Things have changed dramatically in terms of disposable income and parental support of kids athletics.
In HS I was all state in VA and the only out of state meet I ever ran outside of VA was Kinney (later Footlocker) in Charlotte, NC. We (me and grandma who didn't have to work) drove and stayed in a cheap motel for one night. This was true for everyone I knew, even the guy I knew who made the Kinney nationals, then he ran one more out of state in San Diego on somebody else's dime. My HS had several national level sprinters who never left the state for meets.
Today, EVERY parent I know is traveling to multiple states several times a year for competitions (not just track, xc). Many of these are not state/regional level athletes. It seems as much a cultural shift, available money, and the business of sports as an actual opportunity for young athletes.
Good post...most people forget how much a team can fundraise. Some teams can fundraise up to $20,000 each year. I agree high schoolers shouldn't be traveling across the country for multiple meets, but one big trip to the Oregon relays, then to Arcadia? no big deal for them. Boosters, team fundraising can do great things for kids. I don't think most kids should be traveling frequently, but one big team trip can be really good for the team once a season, or once a year.
The open secret is that much of that fundraising money actually comes from the parents.
Just got back from Oregon. Large public school in CA. Neither we (nor the school or district) had to pay anything for my daughter to go to the Relays other than footing the bill for some of her meals. The team does fundraising all year: things like working our cities marathon aid stations, hosting big track meets at home, donation drive once year, etc.
What they get out of it is positive team bonding experience and a memorable opportunity to race on an iconic track in front of big crowds against great competition.
As a runner myself, watching my daughter nail a huge PR at Hayward Field is pretty damn special. I’d happily make some financial sacrifices and pay out of pocket for her to go every year if I had to.
I went with my kids as well. Parents pay for their hotels and meals. School didnt pay for anything. It was a great time and an awesome meet for the kids.
So the Niwot team flew to Oregon and now they are flying to Arcadia?
Quincy Wilson flew to Florida last week and now is flying to Arcadia?
Where are these schools getting all of this money? What about saving the environment?
What's the problem? Kids get to travel somewhere to compete against top competition. Why not take advantage of the opportunity?
As far as paying, we are not talking about that much. $400-$500 for a flight and about the same for a few nights in a hotel. A lot of parents can afford this.
Just got back from Oregon. Large public school in CA. Neither we (nor the school or district) had to pay anything for my daughter to go to the Relays other than footing the bill for some of her meals. The team does fundraising all year: things like working our cities marathon aid stations, hosting big track meets at home, donation drive once year, etc.
What they get out of it is positive team bonding experience and a memorable opportunity to race on an iconic track in front of big crowds against great competition.
As a runner myself, watching my daughter nail a huge PR at Hayward Field is pretty damn special. I’d happily make some financial sacrifices and pay out of pocket for her to go every year if I had to.
I went with my kids as well. Parents pay for their hotels and meals. School didnt pay for anything. It was a great time and an awesome meet for the kids.
Interesting to note: my daughter is on the distance team. They didn’t have to pay for anything. The sprinters all had to pay their way because their coaches don’t prioritize the fundraising/volunteering side of things. Different strokes. For my daughter, those fundraising efforts that they work as a team are a key part of the camaraderie and unit building so it’s a win/win. Like I said before though…I’d happily foot the bill for her to attend if need-be. Its been an extremely special opportunity for our whole family.
College coaches hang in L.A. during Spring and Summer and poach L.A. HS rather than developing in-state HS prospects. There's dozens of sold out HS meets in L.A. even in Jan, Feb.
lol
LA track is garbage. With the exception of a few sprinters, mid and long distance runners who actually show some talent in LA proper are few and far between, especially in the public schools which are a mess. The demographic changes have made track truly minor league in the city leagues, where a 2:11 800m runner can now regularly win boy’s varsity races. Now it’s mainly soccer and fifth-rate (American) football teams for the public schools.
When I looks at at how things have changed from when I grew up, everything has leveled up. Elementary schools operate like middle schools, middle schools like high, high schools act like collages and now collages try to be professional sports. We live is a privileged time.
yet the standard for education has dropped from graduate degrees all the way on down the ladder
I’d probably do one travel meet. The Niwot kids doing numerous ones is probably doing more harm than good. Travel is tough on training, academics and the body. Most of the kids seem like they performed better the week prior.
I don't have kids so I didn't really know this was a thing before this thread. I bet you don't see a lot of kids from poor schools doing it.
Just from the thread I've learned: - these travel meets are an important opportunity for high-level competition - these meets hollow out competition from local meets - kids don't really pay because they do fundraising, but that money is mostly coming from parents in the same school district (good luck if you're at a poor school)
Richer parents will inevitably seek out ways to give their kids a leg up, and that usually means the exclusion of the poor kids.
Competition is important for developing athletes. When my daughter was first starting out, the game was to get fast enough seed times to get into local invitationals. It took about a month for her to improve to the point where there was no competition in the weekday meets. The good kids don't run them. It took a full year to get to the point where local invitationals were only good sometimes. The good local kids only run them selectively and are out of town when they can get a better meet. Now, another year later, my daughter is #2 in the city and the #1 girl is 15 seconds faster than everyone else. In order to get a competitive meet locally, my daughter calls her friends in the city to find out what event they are running and tries to lobby everyone to get in the same event so it is stacked. That would have been great a year ago but now it would be just her setting the pace for everyone else. It's also quite difficult to get everyone to agree to do the same event because each of their coaches has a different plan for their athletes so you end up with everyone diluted across the 800, 1600, 3200, or just skipping the meet and training through for something out of town.
Now imagine that except you are a kid who is top 20 in the nation. We have one of the top milers in the country at our school and the kid hasn't had any local competition in at least two years. He only races a couple times a year locally because it's just him way out front doing a solo time trial.
The other issue here is that we rarely have good weather conditions, in the early part of the season it is super windy and in the later part of the season it is super hot. Try finding a good 3200m opportunity in that case. Last year on this weekend my daughter was running a 3200m in 100 degree heat against her teammate and lapping the rest of the field while missing her PR by 30 seconds. Meanwhile the people who traveled out of town are ripping 30 second PRs. Imagine if Colorado kids didn't have altitude converted times so everyone thought they were just much slower than they really are. That's what it is like running here. When people go outside (usually CA) they are 10 seconds faster in the 1600m.
I think the people who don't understand this issue never expired their local competition or they lived somewhere where the weather was usually mostly perfect.
I posted this before.
My daughter traveled this weekend and chopped 10s off her 1600m (after chopping 10s off last week here in town). Instant complete change in recruiting interest. Worth every penny of the travel cost. This is why people travel for competition (and they also travel because it is a fun experience with their team)
I don't have kids so I didn't really know this was a thing before this thread. I bet you don't see a lot of kids from poor schools doing it.
Just from the thread I've learned: - these travel meets are an important opportunity for high-level competition - these meets hollow out competition from local meets - kids don't really pay because they do fundraising, but that money is mostly coming from parents in the same school district (good luck if you're at a poor school)
Richer parents will inevitably seek out ways to give their kids a leg up, and that usually means the exclusion of the poor kids.
My daughter is in a private school. You may be surprised to know that the limiting factor on out of state travel is usually the burden it puts on the coaches (they have families and kids). We usually do 3 out of state meets in XC and 2 in track, all driving trips. Many of the kids don't attend because of the cost, and I rarely see parents at any of these meets.
Good post...most people forget how much a team can fundraise. Some teams can fundraise up to $20,000 each year. I agree high schoolers shouldn't be traveling across the country for multiple meets, but one big trip to the Oregon relays, then to Arcadia? no big deal for them. Boosters, team fundraising can do great things for kids. I don't think most kids should be traveling frequently, but one big team trip can be really good for the team once a season, or once a year.
The open secret is that much of that fundraising money actually comes from the parents.
A lot also comes from the community, aunts, uncle's, alumni, etc. When you have a proud alumni base, a lot can happen
99% of high school athetes do not compete in D1. 99.5% do not get any scholarship in D1. And most distance runners who do get a scholarship, it is in the 5% to 20% range.
99% of high school athetes do not compete in D1. 99.5% do not get any scholarship in D1. And most distance runners who do get a scholarship, it is in the 5% to 20% range.
The open secret is that much of that fundraising money actually comes from the parents.
A lot also comes from the community, aunts, uncle's, alumni, etc. When you have a proud alumni base, a lot can happen
People are confusing 3 different types of travel. Teams travel in season to meets which is completely paid for by the school. Our XC team does 2 of these meets per year. Our team also travels to NXR which is partially covered by fundraising and the remainder is laid for by the athletes usually about $200 per person. The third type is the indvidual travel that happens for Nike Nationals, New Balance Nationals, Arcadia, etc.
A lot also comes from the community, aunts, uncle's, alumni, etc. When you have a proud alumni base, a lot can happen
People are confusing 3 different types of travel. Teams travel in season to meets which is completely paid for by the school. Our XC team does 2 of these meets per year. Our team also travels to NXR which is partially covered by fundraising and the remainder is laid for by the athletes usually about $200 per person. The third type is the indvidual travel that happens for Nike Nationals, New Balance Nationals, Arcadia, etc.
This may be true for your school, but not for all schools. Your school covers a flight to Oregon or Arcadia? Must be nice, but I think you're in the minority here. Maybe hotels are paid for, but not for everyone.