By Cassidy Lee

Staff Writer

  Across the United States, over eight million students participate in high school athletics. From basketball to horseback riding, the amount of money parents spend on their children’s recreational activities is astronomical, and is on the rise every year.

  At Gabrielino High School, sports such as cheerleading and golf have a high annual cost.

  Junior Melina Gonzalez, a member of the cheer team, stated, “It’s around $1,000 a year. Although the price can get really high […] it’s definitely worth it.”

  As the cost of playing high school sports increases, many students have begun to opt out of school related sports activities. According to Education World, the students that tended to avoid activities relating to sports came from low-income families.

  In the last few years, participation in High School affiliated sports has dramatically decreased. According to TIME, “Youth Sports is a $15.3 billion industry that has nearly doubled over the last 10 years. […] Families are spending as much as 10% of their income on sports.”  

  Parents have to pay for participation fees along with league fees, camps, equipment and transportation.

  Travis Dorsch, a researcher on Parent Involvement in youth sports, told TIME, “Some parents just can’t pony up for it, how many Michael Jordans and Michael Phelps are out there who don’t have the opportunity?”

  According to USA Today, nearly 20% of families spend more than $12,000 a year, or $1,000, per month on high school sports.

  Many parents believe that school sports spending should be minimized, and that they should focus on whether their funding is beneficial, and whether their child’s athletic future is realistic.

  The NCAA reported only about 480,000 students out of eight million that participate in school athletics will potentially become professional athletes.

  “There a million reasons why wouldn’t work out,” stated Mike Tremblay, a former baseball player at Duke University, to USA Today, “You have to be realistic.”

   According to USA Today, “Increased spending on youth sports is driven by the fact that 67% of parents have hopes that their investment will pay off in an athletic scholarship.”

  For most families, there is no return on their investment to high school sports.

  “It’s like putting all your money into one stock on Wall Street,” stated parent, Judy Carter Davis, to TIME. “You do not know if your investment will be successful.”