Certain aspects of youth soccer have become elitiest. Look around at the travel select squads and next time you are on the road at a tournament look for a non-upper middle class team> Or a team where the kids are not shuttled back to the hotel in Lexus SUV's and BMW's.
There is enough blame to go around here both on the parents side(for funding the insanity) and coaches for insisitng that their teams have to travel. If the clubs want to attract the top talent, and the coach who wants to prove he is better than everyone else, the answer has been to travel. The logic being the team that travels the furthest and the most is the best. And thus can attract the talent to fufill the coaches desire of becoming "the best".
It won't change until the enablers(parents) stop paying and demand something different.
Gbdawgs.....from experience I think your $3-$4K a year is low. The CESA girls team has been to Seattle and Texas this year, adding up some u10-u12 Academy fees that are web published you'd be at about $4,500. $800 Reg and Coaches fees, $150 uniform, $400 team expenses, 6 travel tournamnets at $500 a weekend(hotel 2 nights, gas, food)and $150 summer training. That is for U-10-12 Academy.
