How much does club basketball cost

USA TODAY High School Sports has a weekly column on the college recruiting process. Here, you’ll find practical tips and real-world advice on becoming a better recruit to maximize your opportunities to play at the college level. Jason Smith is a former NCAA DIII athlete and college coach at all three division levels. Jason is just one of many former college and professional players, college coaches, and parents who are part of the Next College Student Athlete team. Their knowledge, experience, and dedication along with NCSA’s history of digital innovation, and long-standing relationship with the college coaching community have made NCSA the largest and most successful athletic recruiting network in the country.

It’s no secret that club sports are a huge investment—in time, emotion, and money. Yet, too often parents find themselves blindsided by a dwindling bank account once the season is in full swing. Equipment, tournaments and dues can add up quickly. But to exactly how much?

A study conducted last summer by TD Ameritrade found that parents whose children participated in “highly competitive or elite teams run by a non-school organization” were spending on average $100 to $500 per month, per child. And at least 20 percent of them dished out $1,000 per month.

So, we rounded up coaches among our staff at NCSA to help you understand the costs associated with some club and travel sports:

Travel baseball averages out to $3,700 per year. But families can pay upward of $8,000 if they opt for extra training services and play in out-of-state tournaments—travel costs are the biggest determining factor here. Your child’s equipment and uniform typically cost $200 to $500.

Team fees, which are usually just over $1,000, don’t include travel and hotel costs, but do contribute to tournament fees. Like baseball, gear can range from $200 to $500. Lessons are $75 per session, meaning families may carve $3,000 out of their budget for 40 weeks of training. Take four out-of-state trips? That’s an extra $1,600 in travel and $1,900 for hotels.

If your family is lucky enough to be on a Nike or Adidas sponsored AAU team, the cost for spring and summer comes to $500 for meals, hotels and travel. Without sponsorship, the price tag is $5,000, especially if your child is playing most weekends and traveling. The actual membership fee, though, is only $15 a year.

Depending on the level, membership dues can range from $2,500 to $5,000 per year. Plus, some teams have a registration fee. These costs typically cover salaries, league and referee fees, state and national registration fees, and player insurance and player development programs. So, parents also have to pay for travel costs, which vary depending on how far you go—anywhere from $500 to $6,000 from spring to fall.

Volleyball can range significantly depending on how elite the team. Very high-end teams with extensive travel nationwide will easily average $8,000 to $10,00 per year, with club fees making up $4,000 to $6,000 of the cost. The less competitive, more regional club programs are usually $1,500 or so. These teams tend not to travel as much and have shorter seasons.

Learn more: Do you have to play club sports to get recruited?

It turns out we’re talking thousands of dollars. That’s, frankly, a lot of money. But many parents hope it will pay off in the future. In fact, 40 percent of respondents said they were banking on athletic scholarships to cover more than half of their child’s college costs.

While every family’s path to college looks different, you can make the most of your spending by evaluating where your athlete is at in their recruiting journey. For example, children in youth sports will benefit most by focusing on skill development. It really isn’t necessary for 6^th and 7^th graders to splurge on camps and showcases when they aren’t being actively recruited by college coaches. But high school student-athletes on the other hand, especially juniors, want to play in front of as many college coaches as possible.

Maximize your opportunities at the right time and your investment can surely be worthwhile.

aau, club sports, college coaches, NCSA, recruiting, Recruiting advice, travel teams, NCSA Recruiting

“I don’t regret at all that I missed the children’s “club” basketball.” Start your career at the age of 20 and play in the Superleague - Basketball. 63rd region - Blogs

Samara forward Nikita Ivanov explains why he played only at the amateur level until he was 20, and recalls how he started his professional career. And at the same time invites everyone to play hockey with him.

Nikita Ivanov. Center/forward. Genus. October 31, 1991 Height 205 cm. Played for: the youth team of Krasnye Krylia (Samara, 2012-2013), CSK VVS-Krasnye Krylya (Samara, 2013/2014), the team of BC Khimki (2014-2016 ). Since the summer of 2016 - in the sports club "Samara". Participant of the World Summer Universiade 2011 as part of the student team of Russia. Winner of the Eurocup 2014/2015 with Khimki.

- You are playing for the Samara team for the second time. How has the city changed during this time?

- My first "arrival" in Samara was more youthful. Now I play in a team that faces serious challenges, and the championship, compared to recent years, has become stronger. During the two years that I spent in Khimki, Samara has noticeably changed: roads have started to be built for the 2018 World Cup, which is very nice. I myself am from Siberia, from Krasnoyarsk, and every spring I thought that we had the worst roads. But when I first came to Samara in 2012, I saw that there are regions that even lag behind Krasnoyarsk in this regard. But in general, Samara is a beautiful city, there is a beautiful embankment here, which is especially beautiful in summer. In my free time, the guys and I went there to play beach volleyball, swim - in Siberia, for this you need to get far out of the city, but here everything is nearby, so many cities can envy Samara.

- It was in Samara that you started your professional career. ..

- It so happened that I didn't go through the traditional "school" of basketball. Youth championships of Russia, CYBL - I missed all this. And I came to the professional team from student basketball: I played for the SibFU team in the ASB championship, and after my fourth year I decided to try my hand at professional sports. First, I went to see Nizhny Novgorod, took part with the team in the pre-season tournament, where the Krasnye Krylia coaches noticed me - so I moved to Tolyatti, where their youth team was then based. I was considered a promising guy, with good physical data - and I was “pulled up” to the main team. Moreover, there the players had injuries, so they took me to practice, to get a taste of professional basketball.

Basketball has always been interesting to me, I have always liked to practice and give myself to the cause. And with the university team we played at a high level: the All-Russian Universiade, the finals of the ASB ... And the guys in the team were experienced, who played at a professional level, in the same Yenisei. Children's basketball in Krasnoyarsk is under the auspices of Yenisei, but somehow it turns out that there is not a single pupil of my own in the main team ... And I decided that I would study and play, and I would take a step towards professional sports at the end of my studies in university.

In general, I started studying at an ordinary regional school. There was a good company, together we played basketball on the street, and ran crosses for the school, and participated in regional volleyball and hockey competitions - our sports development was versatile. Gradually, I fell in love with basketball more, especially since I was genetically tall, and began to pay more attention and time to it. And now I do not regret at all that I missed the children's "club" basketball. In adolescence, such loads, and suddenly an injury - and that’s it, you can no longer “get to” professionals.

Although for the first time I felt the "taste" of professional sports in 2011. Before the World Universiade, I, along with a group of players from the ASB and American universities, were taken to the training camp of the Russian student team. There were also players from professional clubs: Dmitry Golovin, Petr Gubanov, Vyacheslav Zaitsev, Anatoly Kashirov, and Evgeny Pashutin was the coach. As a result, I and another guy from Siberia, Alexander Kalenov (now playing in the Superleague for Temp-SUMZ-UMMC - ed.) passed the training camp and got into the team. Of course, we did not play a special role, but in training, in terms of energy and emotions, we gave all the best. Then I "live" saw the world of professional basketball - this predetermined my desire to try myself at this level after university.

- Are you interested or doing anything other than basketball now?

- Recently, the volleyball "Nova" moved to the "MTL Arena", and I, Dmitry Golovin and Evgeny Minchenko live very close by. Sometimes we go to their matches to support the guys. There are, of course, a lot of people there, there are various nuances, such as there is nowhere to even sit down. I also love to skate. We bought a hockey stick with Dima Golovin, we go to one of the city “boxes”, we skate, we work out some elements - this is quite interesting and at the same time difficult: unusual ligaments and joints work, there is a good load. If someone has a desire, come to the site on Lenin Avenue, we will see you not only at basketball. It happened that with the guys who work there, we set up the goal and play, we try to “depict” something at speed, similar to hockey. But everything is neat, after all, our main occupation is basketball.

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- What is the most difficult thing when you start your professional career at the age of 20?

- In terms of "physics" it was much easier. But in understanding game situations, in responsibility for the result, everything is completely different. For example, "for young men" you have a big credit of trust, you run and do whatever you want. And here everything is already stricter. Each player has his own strengths and weaknesses, in attack you need to bring the ball to the “snipers”, look for profitable situations for partners, despite the fact that the time for making decisions is minimized: you need to do everything faster so that the defense does not have time to react and you scored easy points. This is the main difference.

Although I would not say that the level of college basketball is very weak. When I studied and played, we had about 70 matches during the season - the city championship, the ASB championship, the semi-professional First League, where we traveled, probably, half of Siberia ... We trained, maybe at a minimum, but game practice we have always been good: you are always in rhythm, always “run”. That was amazing. I think that such a system should be practiced. I think it can give an even better result than when you play 22 matches in a season, like we do in the Super League. It turns out that every game is responsible, you can’t relax a bit - it’s very emotionally fettering, and the level of “game” development also suffers from this. Although this is just my personal opinion.

- At the same time, Sergei Bazarevich almost immediately began to involve you in training with the Krasnye Krylia main team. What are your impressions of working with this coach?

– I can say to myself that at that time I was a bit unprepared for a new level. First of all, it is psychological. In terms of decision-making, some skills, I noticeably lagged behind my partners. Nevertheless, I was connected to training with the base. I am a physically strong guy, I always fought to the end, did not give up - and achieved my goal through perseverance. And Sergey Bazarevich is a very competent and good coach, he develops young players, for whom he has a credit of trust. He always has energetic workouts, his favorite phrase is: “The main thing is a good mood and give energy!”

- Then you found yourself in a similar situation in Khimki: you get playing practice in the second team in the Superleague, but you regularly train with the first team. .. including me. It's one structure, one club. And Khimki-Podmoskovye is a stepping stone between the youth team and the main one, so that their personnel are not lost, so that young guys do not go somewhere, but stay and gain experience in their club, having the opportunity to hang out with the “muzhiks”. And if you show yourself well, you will definitely be noticed and given a chance to try yourself at a higher level.