Cruz Culpepper ran at Texas Relays one weekend and Arcadia the next. His parents are big time runners and have the money so are they paying him to fly to these meets or does the high school pay?
Just wondering how these programs do this.
Could get expensive now that high schools are travelling all over.
Who pays for these high school kids to fly all over the country to these meets?
High School Running
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Parents pay for these trips. When a team travels, it will usually be a combination of booster fundraising and parents paying. School budgets across the US are so tight that it is almost unheard of to have a school fund extra trips for sports teams or band, etc.
When there is scholarship money on the line, parents really cannot afford to NOT send their kids to these events. A free ride is worth about $200k+ these days. A few thousand in plane tickets, hotels, rental cars etc. is nothing in comparison. In fact, compared to other sports, the investment you have to make in runners is pretty cheap. Parents will spend close to six figures on kids who are playing tennis tournaments on the national level. There is a volleyball team in my area that parents pay $18k a year to get their kids on. And even in the sports like baseball there are all these all star invite teams where parents have to pay a lot of money to get their kids in front of scouts for college and the pros. -
Desperate parents
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It depends on whether or not the kids are running under the school or unattached. Our high school typically doesn't pay for overnight trips except for state. They will sometimes approve one additional overnight trip if your team fundraises the money for travel. We do a lot of early morning buses (think 3-4 am) to be able to travel regionally. Not glamorous, but it works!
For post-season meets where kids run unattached (something like Nike or Footlocker regionals), the kids are responsible for the costs. Many years we will organize a fundraiser to help with travel (especially if kids need the help - our community is pretty diverse financially). We tend to keep travel accommodations pretty minimal to allow for the highest number of kids possible to experience these meets. The average varsity kid may travel for one meet a year. We have a few parents that will pay for their kids to travel individually in the pre-season and post-season to travel a bit more. These are usually our top athletes that are D1 college bound on a good financial package. I've had parents tell me they pull from college savings for these trips - if they know their child is getting 50-100% of their college education paid for, that frees up some money in their budgets. -
The same type of parents who fly kids to tournaments in baseball, hockey, volleyball, soccer, tennis, etc.
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Are there really that many track full-ride scholarships around? Not talking about those partial things everyone gets with some kInd of 20% discount on the inflated original price if they can meet the standard(s)
If the parents truly cared about a college scholarship they'd be in a real sport -
Sit and kick wrote:
Are there really that many track full-ride scholarships around? Not talking about those partial things everyone gets with some kInd of 20% discount on the inflated original price if they can meet the standard(s)
If the parents truly cared about a college scholarship they'd be in a real sport
There is plenty, especially on the girls side. Many schools will package academic and athletic money together. When I help kids with the college process, I usually encourage them to find a school where they are immediately #5-10 on the team in XC or #2-4 in their preferred event in track. If they hit those marks and have good academics, they usually end up with 60-100% of their school covered for when they fall in that range. Only half of that might be athletic money, but does it really matter where the money comes from as long as your school is getting paid? -
Some of the big meets will cover travel costs for some kids. They give a little travel stipend to the top top top guys and girls. It makes their meet more popular to the young internet crowd, so it is a good trade off. Similar to an appearance fee for a pro, but legal since it is just travel expenses.
All about that money. -
Yes, some meets cover expenses for the top kids, when I was coaching HS we sometimes got hotel and travel money for relays. Then the top individual would get airfare, hotel coverage.
Then there are the crazy nutcase parents who will pay for anything for their special little kids. -
Precious Roy wrote:
Parents pay for these trips. When a team travels, it will usually be a combination of booster fundraising and parents paying. School budgets across the US are so tight that it is almost unheard of to have a school fund extra trips for sports teams or band, etc.
When there is scholarship money on the line, parents really cannot afford to NOT send their kids to these events. A free ride is worth about $200k+ these days. A few thousand in plane tickets, hotels, rental cars etc. is nothing in comparison. In fact, compared to other sports, the investment you have to make in runners is pretty cheap. Parents will spend close to six figures on kids who are playing tennis tournaments on the national level. There is a volleyball team in my area that parents pay $18k a year to get their kids on. And even in the sports like baseball there are all these all star invite teams where parents have to pay a lot of money to get their kids in front of scouts for college and the pros.
Let me play devil's advocate. A coach theoretically is recruiting talent - not times. The key is to put up some big junior year times. A smart coach should know a 4:12 in New Hampshire is better than a 4:08 at Arcadia. -
[quote]nikon wrote:
Cruz Culpepper ran at Texas Relays one weekend and Arcadia the next. His parents are big time runners and have the money so are they paying him to fly to these meets or does the high school pay?
Like the quote, how you said his parents are big time runners and have the money....etc.
You are correct in saying parents were big time runners but do you really think they are sitting back on their millions that they earned from their running days? I am sure they are like every other parent worrying about the cost of school. -
Disco Gary pays. He likes them on tap.
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rojo wrote:
Precious Roy wrote:
Parents pay for these trips. When a team travels, it will usually be a combination of booster fundraising and parents paying. School budgets across the US are so tight that it is almost unheard of to have a school fund extra trips for sports teams or band, etc.
When there is scholarship money on the line, parents really cannot afford to NOT send their kids to these events. A free ride is worth about $200k+ these days. A few thousand in plane tickets, hotels, rental cars etc. is nothing in comparison. In fact, compared to other sports, the investment you have to make in runners is pretty cheap. Parents will spend close to six figures on kids who are playing tennis tournaments on the national level. There is a volleyball team in my area that parents pay $18k a year to get their kids on. And even in the sports like baseball there are all these all star invite teams where parents have to pay a lot of money to get their kids in front of scouts for college and the pros.
Let me play devil's advocate. A coach theoretically is recruiting talent - not times. The key is to put up some big junior year times. A smart coach should know a 4:12 in New Hampshire is better than a 4:08 at Arcadia.
Generally speaking that is true. A little digging is needed though. Sometimes a big target race is faster not only because of the better competition and good weather (big fast 3200 races are usually at night for example - see Arcadia and Eastern relays as examples) but also because it was a target race...a little taper beforehand, no leg of the 4x800 earlier, etc. So, while I do agree with you in general, a good coach will not just overlook a big PR in one of those big races. Run under 9:00 in a 3200, and a coach should at least take notice. -
A few points. Track and Field is objective. A time is a time. If Cruz ran 4:12 in a dual meet, it's almost as valuable as doing it at Arcadia. He'll still get recruited. That being said, I completely get why kids go to these meets, I'm personally not thrilled folks think it's mandatory today, because it doesn't need to be.
nikon wrote:
His parents are big time runners and have the money.
Don't assume they have the money. Like the other posters state, they're making an investment in the end game of lower overall college costs. There was a nice piece on HBO Real Sports last year on this topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ATwFkYpVys
It's a bit sad that this is the state of Youth Sports, but it's the reality. -
..they have the money. Are you privy to the Culpepper’s banking ..?
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Most of the time it's the kids/parents. However, sometimes the sponsors of the event will cover travel costs for big name athletes. I know for a fact because I traveled to NBIN a few years ago with a top level athlete who ended up winning the championship 2 mile. He said he only went because New Balance reached out and offered to help cover expenses if he came to the race. I watched them hand him the check. I wouldn't be surprised if this happens regularly with big meets. If someone told me Nike covered costs for several top guys to make sure the Arcadia 2 mile would be highly competitive, I wouldn't be surprised at all. Then once you get some good guys, everyone wants to go, and slowly the races build a reputation of being fast(obviously like the Arcadia 2 mile, which everyone and their cat wants to run in).
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Discooooooo wrote:
Disco Gary pays. He likes them on tap.
Sorry for the off topic post, but I'm really sick of the pedo bashing on LR. What business is it of yours? -
My kids are a few years from high School and haven't started running yet, but if my kids were capable of 4:11 type times, I would definitely pay to get them to Arcadia. I wouldn't do it for the college scholarship potential, I would send them there for the experience. Take on the best in your sport and learn what it takes to be the best. Arcadia looks like an awesome experience and not something you can get at a dual meet. I wouldn't judge people for wanting their kids to have these experiences. I have the resources and if my kids are good enough, I'll get them there. My perogative.
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rojo wrote:
Let me play devil's advocate. A coach theoretically is recruiting talent - not times. The key is to put up some big junior year times. A smart coach should know a 4:12 in New Hampshire is better than a 4:08 at Arcadia.
On the other hand, getting your kid into 5-10 different races against good competition might help them race themselves into better shape than keeping them home running solo 4:12s. We had a guy run around 4:20 when I was in high school and he rarely had anyone close to him. I think there were only one or two meets a year where he had any sort of close competition at all. -
Precious Roy wrote:
Parents pay for these trips. When a team travels, it will usually be a combination of booster fundraising and parents paying. School budgets across the US are so tight that it is almost unheard of to have a school fund extra trips for sports teams or band, etc.
When there is scholarship money on the line, parents really cannot afford to NOT send their kids to these events. A free ride is worth about $200k+ these days. A few thousand in plane tickets, hotels, rental cars etc. is nothing in comparison. In fact, compared to other sports, the investment you have to make in runners is pretty cheap. Parents will spend close to six figures on kids who are playing tennis tournaments on the national level. There is a volleyball team in my area that parents pay $18k a year to get their kids on. And even in the sports like baseball there are all these all star invite teams where parents have to pay a lot of money to get their kids in front of scouts for college and the pros.
18,000$ a year in the hope of getting a scholarship? Might as well put the money in a 529 each year when they're young and college will be paid for.
