Sports

[Anonymous]

This is a question to the parents of upperclassmen of honors/magnet/ib kids headed to college.

A lot of very smart kids are spending 2 hrs a day in practice for their sport.

My question is, what is the motivation?
- is it that the kids just really really like it? Either the sport itself, or the community ?
- do you think the kids believe they have a chance of getting a sports related scholarship (in which case, you basically have to be number 1 or 2 in that sport at your school, and most are *not* number 1)?
- do you think it has a significant impact on college acceptances, showing that you are well rounded? in other words, do you think selective colleges, given 3 kids from the same school, taking similar loads, having similar gpas/sats, and 1 is doing all academic clubs (robotics, math team, etc), 1 is doing a mix of random clubs, and 1 is doing 1 or more varsity sports - is the sports kid really coming out looking better? Assuming they aren't number 1?

I only ask because my 8th grader has a lot of varied interests. She does have a sport she enjoys (and is good at, but not the best) but 2 hrs/day 5-6 times a week seems very high cost, both in being able to explore other interests and time for academics. And, you know, sleep. At an informational meeting this week, one of the kids (in several sports and a challenging program) admitted they get about 5 hrs of sleep a night. That doesn't seem healthy for a growing teen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a question to the parents of upperclassmen of honors/magnet/ib kids headed to college.

A lot of very smart kids are spending 2 hrs a day in practice for their sport.

My question is, what is the motivation?
- is it that the kids just really really like it? Either the sport itself, or the community ?
- do you think the kids believe they have a chance of getting a sports related scholarship (in which case, you basically have to be number 1 or 2 in that sport at your school, and most are *not* number 1)?
- do you think it has a significant impact on college acceptances, showing that you are well rounded? in other words, do you think selective colleges, given 3 kids from the same school, taking similar loads, having similar gpas/sats, and 1 is doing all academic clubs (robotics, math team, etc), 1 is doing a mix of random clubs, and 1 is doing 1 or more varsity sports - is the sports kid really coming out looking better? Assuming they aren't number 1?

I only ask because my 8th grader has a lot of varied interests. She does have a sport she enjoys (and is good at, but not the best) but 2 hrs/day 5-6 times a week seems very high cost, both in being able to explore other interests and time for academics. And, you know, sleep. At an informational meeting this week, one of the kids (in several sports and a challenging program) admitted they get about 5 hrs of sleep a night. That doesn't seem healthy for a growing teen.

They don't! There is so much emphasis in this county on ECs (especially sports) and it puts so much pressure on these kids. I think the type of commitment you're talking about here works for high flyers. For kids in the middle, it's difficult for a lot of them to balance school and ECs that require a daily commitment. I remember when my kid was a wrestler and they would have matches during the week along with daily practices. Often he wouldn't get home until after 10pm from weeknight matches and then have to finish up homework, try to get some sleep and then be up at 6:30 the next morning for school. In the middle of his junior year he just said enough and literally quit because his grades were suffering and he was exhausted. He tried very hard to balance everything for 2 years so we respected his decision to put his own interests (grades and getting into a good college) over a sport he knew he would not be continuing in college. Yes, he felt like he let some people down but in the end it really was the best decision he could make. Just make sure your kid is up for that balancing act. There's no wiggle room in high school.

[Anonymous]

I don't think most kids playing multiple high school sports do it because they think it gives them an advantage in college admissions, and even fewer do it because they think they have an actual shot at a D1 scholarship or athletic recruitment. Nearly all of them do it for a combination of the enjoyment of the sport, being with friends, needing some sort of extracurricular activity to do to round out college apps, social status within the school, momentum from just always having played the sport since they were 5, etc. It's like anything else in a teen's life - if it becomes too much and grades start to suffer, they will need to reprioritize.

[Anonymous]

From what I see there are a few reasons kids are doing this:
1. Parents and kid thinks sport will pan out to a college scholarship.
2. Parents pushing kid to practice be "best" at sport
3. Kids really enjoy the sport

Unfortunately, very few kids end up playing their sport in college.

[Anonymous]

I can tell you very few kids playing in high school think it will lead to a college scholarship.
It's really more #3. It's just a fun extracurricular.

It does not help them in admissions other than showing they have interests but it would be the same as for a kid who is really into their instrument or really into robotics.

5 hours of sleep a night isn't healthy.

Since you are talking about kids who presumably have a very high academic load in addition to the sports, I do think some kids who do this do it at the expense of their mental and physical health.

[Anonymous]

I don’t agree with posters here who believe that the kids merely do sports because they love the sport. There might be a very small percentage of those kids.
From my experience, having sent 2 kids to college and with a middle schooler right now, most sports families are focused on seeking an edge in college applications. They either are eyeing an SLAC and think with sports they have a shot or an Ivy or something similar. Just like kids join multiple clubs or start non profits etc, do you really think they all love that club or the cause? Maybe a very small percentage but the majority are doing this to get an edge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t agree with posters here who believe that the kids merely do sports because they love the sport. There might be a very small percentage of those kids.
From my experience, having sent 2 kids to college and with a middle schooler right now, most sports families are focused on seeking an edge in college applications. They either are eyeing an SLAC and think with sports they have a shot or an Ivy or something similar. Just like kids join multiple clubs or start non profits etc, do you really think they all love that club or the cause? Maybe a very small percentage but the majority are doing this to get an edge.

You sound crazy. Having had three kids on top travel teams there was maybe only one kid who was actually interested in playing in college and had a shot. Everyone else was in it for fun or physical activity. No one is as stupid as you think. Being a middling club player gives you no advantage for college admission and everyone knows that.