Will gas prices hit standard of soccer?

(Published Evening News & Tribune, June 11, 2008)
We are now in the midst of the busiest time in the youth travel soccer calendar.
Unfortunately for soccer mom and dads, it has coincided with gas prices hitting an all time high at $4 a gallon.

But how much of an impact will it have? Will we see it hit the standard of soccer, with less participation at the higher level?

There have been reports in recent weeks of kids cutting back on athletic leagues in all sports all over the country as parents struggle to balance fuel prices with the travel demands associated with their children's sports activities. Recreational leagues are being preferred because they cost less. We're talking about the likes of basketball, baseball and softball.

Also expected to be hit is the strange creature we call travel soccer, seen by many as the domain of the upper-middle class of society in the US.

Consider this: You live in southern Indiana and your little Johnny or Mary is on a successful travel team, say Javanon, for example. One week you're traveling to Lexington for the Kentucky State Open Cup preliminaries; the next, you're down in Bowling Green for the final stages.

And now little Johnny's, or Mary's, team has made it to the regional championships in Illinois (which take place from June 20-25), where you will probably stay over for a couple of nights - catch the opening ceremony and the first three games. Maybe even stay until finals day. This is all in the space of a four week period.

I hear all sorts of tales about the expense of soccer, including one family which has estimated it forked out about $16,000 in one year watching their son, a successful regional Olympic Development Program player, all over the United States.

I'm no expert in how rich upper middle class Americans are, but I'm sure there's a fair few travel soccer families that are simply struggling right now, so that their talented children can follow their dreams; maybe get themselves a soccer scholarship at an NCAA Division 1 university.

There is, I have to say, a certain irony in the fact that parents could be seen at tryouts over the past couple of weeks with concerned looks and bitten down nails, hoping their children would be the ones to make it onto their travel teams of choice.

In fact, there were quite a few of them, as numbers were reportedly high at trials for a number of teams across Louisville and southern Indiana, so you would have to assume that prices don't seem to be bothering too many folks right now, despite the national mood.

However, the current economic climate could be a blessing in disguise for the sport in the US. I feel that if there was more concentration on local competition, with the creation of more teams within shorter distances and less emphasis on traveling long distances to numerous “prestigious” tournaments (maybe one or two a season), then more kids would be able to afford participation at said competitive level and the overall talent pool quality would increase.

As a matter of fact, the vast majority of players in the US play at the recreational level anyway. It would give those who are talented enough - but not rich enough - a chance to play travel. Call me stupid, but I would have thought that could only help the standard of the game.

There are those involved in travel soccer that are suited just fine by the status quo - they are not in a rush to change it. So maybe being forced to change it is the only way forward.