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Economy
Takes Toll on All Youth Sports
Mike Whitmore
Youth Soccer News
If you’re the
new President of the United States, you might be just “tad” busy
right now. Hundreds, if not thousands, of issues on your plate
and trust me,
 saving
youth soccer is not one of them. Youth soccer clubs from all
around the world will soon start to feel the pinch of an ever
tightening economy.
For the first
time in many years some youth soccer clubs are predicting, if
not already seeing, a drop in numbers rather than the steady
incline they have seen for many years. Everyone from
recreational leagues to advanced academy programs everywhere are
starting to see a “bump in the road” and it is affecting the
numbers.
A family with
two children can easily spend in excess of $2000 a season by the
time you add up club fees, equipment and travel costs. The only
bright side of the picture right now is that fuel costs are
nearly half of what they a short time ago. In times where
everything seems to be having budget cuts, the family’s dollars
for “sports activities” is dwindling as well.
Dave Meyers, a
club manager in Texas said, “We always operate on a tight
budget, but if numbers start to decline, we are facing some
tough decisions. We are an academy program that pays our coaches
but we may have to ask them to reduce their income. We are also
looking at other sources of revenue.” This trend seems to be
spreading throughout the US, and not just in certain regions.
The CT, Watertown Youth Soccer Association registration peaked
at nearly 700 youngsters in the fall of 2006 and has since
dropped to around 520 this fall. While they are not positive the
economy is main factor, it certainly contributes to the decline.
Many clubs
have tried approaching local businesses but that door seems to
shutting quickly as well. Just trying to meet the payroll is
tough enough, charity to local clubs will have to wait it
seems. Steve Whitmore, who helps run a local academy soccer
club, said “We stopped knocking on local business doors last
year because it just wasn’t effective. We now use our website to
help. We started using fund raising programs like
www.SoccerU.com last year. They helped us generate very good
money for our club and the parents and kids received quality
training.”
We don’t see
youth soccer getting in line for the government bailouts just
yet, but who knows. With tax payers shelling out millions to
companies that support professional teams and athletes it might
just make sense.
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