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    ECNL Travel Fees

    Curious how the ECNL clubs handle travel costs. Heard OC will no longer provide transportation to out of state games. Parents will have to get kids to Georgia|bama|carolinas etc. they are increasing club fees to $2500 which supposedly includes player hotel and food cost during travel. If parents are responsible for getting girls to destination aren’t we going to have to get a hotel room for ourselves? Why pay for two hotels? It seems to me the cheapest form of transportation is group transportation. I can’t imagine having each parent organize the transportation is the most cost efficient for the group? I feel either handle it all or don’t handle it at all How do other clubs do it? My biggest issue is time off work and I also feel a bus with pro driver is safer than cars

    #2
    I'm an out of state parent that had two daughters play in the ECNL at a well known club in the Midwest. One is done with college and the other is finishing up her freshman year at a school in Indiana. Im still interested in the league and what goes on with it though I only peripherally follow a few players I know. The only reason I'm on this forum is because I'm following all of the drama around the clubs leaving the GDA to go back to the ECNL. There are a few forums from different parts of the country that I have been reading though I will say that this one is a little more uncivilized than most. My youngest kid grew up playing regular battles against the Michigan Hawks from the time she was a U9 player. I always knew that group of kids was special so I wasn't surprised when they won a ECNL national championship last year.

    Anyway, most clubs across the country don't expect parents to get kids to away games. They charter a bus and 3 or 4 kids stay in a room. If parents want to go, they certainly can but that expense is on them. Meals are provided. The team covers the cost of a chaperone. Thankfully the chaperone isn't a whack job parent and is one that other parents trust. With the club my kids played at the fee varied and depended on the trip and wasn't worked into the club fees. Most trips were between $250 and $300.

    Personally I liked that arrangement and never travelled to road games. I think my kids liked it and viewed it as a time to be somewhat independent. Some parents chose to travel to away games and watch but I never did because I think the majority of the kids appreciated the sense of freedom. If I would have travelled I would have made it a point to stay in a different hotel away from the team or with family/friends. I would choose to do that just so that I had minimal interaction with my kids. Also not traveling allowed my weekends to open up and to do stuff around the house or travel somewhere with the wife for a quick getaway. This arrangement also allowed the travel to be done for less money than if me or my wife needed to travel with our daughters also.

    I'm sure that all clubs don't handle travel as I described but many do. It allows costs to kept down somewhat. And, in the case of my kids, I think it helped them adjust better to travel demands in college since the earlier experiences while playing in the ECNL were similar.

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      #3
      Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
      Curious how the ECNL clubs handle travel costs. Heard OC will no longer provide transportation to out of state games. Parents will have to get kids to Georgia|bama|carolinas etc. they are increasing club fees to $2500 which supposedly includes player hotel and food cost during travel. If parents are responsible for getting girls to destination aren’t we going to have to get a hotel room for ourselves? Why pay for two hotels? It seems to me the cheapest form of transportation is group transportation. I can’t imagine having each parent organize the transportation is the most cost efficient for the group? I feel either handle it all or don’t handle it at all How do other clubs do it? My biggest issue is time off work and I also feel a bus with pro driver is safer than cars
      Cross town club travels as a group and buses provided. However, there is obviously a cost associated with this as there are team fees on top of registration fees. Team fees also includes airfare for out of area showcases and all hotels. Any way you cut it ECNL is not cheap but having to arrange transportation would suck as many parents have jobs and can't easily take time off to go to the many out of state games. Personally I would prefer having the girls travel together and not let individual parents arrange transportation.

      Comment


        #4
        What you are describing is how OC used to handle it. $300 per trip is much less expensive then what it costs me to take my daughter to a weekend away. A hotel room alone is 300 for two nights, add to that travel costs, time off work, time away from other children and safety concerns of spending 15 hours driving in a 48 hour period. We really enjoyed the ECNL but I am wondering if it makes sense now that the club expects us to get the kids to out of state games.

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
          What you are describing is how OC used to handle it. $300 per trip is much less expensive then what it costs me to take my daughter to a weekend away. A hotel room alone is 300 for two nights, add to that travel costs, time off work, time away from other children and safety concerns of spending 15 hours driving in a 48 hour period. We really enjoyed the ECNL but I am wondering if it makes sense now that the club expects us to get the kids to out of state games.
          I'm the out of state parent and I believe that you were answering me.

          I couldn't imagine having to get my kids to the games that were distant. It would be a pain in the ass and I probably would have ended up sending them with other parents though I would have thought that things were safer and better with the charter bus. Also, for the games that were more than a few hundred miles away, they would need to leave school early to get to the bus on time. That would mean I or my wife would need to leave work early. If that would have been the arrangement my kids would have played at a different club that was in a regional premier league or, perhaps, a local club that had a team that played in the National League. What I did liked about the NL setup from what I heard from a friend that had a daughter in the league at a nearby club, the team played in a local regional league and then had the NL games so, essentially, they were in 2 leagues. The away NL games were similar to what the ECNL showcase events were (Sanford, PDA, San Diego, etc) that we had to get our kids to anyway. In that model the costs costs were probably less than the ECNL.

          Looking back at the experiences my kids had I would say that it probably would not have been necessary for them to play in the ECNL. The biggest benefit for them doing so was they were able to play against and train with kids that were outstanding and I'm sure that helped their games and player development. Also, both were first seen at ECNL events but they would have been seen just as easily while competing at the other big local club that played in a regional premier league and the NL. Even if the team only played the regional premier league and not in the NL they would have been seen by the schools they ended up attending. The competition wouldn't have always been on par with the competition they faced but they would played against plenty of outstanding players and the difference would have been minimal overall.

          Things were simpler when my kids played and it wasn't that long ago. Things were simpler before my kids. The current landscape is a mess. I don't envy parents of kids that are just beginning the journey or kids that still have a few years left. With all of the ******* matches going on between the ECNL and the GDA and other crap, the kids are not being served well.

          Comment


            #6
            Another out of state parent with a dead board. In our area the clubs do not make travel arrangements. Families are on their own, but many will split the costs and responsibilities by taking turns. If families want to go on their own that's their prerogative but obviously it adds to the cost. Also, out of town games are paired together so that you'll play two teams away one weekend (Sat/Sun) then you'll have two home games the next weekend. For showcases the event dates are known well in advance so you can usually get a good fare or use miles if you have them. I'm not sure getting a group rate would really save that much and personally I prefer having a choice on when we go - we've used trip to do some college visits as well as see family/sightsee. Many families also split costs for showcase travel as well, sharing hotel and car rentals. Thing is, if a club includes travel in their fees they'll just up the fees. You're paying one way or the other.

            You all are lucky that many big events are held in FL. Most of the rest of us have to fly there

            Comment


              #7
              Thanks out of state guy, I appreciate your insight. The money is not the biggest concern for me although I think with good planning cost could be optimized. Missing work and safety are the deal breakers for me. We don’t know yet if GDA will be an option in Orlando market but we do have other options which is nice. Training is key right now as daughter is only 13. We would happily continue in the ECNL but not if we have to take girls to out of state weekends. 2 other kids are playing at competive level and this will be a killer on family

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                Another out of state parent with a dead board. In our area the clubs do not make travel arrangements. Families are on their own, but many will split the costs and responsibilities by taking turns. If families want to go on their own that's their prerogative but obviously it adds to the cost. Also, out of town games are paired together so that you'll play two teams away one weekend (Sat/Sun) then you'll have two home games the next weekend. For showcases the event dates are known well in advance so you can usually get a good fare or use miles if you have them. I'm not sure getting a group rate would really save that much and personally I prefer having a choice on when we go - we've used trip to do some college visits as well as see family/sightsee. Many families also split costs for showcase travel as well, sharing hotel and car rentals. Thing is, if a club includes travel in their fees they'll just up the fees. You're paying one way or the other.

                You all are lucky that many big events are held in FL. Most of the rest of us have to fly there
                I agree with what you are saying. I feel that either the club organizes it or you let the parents handle it. Here Orlando City is including the room and food in the club fees but the parents are responsible for the travel so this combined solution is more expensive because parents have to get a hotel room too.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                  I agree with what you are saying. I feel that either the club organizes it or you let the parents handle it. Here Orlando City is including the room and food in the club fees but the parents are responsible for the travel so this combined solution is more expensive because parents have to get a hotel room too.
                  But parents can take turns which helps.

                  No matter how you slice it youth soccer is going to cost you some serious bucks. The only families are the few that get scholarships or are good enough to play at an MLS club.

                  Comment


                    #10
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                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                      Curious how the ECNL clubs handle travel costs. Heard OC will no longer provide transportation to out of state games. Parents will have to get kids to Georgia|bama|carolinas etc. they are increasing club fees to $2500 which supposedly includes player hotel and food cost during travel. If parents are responsible for getting girls to destination aren’t we going to have to get a hotel room for ourselves? Why pay for two hotels? It seems to me the cheapest form of transportation is group transportation. I can’t imagine having each parent organize the transportation is the most cost efficient for the group? I feel either handle it all or don’t handle it at all How do other clubs do it? My biggest issue is time off work and I also feel a bus with pro driver is safer than cars

                      Van's, buses, pro driver or approved chaperones driving for drivable games. Go to the games if you want. Your check book will thank you. You will be preserve your sanity. Trust me on this.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                        Curious how the ECNL clubs handle travel costs. Heard OC will no longer provide transportation to out of state games. Parents will have to get kids to Georgia|bama|carolinas etc. they are increasing club fees to $2500 which supposedly includes player hotel and food cost during travel. If parents are responsible for getting girls to destination aren’t we going to have to get a hotel room for ourselves? Why pay for two hotels? It seems to me the cheapest form of transportation is group transportation. I can’t imagine having each parent organize the transportation is the most cost efficient for the group? I feel either handle it all or don’t handle it at all How do other clubs do it? My biggest issue is time off work and I also feel a bus with pro driver is safer than cars
                        Having had kids play at different ECNL clubs over the past few years, I have seen it handled both ways. I think it comes out about the same. The team fees were crazy high for team travel when handled by the club. Plus you have to pay for the bus drivers time, hotel and per diem. (Some clubs pay for this out of the club budget, but just increases your club fees.) I noticed that most parents still found a way to go to the league games, so you were paying for the bus as well as your own travel. Not traveling by bus also allows the players to travel at their own convenience. They don't have to wait for the next team to finish and can leave later in the day or arrive home earlier. Most teams have parents who do have flexible schedules and I'm sure they would gladly offer rides to players who don't have rides. Many parents take turns so it can work out if you have cooperative parents. I realize that's not always an option though in which case, it is a problem. I have to applaud OC for trying to mix things up and try a different approach. The club appears to be experiencing a lot of challenges so it's good to see them trying something different. Is it possible that some parents asked for this change?

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