Sorry man, my budget only calls for so much. Take it up with the wifey... I'd like to see you win that argument. 
And I would like to fly around the world, but my budget only calls for so much. Tough luck. I might not be as well known as Vince or azsarge but I've also been playing a long time. When I started airsofting, I was working at Captain D's seafood making $6/hr. My brother works at Walmart, he can still afford to play. It's not like we are trying to make this some "rich kids sport". If you really want an airsoft gun, you can get one. You may have to grow up and learn how to save money but we aren't talking about a car here. We are talking about less than $200. I save $50+ a week by buying groceries rather than eating out and I'm only feeding one. That pays for a gun a month right there.
You say you are a soccer coach, correct? Assuming I am reading the correct website (ayso1046.com), there is a registration fee of $85-$110, correct? So if I come to you and say my kid wants to play but only has $45, what are you going to say? What about the next person to ask that or the one after that? So, maybe they can't play this year and have to save up until next year. Do you know what you have done now? You have proven the kid wants to play soccer, he's not just doing it because he's bored. Even if you don't encourage competitiveness, I know none of your kids want to be stuck with the kid who goes out there and just screws around. As a coach, who would you rather give playing time to, a kid who's working his ass off because he enjoys it or a kid who's just screwing around because he didn't have anything better to do and his parents just throw money at him to shut him up? Plus, you could always go with some nice Chinese uniforms that may not fit and balls that occasionally hold air. That should drop that by a good $40. It's the same reason most clubs/organizations have a membership fee. It ensures they are getting people who actually want to be a part of it, not just people that want to screw around and ruin it for everyone else.
Regardless if you consider it a sport or a hobby, it has a cost associated with it. We are not talking about some outrageous cost. We are talking about the minimum required cost to get
quality equipment which not only helps keep you safe, it's helps ensure you enjoy the game. If you can't afford it sorry, but life is full of disappointments. You aren't somehow entitled to be able to airsoft. In addition, gear isn't required at most games. Are you going to get laughed at if you show up in shorts and a tshirt? Yeah probably, but I'm going to laugh at you for running around with a BE Aug just as hard. Probably harder. Heck, I've got gear and half the time I don't use it because I'm too lazy. I know people in this thread can attest to seeing me at a game wearing jeans and a tshirt. There's even picture proof. Let me give you a little hint. You are better off spending the extra cash on a worthy gun then spending it on gear. You come out to the game with $600 worth of gear and a $100 that couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, you know what happens? Your team wishes they had a teammate that could actually hit a target. You come out with jeans and a tshirt and pick off people with your $400 gun that shoots lasers, you know what happens? Your team is glad they have somebody who can hit their target regardless of what you are wearing.
If you are an adult and can't afford it you either need to look at your budget or come to terms with the fact there are somethings you can't afford (probably the former). But I can tell you right now I work at GoDaddy making $13/hr, and I can afford to airsoft. They are hiring right now, feel free to apply. I know I'm not the only GoDaddy employee on here. Give them my name on your application and I'll even split the referral bonus with you.
If you are a child and this means mommy and daddy won't buy the guns for you any more. Tough, there's a reason they have a minimum age to purchase. You'll just have to wait like the rest of us did. You have to wait to own a car, you have to wait to own a gun. See the pattern?
Heck, if you can
convince me that you
can't afford an extra $200 for a better gun (not that you just don't want to live in a manner that allows you to afford one), I'll
give you one. I somehow expect I'll be hanging onto my guns though.
