It’s crazy to me that this is a thing in soccer, a sport that can be played anywhere at any time for absolutely zero money.
my kids play ice hockey and this is the norm, but hockey is inherently an expensive sport even if you live in an area where ponds and lakes routinely freeze for extended periods of time. Bare bones equipment alone (used skates/helmet/stick) is gonna be $100 and realistically you need to spends 100s just to get started. Skating well is also such a unique skill that you can only acquire while doing it on ice for years and years. And ice rinks are limited.
the fact that people spend more on some travel soccer teams than hockey is completely insane.