Back in the “good old days” all kids needed for a fun game was a ball and a place to play. They didn’t need any fancy equipment and sure didn’t stay in hotels for away games. Perhaps that’s an exaggeration, but the fact remains that participating in sports has become quite expensive.

Hockey is an especially high cost sport because of equipment, rink fees and travel costs. Not just every city has a hockey team and/or ice rink so this makes travel part of the game. Teammates on the Monroe County Eagles Midget Minor AA youth hockey team discovered that the high costs require greater commitment and volunteering for fundraisers. According to the The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle:

On top of traveling to out-of-town tournaments in Niagara Falls and Pittsburgh, where Mike’s team must pay for hotel rooms, meals and the tournament’s registration costs, league fees can range between $840 and $950 for travel hockey. Add in paying for ice time, officials and equipment, and it’s no wonder Mike’s parent’s want him at every practice.

Parents find it difficult to foot the entire bill for their child’s sports activities. With some students playing more than one sport on top of other school activities the costs can add up. For families with more than one child this can be even more of an issue.

“The costs of youth sports have doubled or even tripled since I played,” said Briggs, 39, a Gates resident who grew up playing softball, soccer, volleyball and basketball and has four children ages 6 to 13 in youth sports.

So many parents require kids to help in paying for their own activities. Teammates on the Monroe County youth hockey team recently held a pancake breakfast to help raise funds. The Fairport Village Sports also held its first Rochester Hockey Festival where teams staffed food and game booths, while shoot outs and other hockey games were held. Other sports teams use fundraisers such as discount cards, car washes, raffles and just about anything to raise the funds.

One upside to youth raising funds for their sport is it helps them learn a sense of responsibility. Team mates who work on a fundraising project also continue to develop those team work skills that they’ve already been building out on the field — or on the ice in this case.