FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[sowilson]

I decided to do some of my own investigation on the volleyball fees and you were not kidding.  The local JO club near me wants a minimum of $3,000 starting at age 11, quickly bumping up to $6,000 per year by the time they're 14.  3 practices a week and 2-3 day tournaments every other weekend for 6 months.  Insane.

If your daughter is going to go to a Minnesota high school with a state ranked volleyball team and wants to play varsity then she will need to be on a top notch JO volleyball team starting in middle school. Typically they can play in 9th and 10th grade but after that they need to come from a top notched JO program as those kids don't start playing HS ball until their junior year.  In Eagan, where my kids went to HS, the volleyball program is very good.  The varsity squad comes from Northern Light's (1's and 2' not any lower) or M1 and it will cost you $7K/year or so with significant volunteer hours.  Hockey, Baseball, Lacrosse, Softball, Soccer, Basketball, Swimming are all similar and the larger the high school the more competitive it is to play.  Football and Track are your best bets if you want a no cut sport that doesn't cost a small fortune.

My kids are senior's in college now so I'm out of the youth sports rats race.  If you live out state you might still find that kids can usually get on teams without the pressure to be part of the youth sport development mill.  If you live in the metro area then you need to be prepared to spend some coin. I use to coach in-house baseball and volleyball and my kids played travel Basketball , AAU Basketball, Football, travel Baseball, JO Volleyball, and I volunteered a lot of time to our youth sports efforts.  I enjoyed every minute of it, well except for some of the paper work.

[faunch]

This article by Pat Borzi about UST moving to D1 s in today's New York Times:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/27/sports/ncaafootball/st-thomas-division-i.html?action=click&module=MoreInSection&pgtype=Article&region=Footer&contentCollection=Sports

Considering this is the rag that had an entire article referring to Minnesota Sen. Al Franklin not that long ago, I'm not surprised that they got the name of the Johnnie-Tommie game wrong. 

There was another error in maybe the 5 to the last paragraph where they referred to St John's when they meant St Thomas.

[faunch]

I decided to do some of my own investigation on the volleyball fees and you were not kidding.  The local JO club near me wants a minimum of $3,000 starting at age 11, quickly bumping up to $6,000 per year by the time they're 14.  3 practices a week and 2-3 day tournaments every other weekend for 6 months.  Insane.

If your daughter is going to go to a Minnesota high school with a state ranked volleyball team and wants to play varsity then she will need to be on a top notch JO volleyball team starting in middle school. Typically they can play in 9th and 10th grade but after that they need to come from a top notched JO program as those kids don't start playing HS ball until their junior year.  In Eagan, where my kids went to HS, the volleyball program is very good.  The varsity squad comes from Northern Light's (1's and 2' not any lower) or M1 and it will cost you $7K/year or so with significant volunteer hours.  Hockey, Baseball, Lacrosse, Softball, Soccer, Basketball, Swimming are all similar and the larger the high school the more competitive it is to play.  Football and Track are your best bets if you want a no cut sport that doesn't cost a small fortune.

My kids are senior's in college now so I'm out of the youth sports rats race.  If you live out state you might still find that kids can usually get on teams without the pressure to be part of the youth sport development mill.  If you live in the metro area then you need to be prepared to spend some coin. I use to coach in-house baseball and volleyball and my kids played travel Basketball , AAU Basketball, Football, travel Baseball, JO Volleyball, and I volunteered a lot of time to our youth sports efforts.  I enjoyed every minute of it, well except for some of the paper work.

IMO club sports are replacing private education. Schools like CDH are facing lower enrollment and i think it's due a more suburban population and families spending money on clip sports instead of private education.
One big problem with club sports is that playing JO volleyball almost forces a kid to become a single sport athlete by the time they're 14 years old! My kid gave up softball last spring because of the time commitment of club volleyball.
There are also kids sticking with club volleyball on a 3's, 4's or 5's team because they know they will never play on the varsity team.

[Mr.MIAC]

Speaking of costs, how much do/did folks here pay per month for childcare (daycare, full-time baby-sitter, etc.)?

[jamtod]

Speaking of costs, how much do/did folks here pay per month for childcare (daycare, full-time baby-sitter, etc.)?

Opportunity costs in the thousands, actual costs: basically $0

[Mr.MIAC]

Speaking of costs, how much do/did folks here pay per month for childcare (daycare, full-time baby-sitter, etc.)?

Opportunity costs in the thousands, actual costs: basically $0

What would you say is the average cost for professional (credentialed) childcare in the Twin Cities?

[sowilson]

IMO club sports are replacing private education. Schools like CDH are facing lower enrollment and i think it's due a more suburban population and families spending money on clip sports instead of private education.
One big problem with club sports is that playing JO volleyball almost forces a kid to become a single sport athlete by the time they're 14 years old! My kid gave up softball last spring because of the time commitment of club volleyball.
There are also kids sticking with club volleyball on a 3's, 4's or 5's team because they know they will never play on the varsity team.

I agree, but the pressure to specialize early has infected every youth sport.  This specialization leads to burn out at the 14-15 year old level, increased over use injuries, and is at odds with what college coaches are looking for; namely multi-sport athletes.  Of my son's HS class mates, those who went on to play in college were multi-sport athletes (varsity, intramural, or other).  My daughter was a pretty savvy young lady and got out of football once the guys got too big and left HS volleyball after 10th grade.  Instead she concentrated on band, debate, and Science Olympiad.  My son rode the youth sports train longer, leaving baseball after 10th grade, swimming after 8th, playing intramural basketball (his favorite sport) instead of varsity, and instead concentrating on Football, Track (throws), and weight lifting.  Now, as a senior in college he's done with Football and told me his body has had enough of a pounding so he's happy.  He still has an indoor and outdoor Track and Field throwing seasons and is looking forward to setting new PR's in his throws before that journey ends.  He rooms with members of the swim team and sometimes joins them for morning swims to the delight of everyone seeing how graceful a walrus can be in the water and still plays intramural basketball which he loves.  I'm sure he'll find something to do for sport once he graduates.   I think multi-sport athletes develop a love of sports that stay with them.  The hardest part as a parent was making sure that they didn't overuse themselves with pre-season, in-season, and post-season training activities (i.e. fall baseball at the same time as football season at the same time as pre-season basketball).

[SagatagSam]

Speaking of costs, how much do/did folks here pay per month for childcare (daycare, full-time baby-sitter, etc.)?

We pay $172/wk for a daycare center (approximately $700/mo)--but that's in Sioux Falls, SD. My guess is twin cities pricing will be higher.

[GoldandBlueBU]

Speaking of costs, how much do/did folks here pay per month for childcare (daycare, full-time baby-sitter, etc.)?

Opportunity costs in the thousands, actual costs: basically $0

What would you say is the average cost for professional (credentialed) childcare in the Twin Cities?

We paid $327 / week for infant care at a center in Golden Valley...the costs would have gradually declined as the kids got older, but my wife started staying home after about a year and a half of daycare.

[GoldandBlueBU]

Sports specializing is a real bummer, IMO.  It was no big deal to be playing multiple sports at the varsity level growing up in Duluth, but it's hard to imagine my kids having the same luxury here in the metro, if they wanted to. 

[repete]

Speaking of costs, how much do/did folks here pay per month for childcare (daycare, full-time baby-sitter, etc.)?

Oof, if you're looking in the DMV, Rev, it's an eye-opener.

A friend in MontCo says toddler care goes from $1,800-$2,200/month. Might need to put the Lambo on a deferred maintenance plan.

[sjusection105]

Speaking of costs, how much do/did folks here pay per month for childcare (daycare, full-time baby-sitter, etc.)?

Oof, if you're looking in the DMV, Rev, it's an eye-opener.

A friend in MontCo says toddler care goes from $1,800-$2,200/month. Might need to put the Lambo on a deferred maintenance plan.

Depending on a number of criteria (work travel for either or both parents) etc... an in-home nanny may be the more cost effective option.

[Pat Coleman]

My wife stayed home until the youngest went back to school, then took a job on a 5am-2pm shift. Later, when she moved into management and her shift changed, I left corporate and did freelance so I could be home. Lately, we switched roles and I am back in corporate for a little over a year.

My coworker has two kids age 2 and 4 and her child care costs are hideous, although I don't know the specifics.

[art76]

Sports specializing is a real bummer, IMO.  It was no big deal to be playing multiple sports at the varsity level growing up in Duluth, but it's hard to imagine my kids having the same luxury here in the metro, if they wanted to.

Been Lurking and have kept quiet for the most part, as my kids are now all out of college at least 4 years and are engaged in their careers. I think I have said it before, or at least alluded to it, that it is my supposition that kids end up doing what their friends like doing. Occasionally, one of these kids is really enthusiastic about something, and everyone else bands around them and jumps in wholeheartedly. For better or worse, none of my kids wanted to be jocks, or jockettes, into college. Two of my three played and eventually started in HS soccer, volleyball and basketball. I know our family is an outlier in how we raised our kids, only investing in areas they were interested in. So, we had no cub, boy, girl scouts or brownies. No 4-h-ers, no hockey or football players. We did have a gymnast for a couple of years, but she let it go to concentrate on basketball, which she more enjoyed. My younger of two sons could have been an awesome line backer size wise, and he had legs from soccer and basketball, but football just didn't have the same "special something" for him as it did for me when i was his age. When he went to games with me while he was in college, I was kind of surprised by how little he knew about the strategies involved that were always at play on the field. Being a fare chess player, he has come to watch games from that way of thinking, asking questions all along. Neither he, nor I, regret how he has been raised.

Parenting is not for the faint of heart. As you raise your children, only you and your spouse can offer them the love and encouragement they need to grow into mature young folks that make decisions based on what they want to do with their lives. It doesn't really surprise me to hear that kids leave a sport for another interest. I know it goes the other way. I still am a mentor for TARC (The American Rocketry Challenge) and I still have kids leave the team in mid-year because basketball looks "funner".  Kids will be kids.

I guess we got off lucky financially, because I cannot fathom spending that much on children's athletics - but I probably would have if I had a child that interested in that particular sport.

[miac952]

This article by Pat Borzi about UST moving to D1 s in today's New York Times:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/27/sports/ncaafootball/st-thomas-division-i.html?action=click&module=MoreInSection&pgtype=Article&region=Footer&contentCollection=Sports

Considering this is the rag that had an entire article referring to Minnesota Sen. Al Franklin not that long ago, I'm not surprised that they got the name of the Johnnie-Tommie game wrong. 

I know you are partly joking, but Borzi is a local guy that freelances for the NY Times (Minn Post too). He is a semi frequent MIAC and Gopher sporting event attendee and pretty plugged in