Sports teams always have to try to find ways to fundraise money to pay off all gear and fees.
As for many teams, coaches and players work together to fundraise all the money they can to pay their dues.
“We try to fundraise where they don’t have to take anything from their own pocket,” said baseball head coach Bill Picketts. “The first fundraiser we do is a certain amount of money. Some kids can afford it and some kids can’t. If they come up to me, we find a way to work it out.”
Every team’s goal is to reach the certain amount that’s needed and have the players pay anything from their own pocket. Picketts explains how it’s tough for some kids to fundraise the exact amount they need, but he shows that everything is a team effort and no one is on their own.
Financially, not everyone is stable and it’s not easy when players have to pay for their jerseys.
“Last year we had to pay for our own uniforms,” said freshman volleyball player Garrett DeGrasse. “Last year the fundraising was pretty bad so most of us had to pay a bunch of money.”
The volleyball team is going to work harder on the fundraising by contacting a company to receive sponsored advertisements and get a certain percentage amount of money. Degrasse expressed on how athletes shouldn’t have to pay for their playing time and to possibly get priority registrations for classes.
Men’s volleyball head coach Lance Walker had an idea about printed sponsorships on their uniforms for the past few years. Other ideas he included are brochures and some help from corporate companies within the area.
“Currently each sport has a different budget, and not to speak for other programs, but pretty much every program has to fundraise something because the budget that is given to us is very minimal from the school,” Walker said.
Walker stated that within the past 2 years the volleyball program had a 100 percent transfer rate. Hard work pays off and to continue that they need to work together by paying their fees and doing good in school.
“I’m hoping that they are kind of getting in the process of allowing us to actually use our facilities here to hopefully generate money,” Walker said.
With an assist to their problem the team would be able use their gym and host a tournament.
Women’s volleyball head coach, Nabil Mardini, is also having problems fundraising money for their gears and other expenses.
“The school can only given us so much money in order for us to buy more equipment, more uniforms and travel more just like every other program….it’s nation wide, everybody has to fundraise,” said Mardini.
“For me I would like for each player to bring around $500[dollars] to the program if they can,” Mardini stated. “When it comes to money I’m not going to force somebody to pay out of their pocket but usually my girls do a pretty good job that when we start early I give them enough time to fundraise.”
It’s a privilege to be a student athlete and to be part of a scholastic sports league. Not only do they give effort as an athlete on the field but off the field they have the responsibility to be a student.
