Youth sports dealing with the recession
"When a family's fortunes decline, the spending can be hard to justify."
We're pretty interested in this locally, and wondering if it's been happening in our area (Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade Counties). The question is, with all the talk and experience of a recession, are youth sports taking a hit? A decline in enrollment? Unusual strategies to keep the operation afloat? If you're in a league or run a league and want to weigh in on this, leave a comment or contact SunSentinel reporter Nick Sortal.
This ran today in the Chicago Tribune, our sister newspaper up north...
By John Keilman | Tribune reporter Chris Labeots' fledgling basketball career might well have been saved by an installment plan.The Hoffman Estates 8th grader is built like a bouncer, but his game is more finesse than muscle. With high school ball in the hyper-competitive northwest suburbs less than a year away, he figured he needed a summer with a travel team to improve his skills.
But Labeots' dad, Jim, is without full-time work and couldn't manage the $875 fee. So team director Tony Reibel extended an offer he's been making a lot lately: He let the family pay in affordable chunks.
"Chris wouldn't be able to play without that," Jim Labeots said.
Sports are practically a birthright for kids in Chicago's suburbs, where playing fields, swimming pools and gymnasiums teem year-round with young athletes. But as the recession tightens its chokehold, parents are being forced to consider a bitter sacrifice.
From baseball to soccer to hockey, many organizations are reporting a significant drop in the number of participants as families slash their discretionary spending. Some parents have lost jobs; others worry they'll be next.
"People were scared before, but now they're really scared," said Stephie Arkus of the Glenview Stars Hockey Association, which was anticipating a small decline in registrations.
In response, youth teams are coming up with creative ways to keep costs down and help out the newly broke, hoping to keep children active even when their parents' finances crumble.
"One of the worst things we could do is pull kids away from sports to save money," said coach Jon Cabel, whose St. Charles Swim Team is trying to establish a payment plan. "It's [an organization's] duty to find a way to keep kids involved."Even in the best of times parents sacrifice for their kids' athletic endeavors. The price tag of a season in a recreational league often surpasses $100, while elite travel squads can cost thousands.
When a family's fortunes decline, the spending can be hard to justify.
"Daily, I would say, people walk into our office [with stories of hardship]. Yesterday, one mom said to me, 'I can't [pay the fees]. I'm out of work,' " said Lisa McClellan of the Aurora-based Wheatland Athletic Association, which has seen registrations for its spring soccer league drop by 17 percent.
Gretchen Day-Bryant has a son in high school and a daughter in middle school. She’s lived to tell about the struggles of juggling little kids and work.
Joy Oglesby has a preschooler...
Cindy Kent Fort Lauderdale mother of three. Her kids span in ages from teenager to 20s.
Rafael Olmeda and his wife welcomed their first son in Feb. 2009, and he's helping raise two teenage stepdaughters.
Lois Solomon lives in Boca Raton with her husband and three daughters.
Georgia East is the parent of a five-year-old girl, who came into the world weighing 1 pound, 13 ounces.
Brittany Wallman is the mother of Creed, 15, and Lily, 7, and is married to a journalist, Bob Norman. She covers Broward County government, which is filled with almost as much drama as the Norman household. Almost.
Chris Tiedje is the Social Media Coordinator and the father of a 7-year-old girl, and two boys ages 4 and 3.
Kyara Lomer Camarena has a 2-year-old son, Copelan, and a brand new baby. 
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