Athletes tackle the challenge of sports expenses

Written by Piper Bacon

Published November 8, 2019

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Everything comes at a cost.

Granite Bay High is stereotyped as the “rich kid” school in the Roseville Joint Union High School District, and many students outside of GBHS would be willing to bet that all of the success at the school is because of its wealth.

However, it’s not that simple.

For many student athletes, their favorite sport might require them to pay to play, but just how much will a student have to sacrifice financially to reach their goals?

Most sports at GBHS don’t require any minimum fee to play. Sports like football or lacrosse ask for donations between $300-$500 but don’t require any actual fee.

For most sports, the expenses start to trickle in when other factors like gear and extra lessons or practices come into play.

“We have to buy our own clubs, and this year, we bought bags, which were about $125 each, but we get to keep them,” said Yewon Jang, a junior who’s on the girls’ golf team.

According to Jang, all of the required gear for golf can cost about an estimated $2,500-$3,000.

“The school will pay for us to eat at tournaments,” Jang said lightheartedly. “Sometimes we get socks.”

Golf certainly has a reputation for being a wealthier sport, and this is why. Private lessons for golf can be expensive, putting some students at a disadvantage when they’re unable to afford the extra one-on-one practice.

Sports that require students to pay for their own gear can be significantly less inclusive, considering that the cost of sports equipment can add up.

For example, sophomore Alex Lang, who is on the boys’ JV lacrosse team, estimates that lacrosse gear can cost upwards of $600, coupled with the requested donation of $500, which isn’t required but highly recommended and needed.

In more physical sports such as lacrosse, getting cheap gear can result in more than just a hit to an athlete’s bank account.

“Protection wise, I used to have a helmet that was a lot cheaper, and I’ve gotten two concussions from wearing that,” Lang said.

Lang has realized that in lacrosse, especially at higher levels, player safety can be at risk if the gear isn’t ready for the fast-paced physicality of the sport.

Being able to afford to play certain sports is a privilege that many students at GBHS have. Many students across the country are simply unable to put forth so much time and money to fulfil an athletic goal of theirs because of unfortunate circumstances.

Luckily, there’s still a sport for everyone.

“For us, it’s more of a community thing,” said junior Natalie Quilala, who competes on the girls’ water polo team. “I know of a couple people who will play and share the suits and caps.”

Though aquatic sports ask for a non-required donation of $300, there are fundraising opportunities and many other donations from donors outside of the sport.

Aquatic sports at the school also use and reuse much of their gear, passing it down from player to player.

So, if a student is unable to afford the expenses that come along with a sport, they have options to help cover the cost.

In sports like football and basketball, not only are fundraising options available, but the revenue from their on-campus sporting events also go toward supporting other athletics.

Though the donations for these sports can be expensive, it is for good reason.

In a sport like golf, the majority of the competition is individual, so student athletes pay individually for most of their gear. This is much different for team sports. The donation covers team meals, transportation, gear and much else that the players use on a day-to-day basis.

“(The donation) isn’t mandatory, although it’s greatly needed,” said Jeff Evans, the varsity football coach. “It covers the daily cost for the football season. (But) without donations, it would be hard to run the program.”

GBHS sports teams are some of the most high-achieving in the region. Because most of the programs here haven’t struggled to raise funds, many outsiders are quick to assume the athletic success is mostly, if not entirely, because of wealth.

Athletes at the school beg to differ.

Evans acknowledges that GBHS is a privileged school. Parents of students are a bit more well-off than in other areas, but this doesn’t just automatically make the football team better.

“Not everyone on our team can afford the donation to play,” Evans said, “It allows us to offset some of the cost for the kids who can’t.”

On one hand, while the high costs of certain sports can limit some players from doing their best, for other sports, the region’s wealth can push for inclusivity, allowing more students to join who might not have been able to without financial support. The school’s sports are high-achieving not because of their financial success but because of hard work and strong ambitions.

“It comes down to how hard you try,” Jang said. “The harder you try, the more you’re going to improve, and I think that goes for just about all sports.”