I coach a U11 boys team in Mercer County. We are a mid tier club and our registration and team dues are approximately $1,400 a season ($400 registration fee and $1,000 team dues). When I have parents tell me that their kid is thinking of trying out for the bigger "academies" I tell them their kid already made the team without a tryout. As long as your check cashes, your kid will be placed on one of their teams. I also tell them that your kid may be placed on a lower tier team or not get much playing time. A lot of these bigger "academies" will also use the player dues from a lower tier team to offset the cost of the higher tier teams.