Quitting varsity sport mid season

[Anonymous]

Just don’t report the sport as an EC or put as filler at the end with one less year of participation. How will a college know anything about quitting?

[Anonymous]

Just have him skip practices, fake an injury. Seen kids do this a million times.

[Anonymous]

I hate the fact that kids get no playing time, and that parents and coaches bully us into thinking that they have to just sit there and take it with no complaints. I had my daughter quit a club sport that we had paid for for this reason. The coach was not kind to her and spread a nasty lie about why she quit. I say this because I think this kind of sports culture is toxic, and it teaches kids to just take abuse from coaches, bosses and other authority figures. It’s not what I want my kid to take away. I’d rather they prioritize academics, work, leadership, etc. let your kid quit.

[Anonymous]

Depends how much time is left in the season. Some solutions: Make excuses to the coach for heavy homework/test nights to get out of practice. Or, on the day of a big test 4th period, allow your child to go to school late (missing periods 1-3) and write an excuse. This will allow him to grab extra study time. Work with your kid and make sure he doesn’t discuss with ANYONE. Junior year is stressful and you need to be on his side.

[Anonymous]

My DD was also not playing and we had a hard talk. Nearly quit. She decided to stick it out but she has more time with the team as a sophomore… if it were not looking like she was able to improve and play more, I would have no qualms about leaving the team. Seriously folks, these kids are not going pro here. A HS team is not exactly a development academy. Coaches need realize kids’ needs change with time. Hard to be a good teammate too when you are demoralized, and that can also impact sleep and homework. I’d leave the team.

[Anonymous]

I hate that this qustion isn't about the right thing to do but what will look good on a college application

the tail is wagging the dog

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just don’t report the sport as an EC or put as filler at the end with one less year of participation. How will a college know anything about quitting?

My kids' private schools (2 different high schools) put sports on the transcript.

[Anonymous]

It isn’t going to look any different on the common app if they quit now or at the end of the season.

But there is a lot to be said for being the sort of person that honors their commitments even if they aren’t fun. The commitment they made was for the season, with no promises of playing time. I would encourage my kid to play through the end of the season with the absolute best attitude and effort they can possibly put forward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate that this qustion isn't about the right thing to do but what will look good on a college application

the tail is wagging the dog

Totally agree

[Anonymous]

My kid is sophomore so maybe I am missing something, but I thought there were about 10 extracurricular spots on an application, with minimal space to explain

So I would think that if Varsity Sportsball were one of them you'd just say "Varsity Sportsball, 2024-2025 Fall season, 6 hours a week totaling 60 hours" and leave it at that, among all the others ECs you list. So really no biggie.

[Anonymous]

Quitting takes senior year out of the question. He may regret that next year. I’d quietly miss some practices (ortho, sick, etc) but not quit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just don’t report the sport as an EC or put as filler at the end with one less year of participation. How will a college know anything about quitting?

My kids' private schools (2 different high schools) put sports on the transcript.

The rest of us don't seem to have that problem

[Anonymous]

Wrong forum

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate the fact that kids get no playing time, and that parents and coaches bully us into thinking that they have to just sit there and take it with no complaints. I had my daughter quit a club sport that we had paid for for this reason. The coach was not kind to her and spread a nasty lie about why she quit. I say this because I think this kind of sports culture is toxic, and it teaches kids to just take abuse from coaches, bosses and other authority figures. It’s not what I want my kid to take away. I’d rather they prioritize academics, work, leadership, etc. let your kid quit.

This this this. My kid was a starter and I still thought it was too much of a time suck and the coaches treated everyone other than the stars like crap. You also weren’t allowed to read a book even if you were injured and had to sit and watch the kids practice. If my kid wasn’t getting any play time, I’d have him fake an injury and quit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just don’t report the sport as an EC or put as filler at the end with one less year of participation. How will a college know anything about quitting?

My kids' private schools (2 different high schools) put sports on the transcript.

The rest of us don't seem to have that problem

I posted because I'm not sure some people are even aware of this. I wasn't until my kid was a senior. These are two large schools in DC.