This is how I justify it.....

Spending $$$$ now and getting them involved in wrestling and learning the life lessons that wrestling offers will save me at least 10-15 times that amount in the future. The idea being that this will help them make good choices when they are confronted with the challenges of peer pressure, drinking, etc.

To put it bluntly:

Cost of kids wrestling now is way cheaper than rehab and lawyers fees in the future.

BLUF: Will hit the nail on the head......

$4800 (using Nix's figures) for 1 year wrestling,
spending every weekend and the majority of week nights at practice with my child....PRICELESS!

I was not griping about the money. Yes it is well worth it, I just never realized how much money was spent through a year. I feel sorry for my parents after fourteen years of it. They really didn't have the money, and I never knew that. As for my child, there's not much worry involved. We are going to spend it one way or another and I would much rather spend it on this great sport than anything else, as long as he wants to continue to do it.

No matter how you look at it the kids are worth it, but no one can say the price of any sport is not getting out of hand and my last boy to wrestle has been in coaching now for 5 years and I still coach and I have been doing it for 20 years. Shawnbudke said everything that I think is right but the fact of the matter is not all familys have the money to keep going and you must agree to that. I have been at every state meeting for at lease ten years and just the cost of gas to Salina and back is not cheap and by leaving before the meeting was over they took one pass away. We are thinking about getting out of running the club next year and see how someone else will like the cost for being a great coach, the only thing is no one wants to take over so. two ladies two years ago wanted us out so we got out and started a new club and after two years they got out and we took the kids into our club and they would not even give the gear back so Toby and his wife and me had to buy new gear so the kids could wrestle so the cost came out of our pocket and yet we still hang in there. There are a lot of people like us in wrestling and if it were not for people like us that more than brake there back for the kids who knows what would happen.

great post tom keep up the good work.

I agree totally, Tom. The reason most all of us are doing what we do is for the lil guys and gals.

I don't think most people realize how much work is involved with running a club. They show up for practice, throw a check at you once a week(or so)for tournaments and call it good. But, someone has to be in charge and get things done. I sure do appreciate the fact that these things get done!!

Tom Stone: Good post and thank you for what you do for the kids! You are right about the increasing costs starting to limit the ability of some families being able to participate in wrestling. I home my earlier email did not come across as me not having an appreciation or sympathy for the added costs that are put on the families in support of wrestling.

You are also exactly right about people giving way more than there share in order to support these kids. This is one of the greatest things about the sport of wrestling. It really is a family.

To all that volunteer and help out these young athletes....
Thanks for all that you do, Every day that you do it!

Shawn Budke

Cost for being a head coach - at least $1500.
Cost for being a wrestler - could be as low as $50 total for the season, depending on how much travel is desired and depending on how much faith you have in your head coach to prepare a wrestler for high school without tons of tournament experience.

as low as 50.00, love to see that one. just the club fee's and gas to drive back and forth to practice would be more than that.

now shoe's, head gear, food tourny fee's, and so on. every one here know just 1 tournament plus the club fee's would be 50.00

$15 club fees (our rec commission pays for half of the dues)
$10 depreciation on shoes (can use them more than 1 yr)
$0 to travel to practice if walking
$12 for 1 nearby tourn.
$10 on day of tourn.

$47 for the season.

Try adding girls wrestling tournys to that and starting the season early in oklahoma!!! She going to state this year i think so watch out boys!!!!
p.s. got 2 more girls starting this year also and a 4 year old dying to gt on the mat!!!!

Mike Furches said it best at Liberty Nationals church service, it's not about the money it's about the kids...Now I have to admit this is not a cheap sport, hotel rooms, tourney fees, shoes, head-gear,....food, makes evry weekend a challenge......From my stand point, as far as I know most coaches are volunteers, not paid!! I do it for the love of the sport not to be paid or get any kind of reward, (my reward is the kids who wind up coming back next year) With this sport with a high turn over rate it is very important to keep the kids interested, instead of worrying about money............I agree with multiple past threads on start a wrestling fund, this makes it easier when all the dues come rolling your way.......I know for a fact this year (having 2 boys) cost me @ $3000+, but has been worth every penny. PLEASE DON'T LET THE COST CONTROL YOUR CHILDS FUTURE!!!! Some clubs do fund raisers to help with alot of the fees..... BE POSITIVE!!!

Back to this $50 a year wrestling, you said walk to practice for free, I see that as a great idea in the middle of winter and at nite, personally I would not let 5 to 10 year old walk to practice. Plus after that you would spend more in cold medicine.

As for the shoe thing most kids outgrow their shoes once a year; I bought little Nix shoes at the beginning of the year and they are already getting small.

And for club dues I don't believe most clubs pay half.

As for the $10 a day for a tournament that sounds good a father and son each get a hot dog and split a coke; and siphon gas to get home unless they walk to the tournament in the freezing cold.

Last but not least one tournament a season he will have as many tournaments in his kansas kids career as what most kids get in one year.

Yeah I guess your right if you live within one block of your practice room, the kids feet never grow, enter one tournament a year, catch a ride to that one tournament, and starve the day of the tournament.

Where do we sign little nix up we are ready to save money. lol

Nix,

Take a bag with 1000,$1.00 dollar bills in it and hold it out your car window on your way to next tourney. Or put that same 1000 into a gas fund for next year because the way thing are going it will take that much to wrestle in this great state of ours, just in fuel!!!!! Just think in 5 to 10 years of his food bill, mine are 8u and 6u and I can barely keep enough food in the house.....Maybe we need a wrestling tax credit??????? I'd vote for who ever comes up with that plan.......

I WILL SECOND THAT VOTE.

I cannot fathom the amount my family has spent on wrestling over the last 14 yrs. I do know that now that my oldest son's kid career and high school careers are over is that it was worth every last penny.

For us, we have lived in several states and wrestling was the one thread that we had for my son to weave through his childhood in to young adulthood. It marked time, growth, development of character. We had championship days and far more days when he lost more than he won. But each time it was a family day, where we came out that much better.

Wrestling has provided us with a constant, a community and sometimes when we needed it a surrogate family. I hope to have that again in a few years with my youngest and help my son create that for his future kids as well.

You can't put a price on any of that.

Klint Deere