Missing school for big sports events

[Anonymous]

If any of your kids participate in a high level/travel sport, how do you handle events that require missed school time? My fourth grader has become very good, very quickly, at swimming and is qualifying for big multiple-day swim meets, many of them out of town. Its not like it’s all the time but seems to working out to a couple days, every other month or so. I am excited for him and want him to enjoy these opportunities but also feel a bit ridiculous taking a nine year old out of school for a sport. Of course there is some pressure from coaches to attend but I also know I can decline. Do you take your kid out of school for a sport? If so, how many times a school year and how do you approach it with the school? Thanks for any advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If any of your kids participate in a high level/travel sport, how do you handle events that require missed school time? My fourth grader has become very good, very quickly, at swimming and is qualifying for big multiple-day swim meets, many of them out of town. Its not like it’s all the time but seems to working out to a couple days, every other month or so. I am excited for him and want him to enjoy these opportunities but also feel a bit ridiculous taking a nine year old out of school for a sport. Of course there is some pressure from coaches to attend but I also know I can decline. Do you take your kid out of school for a sport? If so, how many times a school year and how do you approach it with the school? Thanks for any advice.

I’m in a similar position with my 9 year old DD. I’m tying it to her school performance. She did a great job with her 1st quarter grades so she is getting to miss a Friday in December for a swim meet. She knows that if her grades start slipping we won’t let her miss school to swim.

[Anonymous]

Dd misses a few days/half days a year for swim meets. She’s a good student and catches up quickly. She goes out of her way to choose events that will get her out of school 500 fly? Why yes, sounds awesome!

[Anonymous]

Public or private? Our MoCo public MS and HS were ok with our kid missing 3-5 weeks per year for regional/national level sports, but he had to make all the work up within a week of returning (or before he left). He did a lot of work while on the road as well. Early communication with all teachers is key.

Every jurisdiction varies, so if possible ask other parents in the same boat.

[Anonymous]

This is a personal decision. Different sport than swimming, but I know families were militant about avoiding any missed school and families that had kids that missed a lot. Sports wise...it made little difference in the end. The talent was the talent and that was what mattered in the end to college coaches

Not sure academics wise. That depends on the student, the school, the rigor of the classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dd misses a few days/half days a year for swim meets. She’s a good student and catches up quickly. She goes out of her way to choose events that will get her out of school 500 fly? Why yes, sounds awesome!

Lol, this is so true. My DD has not caught on yet that the distance events are more likely to get her out of school, but I’m sure when she does she will suddenly have an interest in doing distance fly (she avoids fly to the extent possible now, so it will be an easy tell!).

[Anonymous]

My 11 year old daughter plays an instrument and occasionally misses a half-day here and there when she's preparing for a competition.

It's all fine, OP, until high school, which is when it's much harder for kids to miss instruction, because classes are faster-paced and if you're cramming in lots of APs, homework can accumulate REALLY quickly.

Your child has a few good years ahead of him, and then he'll have to decide what he can realistically do with the time he has.

[Anonymous]

My daughter was a high level gymnast. From third grade on she missed school for events. I’d guess it was like three weeks a year, maybe a bit more. They just have to make up the work. It’s not really a big deal if you decide you want to do it.

[Anonymous]

I would never have a kid miss 3 weeks in a school year. That’s crazy! Unless they are competing at Olympic level events but usually at that level they are homeschooled. For a regular kid that’s somewhat good, I would say 3-5 days per year would be the max that I’d allow. My kid is D1 level good and that is the max that we allow to miss. So I guess I’m agreeing to the Moco regulation listed above.

[Anonymous]

I think I view it a little differently, but then again my DC is a bit older (though they started missing days when she was around 11). The question is, is it worth it to *them*

I don’t tell them, “Oh your grades have to be ____ and you have to make up the work” because that is implicit. If they wants to go to these events, they know that school comes first, because to participate in the sport to begin with, school comes first. If they can’t miss the days and keep up with the work in the higher grades, there is no chance of college sports, which is what my DC is aiming for.

However, since your child is so young, there really is no effect- on the sport or on school.

[Anonymous]

the pandemic gave me both a break from having to make the decision since meets were cancelled but also appreciation for how much he loves to swim. Everything was cancelled for my kid two years ago and last year it was so low-key compared to normal. So this year, we will travel when he qualifies and are really appreciating it.

You definitely feel a little silly pulling them though, and my kid is even older than your kid, but who knows how long my kid will even make these bigger meets as the standards become harder to make/kids grow and change etc.

[Anonymous]

i say yes to missing a day here and there. I said no to the spring meet next year that would mean missing three days of school. My kid is in 9th, though and I might have let them miss more in 4th!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dd misses a few days/half days a year for swim meets. She’s a good student and catches up quickly. She goes out of her way to choose events that will get her out of school 500 fly? Why yes, sounds awesome!

Lol, this is so true. My DD has not caught on yet that the distance events are more likely to get her out of school, but I’m sure when she does she will suddenly have an interest in doing distance fly (she avoids fly to the extent possible now, so it will be an easy tell!).

Just curious but why is that?

[Anonymous]

School comes before sport. You are limiting their choices in life by focusing on their sport that may not work out in the future.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:School comes before sport. You are limiting their choices in life by focusing on their sport that may not work out in the future.

I mean, I’m not sure missing a few days of school here and there in fourth grade is really “limiting their choices in life.”