Not all fun and games: Inflation makes youth sports in Nebraska a serious venture

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – For parents of children who play sports, expensive equipment and travel is nothing new, but lately inflation has been squeezing parents’ wallets even tighter.

On Friday at the Nebraska state volleyball tournament, parents shared their experiences of paying for their kids’ sports careers.

Melissa Powell, a mom with a sixth grader and third grader, said their athletic activities are getting more expensive as they get older.

“Even for the third grader, there’s different shoes for each event, different shoes for volleyball and for basketball,” Powell said. “Then there’s the cost of actually entering them into the events. We travel to Lincoln every Saturday for their games.”

Many parents say they’ve started budgeting their kids’ sports expenses to afford everything they need.

“This year, they had to choose between dance and certain sports,” Powell said. “Some kids chose dance, and some chose sports, so they kind of have to pick what they really want to do as things get more expensive.”

Parents are also worried about traveling, saying the price of gas, hotels and even concessions have almost kept them from going to games.

Powell said the cost of gas alone has almost doubled from last year. She also said ticket prices have gone up, and there are now fees for buying online.

She said it cost $50 for the family to come watch the North Bend Central volleyball team.

“Which is great, and we’re happy to do it because we want to support our team, but it’s not something that everybody can do,” she said.

Powell said staying the night in Lincoln for an event can run up their bill as well.

“It’s Husker season, so hotels are a little more expensive for that,” she said. “I think it’s almost $300 to spend the night. It’s definitely something we have to keep an eye on and budget to make sure we’re not going overboard.”

Some parents are part of club sports, which can mitigate costs by distributing the burden through dues and by having teams, coaches and chaperones travel together.

But those dues can be hundreds or even thousands of dollars, depending on how elite the clubs are.