How the cost of a Long Beach youth soccer league has soared

In Long Beach, California, well over a thousand children participate in the soccer league run each fall by Region 177 of the Fox Sports American Youth Soccer Organization.

AYSO 177 is an all-volunteer operation, and in the past that has allowed the group to keep registration costs low. But the price to play in this league has dramatically risen in the last decade.

In 2005, parents could register their child for AYSO 177's fall league for as little as $70. Even if they missed the early registration discounts, parents could still register for a maximum of $85. (See below)



But in 2016, the fees have jumped to $130 minimum and a $170 maximum.

Part of the increase, of course, can be attributed to inflation. But not all of it.

Here's the math: The 2005 minimum/maximum become $85 and $103 when converted to 2016 dollars. That means that AYSO 177 has raised its minimum price ($85 to $130) by 52% and its maximum ($103 to $170) by 65% over and above inflation.

Again, AYSO 177 is an all-volunteer organization, so it's not paying coaches or administrators. Its main costs are field rentals and uniforms. What else is the group spending money on? For the past six years, it has been paying for an annual dinner at the Old Ranch Country Club in Los Alamitos that features a buffet dinner and a raffle with prizes of sports gear and electronics. The dinner is open to board members and many volunteers, but most parents in AYSO 177 are not even aware of it.

A year ago, AYSO made a deal with Fox Sports to place advertising for the broadcaster on the uniforms worn by all the children playing in the organization. AYSO never announced how the money from that deal would be spent, but apparently it's not being used to keep registration costs down. 

Book review: "The Lost Airman"

Sergeant Arthur Meyerowitz's World War II career seemingly ended about as soon as it started. On only his second combat flight, Meyerowitz's bomber was shot down over France on New Year's Day 1944.

That could easily have been the end -- Meyerowitz could have perished with the plane, been shot by Germans on the ground, or captured and imprisoned for the rest of the war. But instead it was the beginning of an amazing odyssey that is told in "The Lost Airman."

This 2016 book tells the story of how Meyerowitz parachuted successfully from the plane and was taken in by French Resistance members, who protected and hid him over five months at great personal risk to themselves. The book is written by Meyerowitz's grandson, Seth Meyerowitz, and co-writer Peter F. Stevens.

Arthur Meyerowitz was moved between various locations, and given false ID so he could "hide in plain sight." At one point, he was cast as a deaf-mute paint store worker. Later, he was a farmhand. The French then helped Meyerowitz make a dramatic escape hike through the Pyrenees mountains into Spain.

The authors occasionally move tangentially from the main story to tell of brave actions by the French Resistance members, especially a shape-shifting guerrilla leader named Marcel Taillander.

You can't help but be impressed by the gutsy actions of the French -- it's hard to believe so many people risked their lives to save a single American airman. (While by himself at first, Meyerowitz was later paired in his escape with a British officer.)

There is a wonderfully joyous scene when Meyerowitz's family learns that he is still alive.

As amazing as the story is, the writing in this book is, at best, adequate. The authors present a simplified picture of good guys versus bad guys, with the former being clever and precise, and the latter brutal and vicious. Though the story is inherently dramatic, the author's can't resist jumping in to remind us, repeatedly, that danger is everywhere. On one single page, they describe events as "nerve-racking," "unnerving," and "ominous."

In all, it's a great story, but I wish it had been told better.

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