Is the expense of playing hockey exaggerated?

[SCBlueLiner]

I just don't listen to the "high price of sticks" argument. The claim that you spend hundreds to thousands a season on sticks, it's a bunch of BS. I have not bought a new stick since, hmm, sometime last year. My oldest has 3 sticks; game stick, backup stick, and a third stick that is a brand new backup, not taped. 3 CCM RBZ 150's 65 flex that cost $80 each. He has been using them since the end of 1st year Bantams and is currently playing Midget AAA. The funny part is that most of the players on his team are the same way, opting for cheaper, older model sticks. It's a value purchase and the second and third line offerings, while not top of the line tech, are still very good and very durable. Now, can you spend thousands? Sure, but you are doing that to yourself.

Skates, you can get a very, very good pair for about $300-$400 brand new. That's a step or two below the top of the line. We're talking about the CCM Ribcore 66-68K, Jetspeed FT370-380, Tacks 5092 & Bauer Vapor X700, Supreme S170, Nexus N8000 territory for adult skates. For the youth versions knock $100 off those prices and, really, I never spent more than $150 for skates at PeeWee and under. There is also a very robust used skate market and most hockey clubs and associations have a swap meet or some other equipment market for used equipment. Most hockey shops have a very healthy secondary market for skates where you can buy used skates and even trade in your skates for credit towards a new pair. One place I know of offers skate rentals where you pay an annual fee and you can come in and exchange for a new pair as your kid's foot grows. To put it simply, you don't have to spend $1,000 on a pair of top of the line skates when there are many, many options and opportunities to buy/rent good skates for a fraction of that cost.

There is also a very healthy secondary market for used protective equipment at many hockey shops and places like Play-It-Again Sports as well as the equipment swaps put on by the local hockey org. For U8 players, most hockey associations and clubs have low cost or free equipment rental for Mite players. I know my local club has a storage room full of bags and bags of equipment they give out each season. They get that equipment free from USA Hockey, the NHL, and another source by simply applying for grant programs they offer.

 

[TheTotalPackage]

Does it bother me to drop this kind of money on a sport? Sometimes 'yes', sometimes 'no'. I mean, what else am I going to do with the money? I can always make more money, but my kid is only going to be 16 once in his life, then it is over. So yeah, for the memories, it is worth it. My other friends go to Disneyland and trips to Mexico. We spend our "vacation money" on hockey trips. For almost every hockey family I know hockey isn't just some activity, it's a lifestyle.

You know, you're the first person I ever heard/read put it in these terms. It's commendable and refreshing to hear it viewed from this perspective.

Pretty much everyone I know whose kid(s) play(s) higher level hockey see it as fun ("lifestylish"), but also burdensome both monetarily and time wise. But of course they have it in the back of their mind that little Johnny or Susie is going to make the big leagues and sign a multi-million dollar deal right off the hop, so what's a quarter of a million dollar investment and thousands of hours at the rink until the time they are 18 and ready to be drafted. Which doesn't work that way, and a bunch of these parents are in for a rude awakening and/or simply drive their kid(s) away from the game.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I just don't listen to the "high price of sticks" argument.
... My oldest has 3 sticks; game stick, backup stick, and a third stick that is a brand new backup, not taped. 3 CCM RBZ 150's 65 flex that cost $80 each.... Skates, you can get a very, very good pair for about $300-$400 brand new. ... For the youth versions knock $100 off those prices and, really, I never spent more than $150 for skates at PeeWee and under.

How hard is it to understand that there are A LOT of people out there who don't have that $500 to spend, per child, just to get the 2 most basic pieces of equipment? The equivalent of what you're saying here is to buy just a basketball, just a soccer ball, just a wooden bat. Those are $20-40 purchases, less than 10% of what you're spending for just a stick and skates, and you only need to buy one of them to equip all of your children.

Sure, this all chump change if you're upper middle class and have the money to spare. If you're making $35K a year and have 2 kids, you are not spending $500 per kid just to get them playing stick-puck.

 

[Ciao]

My wife and I raised four sons and three daughters in Southern Ontario -- all adults now.

We were able to buy downhill skiing seasons passes, lessons and equipment for all seven kids plus Mom and Dad for less than the cost of hockey for the two eldest boys. Plus, a bunch of kids didn't have to kill time drinking hot chocolate in a drafty arena while one boy practiced or played -- they could all ski at once, usually together.

Now, as adults, they all still ski -- it's a lifetime sport -- and none of them have any interest in hockey.

Myself -- I grew up on the prairies and played hockey on outdoor ice pretty much every day after school in the winter, and road hockey all summer. I can't shake my interest in hockey no matter how hard I try.

 

[Ciao]

You know, you're the first person I ever heard/read put it in these terms. It's commendable and refreshing to hear it viewed from this perspective. . .

I share your sentiments, but there is also an issue over family size.

If you have one or two children and that's what you like to do, it's a wonderful experience.

If you have a larger family it's not really practical, time or money-wise.

If you are low-income, forget about it.

Any way you look at it, hockey has evolved into an elitist, mainly upper-class participation sport that is not accessible to kids whose families can't afford the time and money.

 

[powerstuck]

If you do a $15 drop in once a week, that’s $780/yr to play pickup.

Pickup in any other sport is generally free.

Exactly.

I currently play in two beer leagues, a September to March winter league and a April to August summer league, they cost me respectively 700$ (26 games) and 540$ (18 games). Both leagues are 10:30PM starts end at 11:45PM.

Those aren't the most expensive leagues but it's barely impossible to find leagues that begin before 9PM in Quebec right now. Arenas are usually during day reserved for different schools and other programs (like ice skating).

The cost for the leagues gets to an equivalent of $300 an hour. It's not cheap, but it isn't free either. I do it because I love it and don't mind paying but I know people who cannot afford $1000 a year for hockey.

 

[RyCam]

Just looking back at how much it cost my parents to put me in house league hockey vs house league soccer when I was a kid, even when we don't count the cost of the equipment, the expense is not exaggerated at all. Just signing up was insanely expensive(whereas soccer is fairly cheap).

That doesn't even take into account the extra fundraising we had to do during the season, whereas there was no fund raising required at all for soccer.

Of course, I only played hockey and soccer in a league when I was a kid, I'm not sure how hockey would compare to other sports. I'm assuming football is most likely quite expensive as well, though still not on the level of hockey.

 

[Killion]

My wife and I raised four sons and three daughters in Southern Ontario -- all adults now.

We were able to buy downhill skiing seasons passes, lessons and equipment for all seven kids plus Mom and Dad for less than the cost of hockey for the two eldest boys. Plus, a bunch of kids didn't have to kill time drinking hot chocolate in a drafty arena while one boy practiced or played -- they could all ski at once, usually together.

Now, as adults, they all still ski -- it's a lifetime sport -- and none of them have any interest in hockey.

Myself -- I grew up on the prairies and played hockey on outdoor ice pretty much every day after school in the winter, and road hockey all summer. I can't shake my interest in hockey no matter how hard I try.

This is interesting Mork as were about the same age and like you I grew up playing hockey, totally affordable, free shinny outdoors, road hockey of course while league play from House League to mid-range NYHL or elite GTHA (though then it was called the THL nee MTHL). Summer Hockey Camps had just begun to sprout up in the early-mid 60's & I attended those as well, costs as I recall including full board for a week anywhere from $100 $195 tops (Orr-Walton for eg on Lake Couchiching charging the highest prices as a result of "name recognition" but all of them great really). Equipment (and I started playing Goal after Pee Wee) nowhere near even given the inflationary spiral since nowhere near what it became & has become. Travel pretty much exclusive to the GTA until Jr. when it obviously included most of S.Ontario. Toronto of course a far different city then than now.

Alpine Skiing really took off in the late 50's in that region, wide range of facilities & pricing, considerable number of private & semi-private areas, from the more mid range & smaller verticals like Mansfield, Devils Glen etc with season passes & membership rates reflective thereof; to the much more higher priced & much more challenging terrain of the 3 clubs in Collingwood of Osler, Craigleath & Alpine. If you "shopped", and it sounds like you did what with a family of your size so unless you were a millionaire or very well off.... forget Collingwood. Equipment prices, ski's & boots, seriously pricey if you kept right up to date as through the 60's-90's, technology & design constantly changing. Skiing was considered a sort of "Blue Blood" sport because it was expensive, out of reach for a great many. Decidedly Upper Middle Class even with suburban facilities in Toronto like North York Ski Hill, Don Valley for a time, Etobicokes Centennial Hill & so on. Cross Country (Nordic) on the other hand no, not so much. No lift tickets, no membership fee's, equipment technology pretty stable. Consumerism not as prevalent as with its cousin of Alpine, downhill skiing. Both disciplines though yes, "participatory sports for life".

Thing is, from the 50's on, post war when skiing really took off & right through the 80's & today, it was considered a "rich mans sport" to "do it properly". I had an older sibling who started skiing in the late 50's & through the 60's & well do I remember the costs associated as I too began skiing with her at a young age. Im talkin wood laminate ski's, metal edges, bear trap bindings, leather boots, just before the introduction of the Lange boot, aluminum & fiberglass ski's, and when those products hit, left a lot of people behind. Couldnt afford it any longer. Rising membership fee's at the private clubs & memberships capped, with new terrain, lifts, better facilities constructed, lift ticket prices & season passes going up & up & up.... Whats absolutely mind-blowing, crazy to me is that the costs of hockey, "the peoples sport" actually surpassed & has done laps around Alpine Skiing since then. Downhill skiing, that was a seriously luxury sport & it still is yet you compare the costs to hockey for kids, all in hockey if your kids got talent, ambitious, gunna cost you 10-20X's as much for the same levels of equipment, coaching & travel etc for a high performance skier, racing, SL/GS/DH - Combined. Summer Camps at Blackcomb or wherever included. Crazy. Skiing is not a "factory sport". Cant be processing kids on an industrial scale the way you can with hockey. So these costs for amateur hockey, comparatively, completely out of whack huh? Madness. Its a money machine pure & simple. No way these costs should be that high.

 

[WingsFan95]

Sometimes there are subsidies. Sometimes you're out $3k.

 

[Canadiens1958]

I just gave 1 quick example to illustrate that if you have to send a kid away to get pro style training then it is very costly. Sure there are scholarships etc but not everyone gets one (I assume).

Do not see the have to imperative. Plenty of scholastic options available and growing locally. Especially for girl's hockey.

Not getting a scholarship is effectively a free talent evaluation.

 

[Warden of the North]

My household is middle class

There is no way I could afford hockey for my daughter.

 

[Canadiens1958]

This is interesting Mork as were about the same age and like you I grew up playing hockey, totally affordable, free shinny outdoors, road hockey of course while league play from House League to mid-range NYHL or elite GTHA (though then it was called the THL nee MTHL). Summer Hockey Camps had just begun to sprout up in the early-mid 60's & I attended those as well, costs as I recall including full board for a week anywhere from $100 $195 tops (Orr-Walton for eg on Lake Couchiching charging the highest prices as a result of "name recognition" but all of them great really). Equipment (and I started playing Goal after Pee Wee) nowhere near even given the inflationary spiral since nowhere near what it became & has become. Travel pretty much exclusive to the GTA until Jr. when it obviously included most of S.Ontario. Toronto of course a far different city then than now.

Alpine Skiing really took off in the late 50's in that region, wide range of facilities & pricing, considerable number of private & semi-private areas, from the more mid range & smaller verticals like Mansfield, Devils Glen etc with season passes & membership rates reflective thereof; to the much more higher priced & much more challenging terrain of the 3 clubs in Collingwood of Osler, Craigleath & Alpine. If you "shopped", and it sounds like you did what with a family of your size so unless you were a millionaire or very well off.... forget Collingwood. Equipment prices, ski's & boots, seriously pricey if you kept right up to date as through the 60's-90's, technology & design constantly changing. Skiing was considered a sort of "Blue Blood" sport because it was expensive, out of reach for a great many. Decidedly Upper Middle Class even with suburban facilities in Toronto like North York Ski Hill, Don Valley for a time, Etobicokes Centennial Hill & so on. Cross Country (Nordic) on the other hand no, not so much. No lift tickets, no membership fee's, equipment technology pretty stable. Consumerism not as prevalent as with its cousin of Alpine, downhill skiing. Both disciplines though yes, "participatory sports for life".

Thing is, from the 50's on, post war when skiing really took off & right through the 80's & today, it was considered a "rich mans sport" to "do it properly". I had an older sibling who started skiing in the late 50's & through the 60's & well do I remember the costs associated as I too began skiing with her at a young age. Im talkin wood laminate ski's, metal edges, bear trap bindings, leather boots, just before the introduction of the Lange boot, aluminum & fiberglass ski's, and when those products hit, left a lot of people behind. Couldnt afford it any longer. Rising membership fee's at the private clubs & memberships capped, with new terrain, lifts, better facilities constructed, lift ticket prices & season passes going up & up & up.... Whats absolutely mind-blowing, crazy to me is that the costs of hockey, "the peoples sport" actually surpassed & has done laps around Alpine Skiing since then. Downhill skiing, that was a seriously luxury sport & it still is yet you compare the costs to hockey for kids, all in hockey if your kids got talent, ambitious, gunna cost you 10-20X's as much for the same levels of equipment, coaching & travel etc for a high performance skier, racing, SL/GS/DH - Combined. Summer Camps at Blackcomb or wherever included. Crazy. Skiing is not a "factory sport". Cant be processing kids on an industrial scale the way you can with hockey. So these costs for amateur hockey, comparatively, completely out of whack huh? Madness. Its a money machine pure & simple. No way these costs should be that high.

Skiing for youngsters in 1950's Montreal, Morgan Hill, site where the Olympic Stadium was built. Also another larger venue on Mount Royal. Morgan Hill also had a rink, Toboggan Run, plus a host of seasonal sporting activities, within a 15 minute walk or a 5cent bus ride of the most densely populated parts of the east end. Never was replaced when the Olympic Stadium was built.

 

[Amazinmets73]

Not only are the second and third tier offerings cheaper, they're also significantly more durable. Anecdotal note: Last year I purchased 2 top-of-the-line Easton sticks which lasted roughly 6 months each before cracks formed along the base of the shaft and they became unusable. My second and third tier sticks are still going strong after years of use. While I'm not the most skilled player, if a 6' 180lbs man can't break those models, I doubt an 11-year-old can. Furthermore, I could not detect any discernable difference in performance between the models. My lower tier sticks cost between $45 and $70 and were significantly discounted from their original MSRP.

Long story short: If economics are an issue, don't go near a $200+ stick

 

[M88K]

To just get out on the ice and play, all you need is a frozen body of water or about $30 in hardware, a hose and a pair of skates and a stick. all told can be grabbed on the cheap for about $100-$150.

a lot Schools have hockey programs which vary in price for kids to play, but registration is usually more than Football and you still need to provide some gear yourself, again unlike football where it is cleats and nothing else. Typically around $500 a yr comparable to $100-150ish for football. Plus Travel expenses

What you have is
Hockey at the cheapest level $50 skates+$20-$30 hockey stick on a frozen body of water/backyard, or ($30-40)roller skates and a paved surface.
Of course Hockey sticks have a durability that can very by brand as well, potentially making you shell out a couple times a year as well.
Football a $5 ball( that you don't have to replace annually) from walmart and a field
Basketball a $5 ball(that you don't have to replace annually) from walmart and a park/ Hoop mounted on a post (30-40)
Soccer a $5 ball, and a field....Seriously though who plays soccer
Baseball is a $5 bat, a $3 ball and a $10 glove(annually), until they're older where the school would provide the two former items and you'd have to shell out 30-40+ for a glove, but not have to replace it every year


What do you think is easier for a Low income family to afford? and that is just for recreation,

it is already $70-80 more than the other major sports just to get started, assuming you're teaching your kid to skate or letting them figure it out for themselves I guess you don't have any cost that way, but the other sports don't require learning a skill that requires that kind of effort to learn. Running/Throwing/Catching/Kicking a ball is something you can teach year round and kids don't need any specific(paid) access to a facility or cold winter to learn, hell most kids can do all 4 of those things without any specific guidance/training by the time their 5 or 6 (with varying degrees of consistency)

 

[SupremeNachos]

Also the manufacturers of the equipment know they can get away with the prices they set. The same can be said about most things, but it is something that matters.

 

[patnyrnyg]

To just get out on the ice and play, all you need is a frozen body of water or about $30 in hardware, a hose and a pair of skates and a stick. all told can be grabbed on the cheap for about $100-$150.

a lot Schools have hockey programs which vary in price for kids to play, but registration is usually more than Football and you still need to provide some gear yourself, again unlike football where it is cleats and nothing else. Typically around $500 a yr comparable to $100-150ish for football. Plus Travel expenses

What you have is
Hockey at the cheapest level $50 skates+$20-$30 hockey stick on a frozen body of water/backyard, or ($30-40)roller skates and a paved surface.
Of course Hockey sticks have a durability that can very by brand as well, potentially making you shell out a couple times a year as well.
Football a $5 ball( that you don't have to replace annually) from walmart and a field
Basketball a $5 ball(that you don't have to replace annually) from walmart and a park/ Hoop mounted on a post (30-40)
Soccer a $5 ball, and a field....Seriously though who plays soccer
Baseball is a $5 bat, a $3 ball and a $10 glove(annually), until they're older where the school would provide the two former items and you'd have to shell out 30-40+ for a glove, but not have to replace it every year


What do you think is easier for a Low income family to afford? and that is just for recreation,

it is already $70-80 more than the other major sports just to get started, assuming you're teaching your kid to skate or letting them figure it out for themselves I guess you don't have any cost that way, but the other sports don't require learning a skill that requires that kind of effort to learn. Running/Throwing/Catching/Kicking a ball is something you can teach year round and kids don't need any specific(paid) access to a facility or cold winter to learn, hell most kids can do all 4 of those things without any specific guidance/training by the time their 5 or 6 (with varying degrees of consistency)

Don't know where you live, but a baseball glove does not cost $30-40 for an older kid. A bat does not cost $5 and schools do not supply them. $3 for a baseball? Yeah, ok.

 

[Killion]

To just get out on the ice and play, all you need is a frozen body of water or about $30 in hardware, a hose and a pair of skates and a stick. all told can be grabbed on the cheap for about $100-$150.

a lot Schools have hockey programs which vary in price for kids to play, but registration is usually more than Football and you still need to provide some gear yourself, again unlike football where it is cleats and nothing else. Typically around $500 a yr comparable to $100-150ish for football. Plus Travel expenses

What you have is
Hockey at the cheapest level $50 skates+$20-$30 hockey stick on a frozen body of water/backyard, or ($30-40)roller skates and a paved surface.
Of course Hockey sticks have a durability that can very by brand as well, potentially making you shell out a couple times a year as well.
Football a $5 ball( that you don't have to replace annually) from walmart and a field
Basketball a $5 ball(that you don't have to replace annually) from walmart and a park/ Hoop mounted on a post (30-40)
Soccer a $5 ball, and a field....Seriously though who plays soccer
Baseball is a $5 bat, a $3 ball and a $10 glove(annually), until they're older where the school would provide the two former items and you'd have to shell out 30-40+ for a glove, but not have to replace it every year


What do you think is easier for a Low income family to afford? and that is just for recreation,

it is already $70-80 more than the other major sports just to get started, assuming you're teaching your kid to skate or letting them figure it out for themselves I guess you don't have any cost that way, but the other sports don't require learning a skill that requires that kind of effort to learn. Running/Throwing/Catching/Kicking a ball is something you can teach year round and kids don't need any specific(paid) access to a facility or cold winter to learn, hell most kids can do all 4 of those things without any specific guidance/training by the time their 5 or 6 (with varying degrees of consistency)

Dunno where your getting these prices from m88.... Not even in 1968 could you buy things like a bat, glove, soccer or foorball at retail for what youve listed. Used, sure. Hockey considerably more than the "$70-80 more" to get started. That'll barely get you skates alone..... Where the heck are you shoppin?

 

[SCBlueLiner]

How hard is it to understand that there are A LOT of people out there who don't have that $500 to spend, per child, just to get the 2 most basic pieces of equipment? The equivalent of what you're saying here is to buy just a basketball, just a soccer ball, just a wooden bat. Those are $20-40 purchases, less than 10% of what you're spending for just a stick and skates, and you only need to buy one of them to equip all of your children.

Sure, this all chump change if you're upper middle class and have the money to spare. If you're making $35K a year and have 2 kids, you are not spending $500 per kid just to get them playing stick-puck.

If your household income is $35k per year your kids aren't playing any sort of organized sports, much less hockey. Inner city basketball leagues, sure. Football at school, yes. But any "travel" sport as it exists today? No, probably not playing, and that is not hockey specific, that is the way it is in every organized sport from soccer to AAU basketball.

 

[tarheelhockey]

If your household income is $35k per year your kids aren't playing any sort of organized sports, much less hockey. Inner city basketball leagues, sure. Football at school, yes. But any "travel" sport as it exists today? No, probably not playing, and that is not hockey specific, that is the way it is in every organized sport from soccer to AAU basketball.

The difference being that any kid can play basketball or soccer or baseball at a public field for a total overhead cost of about $50, including shoes and equipment. It doesn’t even need to be organized, they can just go shoot around and pretend to be LeBron or Messi. They can play the game, fall in love with it, become good at it, and either decide to try and compete in school, or simply enjoy it as a lifetime hobby.

And if they are in middle or high school, yes they do have free access to playing those sports at a competitive level for free.

That is decidedly NOT the case in hockey. Families without $500+ to invest in the game have NO access, in the vast majority of places. Families without $2000+ are cut off from the competitive level. The game itself is shut off from people below an upper-middle-class income, which is not the case in other sports.

 

[SCBlueLiner]

There is a saying that all politics is local. I think that might apply here. The costs of hockey seem to differ depending on where you live, as I look at the locations of where some of you are posting from and match them up to what you are saying. I can say that if you live in the upper Midwest USA (not Chicago though, that's another story) hockey is still attainable for middle class and small town people. In North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and outstate Illinois the sport is still affordable for middle class families.

I did not include Chicago because I only know of the high end programs there and don't know what the cost is for rec programs or Tier 2 programs. The same can be said for St. Louis. Ice costs in those two urban areas increase the costs of playing organized hockey. I do know that Chicago has outdoor rinks set up in a lot of their parks that is free ice. I know because I've seen them this year while I was there.

 

[Yukon Joe]

Not only are the second and third tier offerings cheaper, they're also significantly more durable. Anecdotal note: Last year I purchased 2 top-of-the-line Easton sticks which lasted roughly 6 months each before cracks formed along the base of the shaft and they became unusable. My second and third tier sticks are still going strong after years of use. While I'm not the most skilled player, if a 6' 180lbs man can't break those models, I doubt an 11-year-old can. Furthermore, I could not detect any discernable difference in performance between the models. My lower tier sticks cost between $45 and $70 and were significantly discounted from their original MSRP.

Long story short: If economics are an issue, don't go near a $200+ stick

Just a counter example: My 7 year old plays novice hockey. He's always had a $15 Sher-wood wooden stick because, hey, he's seven. But then I noticed everyone else on his team had composite sticks. So we went to the hockey store, walked out with a $70 stick - still on the cheaper end, but not wooden. And yup - it made a huge difference in his game, both in terms of how hard his shot is, and his ease in lifting the puck.

So yeah - go with the 2nd or 3rd tier offerings, but don't go bottom of the barrel either.

 

[M88K]

Dunno where your getting these prices from m88.... Not even in 1968 could you buy things like a bat, glove, soccer or foorball at retail for what youve listed. Used, sure. Hockey considerably more than the "$70-80 more" to get started. That'll barely get you skates alone..... Where the heck are you shoppin?

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Champion-Sport-American-Football/41000893
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Rawlings-Official-Little-League-RLLB-Game-Ball/13244387
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Franklin-Sports-Competition-100-Size-4-Soccer-Ball/135643452
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Franklin-Sports-11-Fieldmaster-Baseball-Glove-Right-Hand-Throw/50013478
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Rawlings-Baseball-Wood-Bat-and-Ball-Combo-Set-WBTBC/13224382
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Bauer-Supreme-S140-Junior-Hockey-Skate-1048626/174797656 ($50)
Franklin Sports SX Pro 1040 Power Blade Hockey Stick ($15)
($65) for a Stick and Skates I estimated 80... Looks like I over Estimated
Truthfully don't know what world you people live in, but it sucks that you don't have access to things like Wal-Mart and Amazon to supply kids with starter equipment
And that is without really shopping around.
Considering these are 2018 prices, I'd imagine that even in 1968 they'd be considerably less

It's not like I went through sites to try and ball park the prices, but low and behold 2 seconds of searching on walmart and everything i quoted is within reason.
Hell I could probably find everything on Amazon cheaper, let alone a city with a goodwill which will have a plethora of Baseballs for p>

If you're going out and buying your kids an $200+ easton graphite stick then you're unnecessarily inflating the cost of items they are sure to outgrow, Let alone $100 Skates.

 

[M88K]

Don't know where you live, but a baseball glove does not cost $30-40 for an older kid. A bat does not cost $5 and schools do not supply them. $3 for a baseball? Yeah, ok.

Se my above post
Sorry for your school systems because they do here in Wisconsin, and they did In Michigan too.
I don't know what Baseball you're buying but if you're buying a 3-5yr old a $50 baseball while trying to teach them a game then you have no business discussing the cost of a sport, because you're clearly ok with throwing money away.


Bat and Ball Combo is $10, glove another $11. total $21 I estimated $18. Was way off.

 

[patnyrnyg]

Se my above post
Sorry for your school systems because they do here in Wisconsin, and they did In Michigan too.
I don't know what Baseball you're buying but if you're buying a 3-5yr old a $50 baseball while trying to teach them a game then you have no business discussing the cost of a sport, because you're clearly ok with throwing money away.


Bat and Ball Combo is $10, glove another $11. total $21 I estimated $18. Was way off.

Didn't realize anyone on here was talking about a sport for a 3-5 year old.

Are you talking about HS's giving kids baseball equipment? No, not here. When I was in HS (yes, a long time ago) baseball players had their own stuff. Same for Lacrosse, softball, etc. Football equipment was provided by school. I have co-workers whose kids play HS baseball and softball and they buy their kids equipment. Hell, they even have to buy specific practice uniforms.

 

[patnyrnyg]

If your household income is $35k per year your kids aren't playing any sort of organized sports, much less hockey. Inner city basketball leagues, sure. Football at school, yes. But any "travel" sport as it exists today? No, probably not playing, and that is not hockey specific, that is the way it is in every organized sport from soccer to AAU basketball.

In the NYC area, if a family's household income is $35K per year, they are struggling to put food on their table and keep a roof over their head. Any kind of sport participation is out of the question unless it is some free program at a local rec center or church.