First of all we need to know what you mean by "crazy price" Next we need to know if you are shooting the team in full sun or under the lights. * in full sun a nice entry level digital SLR like any of the refurbished Nikon D5100 ($350 with lens) or Nikon D7000 ($550 body only), Canon T5 ($550 with lens) or Canon T5i ($800) or Pentax K-S2 ($650 with lens) or K3 ($650 body only) Add a nice 70-300 mm lens for shooting any field sports * under the lights, the camera and lens you will need to buy will probably fall under the "crazy" cost. I shoot a whole lot of High School Football.
I use a Nikon D800e with Nikkor AF-S 200 mm f/2.0 lens. I have to shoot at an ISO of 5000 to 6400 (depending upon the lighting on the field) at f2.0 to be able to use shutter speeds of 1/640th second or faster to stop the action. I will let you look up the costs of those two items I hope you are beginning to understand that NOT being a professional has NOTHING to do with the camera gear you need to shoot sports at night or indoors.
The lighting conditions are what dictate all of that. NOTE: What cameras are being used by those students assigned to photograph all the sporting events at your school? Have you seen the resulting photos?
Here is a link shot from the sidelines of a high school football game at night.
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