Grassroots

[WMitch]

my grandson is 15 years old and his grassroots team that he has been with for a few years are asking for a sign up fee as well as subs, can clubs just charge whatever they like?

Yes

Yes

And they'll be doing it to make ends meet, not to soak the parents. Or possibly to manage demand (if they've had to turn players away because of numbers, and then had loads of no-shows and the others have gone elsewhere by then) so the extra fee up front means that they're more likely to get players who are reasonably committed to full participation.

It's a bit of a pain, because there are so many things you need to cough up for at the start of a new school year, and of course it all adds up. If you/his parents are struggling, ask the coach if you can defer part of the fee until next month. It'll still have to be paid, but you might be able to spread it out a bit