Travel tournaments and costly cleats: Suburban parents pay big bucks for youth sports
Wheaton dad Bud Barnhart estimates his family has spent “probably a hundred thousand dollars” to support their three kids in youth sports over the years.
That includes club costs, equipment and more — including two years of a softball tournament in Nashville that required an eight-hour drive each way and six days in a hotel room.
Daughter Maddie, a high school senior, grew up playing softball, while twin sister Izzy competed in lacrosse. Younger brother Ben briefly played club soccer.
“I think for our family, we weren’t over the top,” said mom Melissa Barnhart. “For three kids, $100,000 over the years is totally (middle) of the road.”
A commitment to youth sports comes at a cost, and the price tag for parents continues to climb.
Even state lawmakers have taken notice.
The Illinois Commission on Youth Sports was created as part of a measure signed into law in August.
The commission will work to develop a strategic plan to ensure all young people have access to youth sports programs across Illinois, officials said. It will submit a yearly report with findings and recommendations for how to make youth sports more accessible.
“Regardless of income, ZIP code and physical ability, children should have the opportunity to be part of a team, exercise and have fun learning new skills,” said state Rep. Nicole La Ha, a Lemont Republican appointed to the commission.
But the expense of doing so — which differs by sport and competition level — quickly adds up.
The rising cost
According to a recent study by the Aspen Institute’s Project Play initiative, spending on youth sports increased by 46% from 2019 to 2024.
The study, which surveyed parents across the country, found the average cost families pay for sports-related expenses, including equipment, registration, travel, lessons and camps, was $1,016 in 2024. That amount was $693 five years earlier.
It’s a cost that families are willing to pay, in part, because without the club experience, young athletes might struggle to make a high school team. Some feel it also gives their child a leg up toward college athletics.
Even parents who don’t harbor dreams of college scholarships enroll their kids, believing team sports and physical activity are important.
“We knew our kids weren’t, like, super athletes. So we knew they weren’t going to be professionals,” Melissa Barnhart said. “We wanted them to do it for fun but also to be doing something besides sitting at home.”
“We would do it again,” Bud Barnhart added. “At the level that we did it, there’s no regrets on any of that.”
‘Absolutely worth it’
While Emily Carlson of Rolling Meadows has a young son in a park district soccer program that runs about $200 a season, she and her husband, Andrew, tighten their belts January through March, awaiting the “big bill” to cover fees and registration for her 15-year-old son’s club soccer team.
“I think (his) confidence in doing this and pride in doing it, is absolutely worth it to me,” Emily Carlson said.
The tab included the $2,018 registration fee in 2025 (up from $1,450 in 2018), and the $339 biennial fee for the uniform kit. Plus the $165 for the required summer camp, and the $995 airfare for this February’s Phoenix tournament, along with an $884 hotel stay.
Because her son is a goalkeeper, that meant about $576 in additional expenses for gear and cleats.
Since the Carlsons want their son to maximize his potential, they’ve paid for a goalie camp for the last three years. The annual average cost: $1,150.
The Carlsons believe it’s money well spent.
“He loves it. It keeps him active,” Emily Carlson said.
Carlson said competing in a soccer club is a positive experience.
“I think it’s good for their mental health,” she said, adding the club “instills good values in them” and “makes them responsible for things.”
Island Lake parent Chris James said he spends between $10,000 to $15,000 a year supporting his 16-year-old daughter in a travel volleyball program, along with ancillary expenses — a vertical jump coach, private lessons and strength and conditioning training.
They’ve traveled across the Midwest and to a national tournament in Florida, which James said is roughly a $4,000 trip.
In addition to the financial cost, there is an opportunity cost.
“There’s not a lot of family time of having dinners or sitting around and talking because it’s a constant, full-time schedule of keeping up with the Joneses, trying to make sure your daughter will compete at the level these other kids are competing at,” James said.
Like other parents, he believes the overall experience outweighs the cost. He also hopes it translates to a college scholarship for his daughter.
After leaving at 5 a.m. for a Jan. 24 tournament in Joliet, “I looked at my wife, and I said, ‘As stressful as this is, I wouldn’t give it up for anything.’ And she just started laughing,” James recalled.
Affordability?
State officials say the Illinois Commission on Youth Sports is the first panel in the nation to focus on quality and access in youth sports.
La Ha, who has young children competing in youth sports, said the goal is to gather feedback and make recommendations concerning access to youth sports statewide.
Cost is part of that.
“I do think the costs can limit (participation), and that’s something I look forward to having more conversations about with the commission, and maybe finding programming and finding solutions. I feel strongly that all kids get to play and participate,” La Ha said.
Meanwhile, some parents are finding their own ways to save money.
Schaumburg resident Jonah Koenigseker, who has played, coached and refereed soccer, started his own futsal club. With a smaller indoor court, fewer players and a no-bounce ball, it is a less expensive option to complement the training his son and others receive.
He said his club aims to address the issue of parents feeling like their kids are “missing out” because they are not in an expensive program.
“I think sometimes we have to step back,” Koenigseker said, “and that’s really what I did when I started this club.”