Costs associated with US youth soccer

Tim Schulz of the Colorado Rush is interviewed by Mike Woitalla about the high costs involved with youth soccer in the United States-


SOCCER AMERICA: Perhaps the most common complaint about the American youth game is its high cost. Will playing soccer continue to become more expensive or is any relief on the horizon?

TIM SCHULZ: The expense is getting bigger. As opposed to Europe, in the United States, the better you are, the more you pay. In Europe, the better you are, the less you pay.

SOCCER AMERICA: What is your club doing to reduce or minimize costs?

TIM SCHULZ: It’s important that a club provides many programs at many levels of play. The top players should be able to choose that they want to travel a lot. And the medium-level players should be able to choose that they want to stay in state and play in local tournaments. And the recreational player should be able to say "I just want to play in my local league." The program should allow a player and family to make a choice within their family if she wants to push further for a more elite type program.

Do we offset the cost? It’s foolish to say we give scholarships internally if money comes from within the club because all we’re doing is taking money from one family and giving it to another. You’re just shifting the dollars around.

The only way we can offset these costs is with grants and sponsorships. Then even with that, unless it’s earmarked for the elite athlete, we’re taking money away from the medium athlete and the developmental player.

It is an on-going problem. It is a challenge. But I think free enterprise allows us to stay competitive. For instance, if my neighboring club keeps the cost lower and the product stays the same, our players will leave and go somewhere else. So there is monitoring going on.