It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We actively discouraged HS sports for our two sons. Way too much time for any meaningful payoff in terms of college admissions. GPA is much more important than 4 years on the baseball team or whatever. Kids play club sports that don't have grueling travel schedules and focus on academics.

But we seem to be the minority. I'm baffled by the number of people I know whose kids spent 30+ hours a week around sports in HS. Very few will be recruited anywhere attractive and even among those who are, it's not uncommon to lose interest, get injured, etc and ultimately you may be stuck at a school that wouldn't have been optimal without the team aspect. I really think there is some kind of mania/obsession that sets in and skews perspectives.

Colleges get that sports take a lot of time. They are impressed by kids who can excel academically while devoting so much time to a non-academic pursuit. They know that the kid who did sports had to work much harder and be more efficient and organized than the kid who studied and only did academic-related extracurriculars.

Keep telling yourself that! Most colleges pay much more attention to grades and stats. No one is giving extra points to a candidate for sports practice.

Ummm, the poster basically said they had both. My kids spent a crazy amount of time in sports, but still had straight As in hardest rigor and very high test scores, 5s all AP exams. They could juggle both fine. Fast processing speed, good memory, etc. They take less time to understand and read course work than other kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here who said they matter. My kid played travel soccer and JV/V soccer all 4 years of HS. They were a referee and youth coach as well. They were captain of their travel team and their JV team. This was a significant and worthwhile endeavor, both on their applications and beyond. They were an excellent student and are now at a T20 school.

The bolded is why your kid got into a T20--not the athletics.

Also that they were referee, coach, and captain, and wrote engagingly about how they followed their passion and were challenged and grew from these responsibilities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Both my son and daughter were cut from the golf team at Langley High School in different years. The competition at public schools in affluent areas is absolutely brutal.

Especially in the country club sports because those kids can play all year long and usually start young.

[Anonymous]

I live in the South- high school golf and tennis are super-competitive down here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Plus the time commitment is huge— playing multiple sports well and earning top grades is a much bigger accomplishment than people credit it— many varsity athletes get home late in the evening and then stay up quite late getting school stuff done. I think athletic activity is a good indicator of initiative and time management because it’s not just a matter of fun and games. It’s a big commitment.

We do not care. I want smart colleagues focused on work, not the Weds. night softball league.

[Anonymous]

I think it’s interesting that many of you don’t let your kids play on the HS sports team. My kid would say that was the most fun part of playing their sport once they hit HS. They got to play with their closest friends (not usually on the same teams for travel), for their school where classmates could come cheer them on, working towards a collective goals as representatives of their community. And from playing club soccer they knew a few players on almost every opposing team. It’s a much more fun atmosphere and the season is like 3 months max.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In the other thread about cuts, everyone mentioned how you many kids on travel teams since 8 don’t pass freshman tryouts in high school. Even if your kid is lucky enough to make varsity, it doesn’t matter much for admissions. It’s just crazy when it’s so hard to make the high school team

Everything doesn't have to revolve around college admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even more so for spring sports when your DC doesn’t have time to study for AP exams.

AP exams are for chumps.

And it is a lot easier to get good grades if all you do is study. That's why schools like kids with other interests.

Its not easier to get good grades for everyone. This is wishful thinking that without sports your kid would've been an academic whiz.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Plus the time commitment is huge— playing multiple sports well and earning top grades is a much bigger accomplishment than people credit it— many varsity athletes get home late in the evening and then stay up quite late getting school stuff done. I think athletic activity is a good indicator of initiative and time management because it’s not just a matter of fun and games. It’s a big commitment.

Theater and volunteering is time consuming, so is robotics or a job. Sports isn't the only big commitment. If it is then do something else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sports are not more important than other extracurriculars like music. And those go all year, not just a season.

This^. Its a choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sports are not more important than other extracurriculars like music. And those go all year, not just a season.

This is where parents of athletes lose perspective; being in a sport is not more important than other ECs. There seems to be a belief that sports should be considered the most important EC for college admissions, and it just isn't, nor should it be. Parents list all the sports that their kids are in, but parents of nonathletes generally don't list them because unless you are national award winner, the type of EC isn't important. It is the quality of your participation in it that matters in college admission - how long, do you have a leadership role, and does it fit your intended major?

I agree and as to the time commitment it is no more than that of students with major roles in plays and musicals and those also don't magically result in college admissions. Much of this thread just sounds to me like parents who steered their kids towards sports expecting a college outcome and now have a bit of sour grapes when they realize that other than the few who are good enough to be recruited by colleges for a sport it doesn't have the impact they expected.

This^.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In the other thread about cuts, everyone mentioned how you many kids on travel teams since 8 don’t pass freshman tryouts in high school. Even if your kid is lucky enough to make varsity, it doesn’t matter much for admissions. It’s just crazy when it’s so hard to make the high school team

College admissions are frustrating. PERIOD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s interesting that many of you don’t let your kids play on the HS sports team. My kid would say that was the most fun part of playing their sport once they hit HS. They got to play with their closest friends (not usually on the same teams for travel), for their school where classmates could come cheer them on, working towards a collective goals as representatives of their community. And from playing club soccer they knew a few players on almost every opposing team. It’s a much more fun atmosphere and the season is like 3 months max.

+1

Well said. I cannot believe how many parents think life begins at college. It just seems like a sad waste of childhood and adolescence.

[Anonymous]

I love that my kids had the opportunity to play high school sports. The health, social and team building opportunities are amazing. I just wish more low income kids had the opportunities to participate in them as well. At our high FARMS school, you see the same kids playing all the sports pretty much. There are many three sport varsity athletes, who usually are amazing at one sport, but also make other teams because of the lack of competition. It is great for them, but I feel like the low income students just loose the chance to grow in other areas. Now, our school is pretty bad at most sports, but I am glad my own kids had the opportunities to participate in sports as complete newbies!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s interesting that many of you don’t let your kids play on the HS sports team. My kid would say that was the most fun part of playing their sport once they hit HS. They got to play with their closest friends (not usually on the same teams for travel), for their school where classmates could come cheer them on, working towards a collective goals as representatives of their community. And from playing club soccer they knew a few players on almost every opposing team. It’s a much more fun atmosphere and the season is like 3 months max.

Our HS coach is a complete asshat. It’s misery. Most stopped after a year or two—and the level sucked so much.