000 range."
Ong also takes private classes which cost about $18 per hour. Other expenses of the dance team include the two summer camps which cost around $300 to $400.
"Dance is just expensive," Ong said. "But it’s what I have been doing all my life."
Tumbling Through Cash
While the cheerleaders emanate smiles and energy, the cost of participating is no laughing matter. Senior Daniel Chang, the captain of the cheer team and co-captain of the song team, reveals the underlying drastic expenses of cheerleading. The cost of participating in cheer is $2765 to $3065 each year,which is divided into eight payments throughout the year. Like the dance team, a large sum of the money goes to competitions and private choreographing fees.
"Although we have a coach for rally choreography and routines, we need professional choreographers to teach us routines for competitions," Chang said. "The coach acts more as an advisor and helps out with handling the money, hotels, and transportation."
Also a member of song team, Chang has to pay an extra $30 to $40 to participate. In order to compensate for the expenses, the cheer team holds fundraisers, selling chocolates, gift wraps, and holding car washes.
"We are all aware of the cost," Chang said. "But the feeling of competing and performing makes it a priceless experience."
