UNLV Rebels football players are seen during team practice at the Bill 'Wildcat' Morris Rebel Park field on Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. (Richard Brian/Las Vegas Review-Journal) Follow @vegasphotograph
Parents of high school athletes can spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars each year trying to better the chances of their child getting a college scholarship.
Individual lessons, club or travel teams, newer and better equipment can run up a large tab in a short amount of time.
But the money spent early sometimes leads to a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
As tuition, room and board, books, lab fees and other college expenses continue to rise, the gamble becomes more and more worth it for some, even if the odds are stacked against a high school athlete ever playing in college.