In my many years of involvement in sports, very often I noticed what I call 'mixed feelings' from parents. You know, the 'good news - bad news' feelings. Good news! Your boy made the cut for the elite soccer team. Bad news! He's going to play against teams from out of town and it will cost you a lot of money. Or this one that just happened to me a few days ago: Good news! Your daughter just classified herself for the Nationals in gymnastic. Bad news! You live in Montreal and the Nationals are in Vancouver. It is going to cost you $2000 to send her there. Bad news again! The Nationals are in 3 weeks ;-( Like I said, I witnessed a lot of these events during the years. That made me create, 5 years ago, my own foundation to financially help young gymnasts (boys and girls) and there parents to participate in important events. No parents want to announce to their child that they won't be participating in a big event because of the lack of funds. But unfortunately, it happens. Can you prepare yourself to prevent that? Of course you can ;-) First, if there is even a slim chance that you're child might participate in a big event, you should start right now to put money on the side. You are better off putting money on the side for nothing than having to find money at the last minute. Even if it is only $20 per week, at the end of the year, you will have $1000. You can also ask for money instead of gifts for birthday and Christmas. Some parents think that it might bring bad luck or it might look presumptuous to do so. Well, I am not at all superstitious and I don't believe in bad luck (or good luck for that matters) so I won't be very helpful in that case but one thing I'm sure; being preventive is not being presumptuous. And if your kid doesn't make it, well, the good news will be that you will have this extra money ;-) I don't believe in bad luck but I do believe in pressure on young athletes. Kids react differently to pressure. As a parent, you are the best person to evaluate the situation. For some kids, it might take some pressure off their shoulders knowing that a good performance won't put you in financial problems. For other kids, it might give them more pressure knowing that you are expecting them to win. It's your call. Organizations can also help their athletes. I know that most of the organizations are non-profit and survive due to the help of volunteers but they usually have a little more cash flow than the average parents. Well some do, anyway ;-) One easy way to help is giving a no-interest loan. In other words, the organization pays for the athlete and collect the parents later. That will give time to the parents. The risk is minimum for the organization mostly if the athlete has been a member for a long time. Of course, you need to feel comfortable with this and trust the parents that they will pay you. And this action should be approved by the board of direction because you are using your members money. Doing special fundraising activities is another solution. Car wash, wine tasting, garage sales, golf tournament are all good fundraisers and are pretty easy to organize. There might be also some charity organizations in your community that can help. Look around. One thing is sure: the best your kid gets in his sport, the more money it will cost you. And if you don't want to be a show stopper to your child dream, it is a good idea to be prepared. |
