Why so few freshman athletic teams/How does it affect college admissions review?

[Anonymous]

My 9th grader is going out for the tennis team at his high school, where there's only one (Varsity) team and I'm feeling so frustrated and disappointed that his chances of getting a spot are so low. He feels defeated, and I'm having the 'in my day...' reaction -- coming from a suburban high school where every sport had a freshman, JV and Varsity team such that more kids has the opportunity to participate.

In such a competitive county, I'm curious what the backstory is on why the athletics teams/programs are so limited/limiting (e.g., so few/no freshman and even JV teams)? And of course, the my anxious parenting reflex makes me wonder how FCPS kids compete with/compare against kids in other areas who have more opportunities to join and participate in sports when it comes to college admissions? But really, I feel so cheated/conflicted -- we live in such an amazing county/school district and yet feel like I'm failing my kid/letting him down b/c of the more limited opportunities.

[Anonymous]

Simply don’t have the field space to accommodate all the teams. Also can’t find enough coaches to coach them. Athletics has always been an afterthought in FCPS.

[Anonymous]

Be lucky he plays a sport like tennis that is not that competitive. 150 boys tried out for 36 soccer spots at our school this week.

Its frustrating that such a wealthy county doesn't seem to care about offering multiple levels of the sport to broaden participation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Be lucky he plays a sport like tennis that is not that competitive. 150 boys tried out for 36 soccer spots at our school this week.

Its frustrating that such a wealthy county doesn't seem to care about offering multiple levels of the sport to broaden participation.

Pretty sure that basketball is even more competitive. At some point, that's life.

[Anonymous]

OP, there's a clear answer here: so far as colleges are concerned, participation in high school athletics matter no more and no less than any other kind of high school extracurricular activity UNLESS you're a recruited athlete. In that case it matters a great deal more.

So if your kid can't make the varsity team he wasn't going to get recruited anyway.

[Anonymous]

There are a handful of no cut activities that thrive on all the kids who can’t make their first choice sports. Crew, marching band, cross country, football.

I get it. My basketball/baseball 8th grader probably won’t make either next year based on the cuts I’m seeing at the school (I teach there) this year. I’m steering him to consider some of the other options as a possible plan B.

[Anonymous]

It is one of the things I hate about this area. Not so much for college admission reasons, but just not being able to have the experience of representing their school in a sport that they have really enjoyed growing up, when they are still pretty darn good at it but not elite. I am seeing my hometown friends’ kids being able to participate in the sport of their choice even if they are not an elite athlete, or even be able to try a new sport in middle or high school. Where I grew up is not rural by any means, but not a major metro area. I really don’t think it’s a uniformly good thing for kids to grow up in a hyper competitive environment. I struggled with self-esteem when I was younger and later on built self-confidence through being able to be successful at something. I think growing up somewhere like this would have felt very discouraging to me and I may not have persisted at the thing that I ended up being really good at. I wish I thought about this kind of thing more when my kids were younger, but I was so busy with the day-to-day of raising little ones. And now it feels like we’re stuck with this unless we really had to move for a compelling reason. I’ve tried to prepare my middle schooler about how hard it is to make most of the sports teams so it’s not such a disappointment when they get to high school.

[Anonymous]

Transfer to a different high school with a team that’s easier to make.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, there's a clear answer here: so far as colleges are concerned, participation in high school athletics matter no more and no less than any other kind of high school extracurricular activity UNLESS you're a recruited athlete. In that case it matters a great deal more.

So if your kid can't make the varsity team he wasn't going to get recruited anyway.

Of course. My main question/frustration is not about student athletes (and IMO, a 9th grader shouldn't have to compete at the Varsity level to have the opportunity to participate in a team sport in high school -- especially given the fact that it is such an important learning and growing opportunity for teenagers). I'm coming from a place where I believe there should be many/more opportunities for 9th graders to participate in any and all extracurriculars - sports, clubs, you name it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is one of the things I hate about this area. Not so much for college admission reasons, but just not being able to have the experience of representing their school in a sport that they have really enjoyed growing up, when they are still pretty darn good at it but not elite. I am seeing my hometown friends’ kids being able to participate in the sport of their choice even if they are not an elite athlete, or even be able to try a new sport in middle or high school. Where I grew up is not rural by any means, but not a major metro area. I really don’t think it’s a uniformly good thing for kids to grow up in a hyper competitive environment. I struggled with self-esteem when I was younger and later on built self-confidence through being able to be successful at something. I think growing up somewhere like this would have felt very discouraging to me and I may not have persisted at the thing that I ended up being really good at. I wish I thought about this kind of thing more when my kids were younger, but I was so busy with the day-to-day of raising little ones. And now it feels like we’re stuck with this unless we really had to move for a compelling reason. I’ve tried to prepare my middle schooler about how hard it is to make most of the sports teams so it’s not such a disappointment when they get to high school.

Yes. All of this! There are so many advantages to raising kids in this area, and yet so many disadvantages I did not anticipate and that put my mom guilt and anxiety into a tail spin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, there's a clear answer here: so far as colleges are concerned, participation in high school athletics matter no more and no less than any other kind of high school extracurricular activity UNLESS you're a recruited athlete. In that case it matters a great deal more.

So if your kid can't make the varsity team he wasn't going to get recruited anyway.

My frustration isn't about student athletes and being recruited. A 9th grader shouldn't have to compete at the Varsity level to be able to play for their school, have the chance to grow by being a part of a team sport, etc. Fewer teams = fewer extracurricular opportunities for our students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, there's a clear answer here: so far as colleges are concerned, participation in high school athletics matter no more and no less than any other kind of high school extracurricular activity UNLESS you're a recruited athlete. In that case it matters a great deal more.

So if your kid can't make the varsity team he wasn't going to get recruited anyway.

My frustration isn't about student athletes and being recruited. A 9th grader shouldn't have to compete at the Varsity level to be able to play for their school, have the chance to grow by being a part of a team sport, etc. Fewer teams = fewer extracurricular opportunities for our students.

Why isn’t your kid going out for track? They don’t have cuts and you can do field events if you don’t like running. You have opportunities you just need to use them.

[Anonymous]

I don't see this the same way some the PPs do.

I think making a team should be based on skill. If you're a freshman, but you are more skilled than a junior, you should make the varsity team over the junior. That's the way most coaches choose teams.

My niece was a varsity starter all four years of high school and was All-District (for four years), All-Region (for four years), and All-State (for three years). There were seniors on the team who had far less playing time. That's life.

My other niece didn't make varsity her freshman year, but did her sophomore year. However, she didn't become a starter until her senior year. That's life.

Not everyone makes the team. Not everyone gets a trophy. Not everyone wins.

[Anonymous]

This will not affect college admissions. There are 10 spots where your kid can enter ECs and that’s it. Your kid can include a school sport or play tennis outside of school. He can write up tennis anyway he wants when the time comes.

Have him play a sport because he wants to and likes it, not because he’s worried about college.

[Anonymous]

20:06 again and I’m referring to when he actually applies to college. He gets 10 spots to list all extra curricular activities combined for all of HS. That’s it. So don’t worry.