WHERE DOES ALL THE $$$ go to???

[CARDS]

We sent out itemized statements to each parent every month. All expenses were broke down so there were no questions and parents knew if they had a balance and what kind of credit they could expect at the end of the season... We were decent at creating a good budget so most end of the year credits were between $25 and $50 per family. (Some years the families decided to use any left over fees for an end of the year party). There should never be a left over balance or slush fund for next years expense especially if the team/organization is under a Non-Profit number. (I have blank spread sheets if anyone would like a copy I can email it)

Coaches should learn from the previous seasons what their cost will be for the next season and be able to forecast a budget that will cover from August to August.
We always did a meet the team night shortly after tryouts, fall practice, tournaments and leagues, winter workouts and a couple winter events, spring/summer practice, tournaments, custom uniforms bags etc. and our fees were never $1200.00.

 

[MCS21]

As previously mentioned there are a lot of unhidden costs. How about 2 dozen new practice balls? $150 2 Bownets for warmups? $340 Any Indoor scrimmage or friendly? $150-$300
Insurance isnt much, usually between $100-$300 per team. Now you have to register your team with ASA, NSA, USSSA, PGF depending on what tournaments you are playing in. Every time your daughter has an indoor winter practice at a complex or gymnasium? A few years back it cost my 10u team $220 a month to practice 3 hours every Sunday from November-March. So there is $1100. Bat bags for 10-11 girls? $500.....As you can see it doesn't take long to spend $4300

I would ask your head coach, he can and should tell you. And also as previously mentioned you should never have a balance left over at the end of the season.

 

[Mykidcanplay]

That's a great idea cards... The funny thing about these fees $1200 - we never once at all the whole fall or winter have practiced or played in any indoor Torny or clinics.. It just does not add up My DD has been playing travel since 8u and never have I felt at any point that I was being taken advantage of. I'm at the point of just yanking her and bit-- slapping this coach in the face!

 

[daboss]

Out of all the organizations or organized teams that play travel ball I can only think of about 10 that were truly scamming families. That amount of money seems reasonable in today's travel ball world. I agree that they should share a spreadsheet.

To others out there; If you're new to this stuff because you thought others had been cheating you so you broke off to start a new team or organization, read these posts and take note of them. There's more to this stuff than sitting on a bucket. Unless you plan to finance everything yourself, running a team is like a business venture. The families are investors. A handshake is not enough.

If you've done this before than know to get your paperwork updated and take care of business before an irate parent drives you nutz before the outdoor season begins!

 

[tjsmize3]

Out of all the organizations or organized teams that play travel ball I can only think of about 10 that were truly scamming families.

Wow! that sounds crazy to me. In over 10 years I know of 2 and BOTH have been the subject of many threads on OFC... Not saying I doubt you, just seems like a high number for true scammers!

Also, from a coach/manager's perspective I have never been asked to provide a statement and I don't send them out routinely to the parents. However, I do keep accurate records to account for every penny coming in and out of our team's bank account. There is also a CPA who has 24/7 access to those records for accountability. I would not in the least feel offended if a parent asked to see how the money is coming and going as it is (after all) their money! If a coach had any attitude about being asked for the financials or could not produce them immediately that would raise a red flag with me.

Regarding carry over funds, some teams will start playing events in early September, as well as have practices and/or other events costing money right away. I do agree that teams in general should not carry over money from the parent fees of the previous year, however, as other coaches have mentioned some of us can put in substantial amounts of our own money or bring in significant corporate donations. Those funds are obviously going to carry over and not be distributed back to the families if there is a surplus. Non-profits do have to follow stricter rules so I agree with daboss in that if you are coming in green to managing your team's finances it may be a bit more of a surprise than you were expecting.

 

[mike_dyer]

There are a few that are, in my not so humble opinion, scams, but I guess that is in the eye of the beholder.

There is an organization that I'm going to describe without naming any names. If the organization you are affiliated with operates like this I feel like you're being taken for a ride.

They will take anyone. I mean that.

If 300 kids show up for tryouts with the same birth year and their parents can afford the fee they will make 30 teams with 10 kids on each of them. 29 of them will kind of feed the super stud all star thinga-ma-jig or whatever they call it.

The guy who runs the organization will tell you things like "Well for your team fee you get a bag and a helmet, a blah, and a yadda yadda. You also get into 9 tournaments and blah blah ditty blah blah."

What he conveniently leaves out is that he runs 7 of the 9 tournaments. Essentially what he's doing is putting your team fee in his pocket and then when it's time to play he takes it out of that pocket, sticks it in his other hand, then puts it in the other pocket.

Oh, and when you buy uniforms and bags and all that for 40 teams from the same supplier you get a nice discount, so there's that part of the scam too.

 

[CARDS]

That's a great idea cards... The funny thing about these fees $1200 - we never once at all the whole fall or winter have practiced or played in any indoor Torny or clinics.. It just does not add up�� My DD has been playing travel since 8u and never have I felt at any point that I was being taken advantage of. I'm at the point of just yanking her and bit-- slapping this coach in the face!

Is this a team with non parent coaches? I have seen fees $1200 to $1800 with non parent coaches to cover their expenses. If you were promised fall and winter activities you may want to call a team meeting because your spring/summer events may not end up what you signed on for either. Sounds like a lot of things are very questionable...

Has any of the players received any equipment or uniforms?
Have you been given your player registration/insurance cards?

 

[wow]

There are some legit concerns with money which have occurred in the past. As others have already stated it is RARE.

As far as the BIG name organizations being more susceptible to misappropriation of funds...? Nope. Here is why. If you are a larger name organization there is a reputation which is more important than any amount of money. These Organizational heads know if they become the subject of a criminal investigation it would cripple them and their credibility. Now. with that said I am not saying improprieties can't happen, just they are less likely due to the checks and balances with team funds.

Think about the latitude on a daddy ball start up vs a larger well known organization.. Much more latitude for funds to come up unaccounted for!

Again, not saying it cant happen in a larger organization, however the ramifications would be much greater!

When I see posts like this, rarely is there a organization named. The reason is most parents are not informed of the TRUE costs. That's why these kinda fade away once they are educated. If there was a pilferage situation here you would see names of coaches, organizations, and local newspaper articles on indictments.

 

[daboss]

Wow! that sounds crazy to me. In over 10 years I know of 2 and BOTH have been the subject of many threads on OFC... Not saying I doubt you, just seems like a high number for true scammers!

Also, from a coach/manager's perspective I have never been asked to provide a statement and I don't send them out routinely to the parents. However, I do keep accurate records to account for every penny coming in and out of our team's bank account. There is also a CPA who has 24/7 access to those records for accountability. I would not in the least feel offended if a parent asked to see how the money is coming and going as it is (after all) their money! If a coach had any attitude about being asked for the financials or could not produce them immediately that would raise a red flag with me.

As pointed out by another, the term scam can mean different things to different people. My time around the travel scene runs about 16-17 years deep and while I have seen more than 2 I'm not bragging on the fact I assure you. lol.

I've known of 2 teams that literally had the head coach leave with all the money. The kids never stepped on a field together! As far as the others, it's a question of integrity. One organization had 12 players and earned a berth to a national tournament. They didn't have the money for a new uniform they wanted to add for the trip or the entry fee so instead of a fundraiser they took 2-3 more girls onto the roster charging them full price for this unique opportunity. The girls they took never stepped on a field except to practice. They had no intention of playing them and joked about it within the core group. Their soul purpose was their fee collected and when parents complained their excuse was their daughters received a quality coaching experience for their money but didn't improve enough to take any of the spots away from the starters that had been there since day 1. To me, I consider this a scam.

As mentioned in the quote by tjmize3, they and most will have the information readily handy and have checks and balances to insure they are forthright. I always had an itemized projected spreadsheet I shared with families and would mark each item if it were a projected cost or actual. Some tournaments cost more than others. Every budget I had every year had a small general fund for those unknowns that occur. Normally we would have a few paid dollars left over so we would take the girls out to eat or have a party of sorts. The amount was normally small in nature. Keep in mind, I was the head coach and always paid full amount of the player's fee even when I had no child on the team. I paid for my own room and expenses for every tourney. My non-parent assistant would get his room paid for on away tourneys. This was agreed on beforehand. I could afford it. He was a first year coach that just graduated college with plenty of bills and loans starring him down. Any money that carried over was always less than what I put personally into the pot.

 

[daytonfp]

I send my parents a monthly budget report at the beginning of each month. It shows every dollar in and every dollar out that month. My books are open for review anytime for any reason. If you play for a coach or organization who objects to that level of transparency, then you are playing for the wrong organization.

 

[MD 20/20]

I was a manager and a board member of an org. that charged about this amount of money. First, no one can tell you where the money goes unless they are from your org's board. Your manager may not even know, but the board/treasurer should be able to answer those questions. Our biggest expense was our building. We owned it, and Ins., utilities, maintenance, etc. was a big expense. It was nice to have a building to hit in twice, EVERY WEEK. Also, softballs are an added expense. You would not believe how short a softballs life is when its being hit every night for 2 hours.

If you really think you are being swindled, I would ask a board member for an itemized budget for your org. They "should" be able to give you a copy of what they work off of. Ours was all of the expenses for the org, divided by the number of teams (each team was calculated to have 11 players. If you had 10, your players fees were slightly higher, 12, slightly lower). If they either cannot or will not give you these numbers, I would be heading to try-outs this summer and heading to a team that can give me those facts.

 

[Run26]

Just curious where the $1200 travel team fees go.. 11 girls on the team.= $13,200

Eight summer tournaments total entry for all $4785

Jersey's -$275 per girl
Org fees - $100 per girl
If you total all those figures up you get $4125

add the two together you get $9075

total team fees for 11 girls is $13,200
Where is the left over $4290 going to??
we had no winter tournaments or Indoor training costs at all..
What would you do? Who would you address these things too.
The org's president?

I feel I'm being swindled out of $400

Concerned Parent ​

Concerned Parent,

Why are you asking us?