Is the traditional American high school experience of playing sports dead?

[Anonymous]

I always thought that a big part of the American high school experience is playing sports. That is why sports are featured so prominently in any teen movies or TV shows. Yet, it’s basically impossible to pass tryouts at the high school level if you haven’t played the sport from a young age besides cross country/track and swimming. And even for those two sports, you need to start them from a young age to excel at them and make varsity.

It just feels like sports have become unobtainable. It doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, but it’s sad that what was once a big American tradition is dying.

[Anonymous]

It’s still available for kids in rec leagues, and in smaller schools, but in this area, yes, it’s very competitive.

[Anonymous]

Sporty people and popular people overlap. Because popular people are often extroverted and like to be on teams.

Movies tend to idolize popular, competitive, successful people.

There always have been other common tropes about non-sporty kids who have fun in high school: band nerds, choir kids, and drama kids are some of them. Remember about the show "Glee"?

[Anonymous]

The schools here don't have enough outdoor space to offer a lot of sports. So people sign up in other ways. It's fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sporty people and popular people overlap. Because popular people are often extroverted and like to be on teams.

Movies tend to idolize popular, competitive, successful people.

There always have been other common tropes about non-sporty kids who have fun in high school: band nerds, choir kids, and drama kids are some of them. Remember about the show "Glee"?

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sporty people and popular people overlap. Because popular people are often extroverted and like to be on teams.

Movies tend to idolize popular, competitive, successful people.

There always have been other common tropes about non-sporty kids who have fun in high school: band nerds, choir kids, and drama kids are some of them. Remember about the show "Glee"?

What does that have to do with the topic of this thread?

OP, the new normal is pay to play starting in elementary school. High schools don't have the time, money, or space to develop raw talent that hasn't been through the pay to play system. This is why more and more people just focus on other cheaper activities outside of team sports. Or for the same price they put their kids in more niche individual sports.

[Anonymous]

Follow the money, OP. Americans love their professional sports. So much money spent, earned, etc. The cult of the athlete. How much is an NBA ticket these days?

This trickles down to the college level: the portal, recruiting, special consideration in admissions for athletes. Paying the athletes.

This now trickles down to the HS level. Club/travel, sports academies pretending to be schools, special consideration in admissions, etcetcetc.

And now it is trickling down to MS sports.

It’s too bad. But people keep paying so what are you going to do?

[Anonymous]

It’s possible to be on Freshman and JV on some (less popular) sports but generally have to play club to be in V as a freshman.

….. and in this area, swim is a cut sport so good luck if you haven’t done at least some competitive swim.

[Anonymous]

My son made two freshman teams this year for sports he had never played before.

[Anonymous]

My son made two varsity teams his freshman year in a private school. Had he been in public, he likely would have made the teams but played JV freshman and sophomore year.

[Anonymous]

I am confused.

So many kids try out for sports that they have to make a lot of cuts. How is that evidence that high school sports are dead?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am confused.

So many kids try out for sports that they have to make a lot of cuts. How is that evidence that high school sports are dead?

They are saying that you can't start a new sport in high school, which is, for the most part, true.

[Anonymous]

It shouldn’t be surprising that in competitive, affluent, educated areas that the kids (and more often than not the parents) are competitive.

Parents around here are definitely Keeping up with the Jones personalities. So whether it’s sports, competitive dance, musical theatre, or academic extra curricular activities it shouldn’t be shocking that it trickles down to the kids activities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am confused.

So many kids try out for sports that they have to make a lot of cuts. How is that evidence that high school sports are dead?

They are saying that you can't start a new sport in high school, which is, for the most part, true.

You can’t start the most popular sports new. The title says something completely different.

[Anonymous]

I know it’s free child minding and makes them tired, but I think it’s ridiculous. If they want to do rec, fine, but the focus should be on academics or learning a trade.