Back-to-school season can hit wallets harder for student-athletes

By Kyle Schmidt

Back-to-school supplies cost parents an average of $875, according to the National Retail Federation, but student-athletes have to tack on a bit more to prepare for their extracurriculars.

Brad Spinner, athletic director at Lafayette High School, spoke about the costs of athletics, even without a registration fee.

“Your soccer requires cleats and shin guards, that might be the most,” Spinner said. “Volleyball knee pads and shoes. Outside of that, every sport requires you have to buy your own shoes.”

At Dick’s Sporting Goods, football cleats can cost from $55 to $180.

Soccer cleats can range from $65 to $240 and volleyball knee pads can go up to $50.

Spinner spoke proudly about the work his school has put in to not allow financial strain to stop a student from playing.

“Here at Lafayette, we do a very good job to make sure money is not an issue, why a kid cannot participate,” Spinner said. “Something I myself take personal pride in.”

Spinner highlighted the role of social workers to assist families who are unable to pay, and also talked about coaches fundraising for players.

Outside of monetary expenses, student-athletes sacrifice a significant amount of their time.

“Time commitment is a tough one,” Spinner said. “A lot of these kids have jobs and they work along with their typical homework … The time commitment is sometimes a struggle for kids.”

While it can be a challenge, Spinner suggests planning ahead of time and sitting down with the coach or parents to help organize a schedule.

“Our coaches give out practice schedules in advance, some coaches give out practice and game schedules for the whole season,” Spinner said. “Each athlete can sit down with parent or by themselves and plan out how things are going to work.”

A busy sports schedule of practices and games requires time from families as well.

“It is a pretty significant time commitment,” said Jen Osborn, who is the mother of a student-athlete. “I know that my husband and I changed our schedules quite a bit to accommodate that.”

While it can take hard work, navigating through activities that take up a lot of time can set students up for success down the road.

“It teaches time management,” Spinner said. “That’s a life-long skill that you’re going to need for the rest of your life.”