Cost to Play Youth Basketball in America

Our recent viral reel on Instagram and Facebook, had a few parents questioning the total cost of our 4th father-son basketball inspired trip to Atlanta, Georgia. I figured this could be valuable information for someone else. After gathering all of my receipts, I have listed the final numbers below.

Amarion playing basketball in America

If you are new to my son and I basketball journey, you can catch up on our Coach Dad blogs. But to briefly explain, I've been trying to expose my son to different basketball cultures. The intention behind this strategy is to ensure that he is always aware that there are better competition, and different playing styles outside his country, Canada. On this particular trip, we spent 3 nights and one day away. For this price breakdown, I will list the prices in Canadian dollars. At the end, I will list the total in both United States Dollars (USD) and Canadian Dollars (CAD). Currently, USD $1.00 converts to CAD $1.41. Before purchasing our flights and hotel, I spent almost a month trying to figure out the most cost effective ways to book. I came across a 3rd party website called Travel Go or Ly.com. At first, I was very skeptical, but after reading some positive reviews, I went ahead and booked our one-way flight to Atlanta. The one-way ticket cost - CAD $360.32. For some reason, it was cheaper to find a separate return flight with one stop in Minneapolis, back to Calgary, Canada. That return flight cost - CAD $643.00. In total, our flight cost - CAD $1003.32. Note, we had no checked luggage and I didn't choose a seat which is additional.

After discovering the Priceline app, I was in for some huge savings for my car rental. I say this because I have a friend who works at Enterprise. My friend was offering me CAD $315.24 which included a discount. For my car rental, I didn't want anything fancy. Just the most basic vehicle that could get me from point A to point B, and also, a car that I can fit in, since I'm 6-foot-6-inches. Priceline have a great feature that filters the cheapest daily rates. Because of my tall frame, I rented a full size car from a company called, Dollar Rent A Car. The daily rate was CAD $43.78. For 3 days, after taxes and fees, it cost me, a total CAD $195.11. So much cheaper than what my friend was offering. Note, I denied the car insurance and showed proof of my own Canadian car insurance for additional savings.

The Priceline app also helped me save with hotel rooms. Again, I didn't care for a 4-star or 5-star hotel. I just need a bed for us to sleep and a bathroom to shower. I booked La Quinta Inn & Suites which has a rating of 2.5-stars on Google Reviews. The nightly rate was CAD $80.81. For 3 nights, after taxes and fees, the total was CAD $328.49. Breakfast was included which was a big bonus. And honestly, we enjoyed our stay.

For food, I did some grocery shopping to limit our spending at restaurants. That grocery bill was CAD $113.74. We ate at a few fast food restaurants such as Chick-Fil-A, Zaxby's, Domino's, Krispy Kreme, to name a few. That cost a total of CAD $236.99. Between the grocery bill and the fast food bill, it cost CAD $350.73.

I made a big mistake returning the car with a half empty tank of gas. I'm still having a hard time understanding why Dollar Rent A Car, charged my credit card, CAD $132.41 for gas. I've been trying to dispute that charge.

The entry fee to watch my son play his game over the 2-day weekend was a total of CAD $63.17. The visit and tour of the Overtime Elite Arena was FREE. The NBA trainer charged me CAD $105.75 per hour for a private one-on-one session. Former NBA player, Jermaine O'Neal had just happened to be in the same facility where my son was being trained. So, just in case anyone was wondering, it didn't cost a thing. Other cost to be aware of are the refundable deposits which was CAD $282 for the car rental and CAD $105.75 for the hotel room. I didn't include these deposits in the total since it was refundable.

In total, for 3 nights and one day, from Calgary, Canada to Atlanta, Georgia, and back, the grand total was CAD $2178.97 or USD $1545.37.

With all that being said, this trip wouldn't be possible with out the support of friends, family and the fans of my son. We raised a total of CAD $1724.99 in various ways. A long time supporter of my son donated USD $200.00. A local company, Marketing Local Ltd donated USD $500. My son's GoFundMe raised, CAD $340.00, two friends donated CAD $150.00. A few people bought my son's basketball trading cards for a total of $189.56 in sales. And Paul's Pizza NE donated CAD $142.00. We will forever be grateful for your assistance.

Although my son could potentially play 5 more tournaments in America, we are hoping that he could play 2 more in Miami from June 14th - 16th and in Orlando from July 7th to 11th. For anyone willing to support, you can donate through his GoFundMe Page. Or, you can purchase his autographed basketball fan cards. We appreciate any and all contributions.

A1's Day Ones - Crossover Fan Card

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