Reducing the academic load to play elite soccer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wake up parents, u14 kids from DA clubs already doing home school to prepare for the professional soccer career, who needs high school or college!!!

Lol. That will work for exactly one child in the metro area in all sports. But I am sure it is yours and yours and yours and mine.

Remember Dexter Manley? A Washington Redskins player that couldn’t read/write.

[Anonymous]

We all adore watching our talented players learn and compete and improve and win (and lose). But no one else is as thrilled or will pay to watch unless an athlete is a freak of nature and those are very very very rare. Sorry. None of our talented kids are going to get paid to play sports. A few could get some college scholly dollars but that comes at a price as well. It may be worth that price but it may not be worth it

[Anonymous]

Balancing academics and DA in high school is a delicate and challenging balance, but can be a path to elite colleges. This year's Bethesda U19 team commits include Stanford, Brown, Cornell, Georgetown, Air Force, and Colgate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Educate your brains people. Why would you skimp on academics for soccer unless you were a professional being paid? That seems really really misguided. Don't do that.

High school is just a way to get to college.

Everybody has different paths.

Some overload APs and some have a talent.

Neither is right or wrong .

I'm not the poster you responded to but I agree with them. The vast majority of kids will do absolutely nothing with their sport beyond college and may not even play in college. There are so few scholarships that in most cases, sports is not getting a kid into college who would not go otherwise. I've seen kids who got in to good colleges who chose a crappy, small, never heard of college just because kids are impressed by being "signed". Would you feel good if your kid went to Chowan University because they got signed there where kid could have gone to umd or vt?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wake up parents, u14 kids from DA clubs already doing home school to prepare for the professional soccer career, who needs high school or college!!!

Lol. That will work for exactly one child in the metro area in all sports. But I am sure it is yours and yours and yours and mine.

Remember Dexter Manley? A Washington Redskins player that couldn’t read/write.

Thanks telling this, right fit in.

"After his career in the United States ended, he revealed that he was functionally illiterate, despite having studied at Oklahoma State University for four years."

He did go to "Oklahoma State University"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I see no problem with reducing academic load to provide balance. It goes both ways, a kid should not play DA at the detriment of academics but a kid should not just study all the time with no physical outlet or ever having risen to the highest level of some activity. Playing at the highest level of the sport is also a learning tool.

The commitment, teamwork, dedication, and expertise to play at the DA level should not be overlooked as a learning tool to create a well balanced member of society.

I would rather work with a well balanced person than one who spent all his/her time in the books or vice versa on the soccer field.

Education should come first. How many of us know kids who were serious athletes who are now working at a gym making just above minimum wage. I can introduce you to several working at the mall. I can introduce you to several of rarely played on their college teams and dropped out of college. These were not dumb kids who couldn't cut it in college. They couldn't cut it on their sports teams and were left adrift at universities that had nothing to offer them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wake up parents, u14 kids from DA clubs already doing home school to prepare for the professional soccer career, who needs high school or college!!!

One extreme example is not an indication of a normal situation. Kids should be able to do both but not to an extreme on either end. The kid that spends all his time taking too many AP courses and having a miserable high school experience may burn out in college as well as one who only focuses on sport. Do both but not to an extreme and the kid is set. It is not even about going on to be a professional player. It is about experiencing the top level in something but keeping all options open, including with academics.

[Anonymous]

Yes, it is common for elite juniors. Many in many sports are home-schooled, but not really, they attend one of online HS.

[Anonymous]

Enjoy the lighter course load while you prepare to play in college. Once you are done, my kid that didn't make the cut to play college soccer, will send you his U9 for you to coach. The numbers don't lie, less than 3% will make it to college, less than 3% of those will move onto a pro career. I say "pro" as in MLS which means you not getting those Million dollar contracts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Educate your brains people. Why would you skimp on academics for soccer unless you were a professional being paid? That seems really really misguided. Don't do that.

High school is just a way to get to college.

Everybody has different paths.

Some overload APs and some have a talent.

Neither is right or wrong .

I'm not the poster you responded to but I agree with them. The vast majority of kids will do absolutely nothing with their sport beyond college and may not even play in college. There are so few scholarships that in most cases, sports is not getting a kid into college who would not go otherwise. I've seen kids who got in to good colleges who chose a crappy, small, never heard of college just because kids are impressed by being "signed". Would you feel good if your kid went to Chowan University because they got signed there where kid could have gone to umd or vt?

We are talking specifically about DA here and Division 1 schools, not generally about a kid going to a D3 school

[Anonymous]

Yeah, the thing I don't get is doing this for soccer. Great, so they get an MLS job for a few years. Then what?

It could make sense for basketball or football, for rare athletes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Educate your brains people. Why would you skimp on academics for soccer unless you were a professional being paid? That seems really really misguided. Don't do that.

High school is just a way to get to college.

Everybody has different paths.

Some overload APs and some have a talent.

Neither is right or wrong .

I'm not the poster you responded to but I agree with them. The vast majority of kids will do absolutely nothing with their sport beyond college and may not even play in college. There are so few scholarships that in most cases, sports is not getting a kid into college who would not go otherwise. I've seen kids who got in to good colleges who chose a crappy, small, never heard of college just because kids are impressed by being "signed". Would you feel good if your kid went to Chowan University because they got signed there where kid could have gone to umd or vt?

I think it is best for my kid to go to a college doing something he enjoys.

The vast majority of kids will do absolutely nothing with calculus, chemistry and physics.... so?

If a kid wants to play a sport, or paint, or dance or do theater in college.... and they are getting "committed" why not take easier classes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Enjoy the lighter course load while you prepare to play in college. Once you are done, my kid that didn't make the cut to play college soccer, will send you his U9 for you to coach. The numbers don't lie, less than 3% will make it to college, less than 3% of those will move onto a pro career. I say "pro" as in MLS which means you not getting those Million dollar contracts.

Why does everybody think of million $$ contracts.

Some people hate fraternities and love a sport. So they go to college... D1, they get some playing time junior and senior year... never go pro, have a college degree and friends from their sport... and they enjoy it.

What don't people understand.

So you got a degree in English and you will never write a book... or you got a degree in chemistry and never published a paper... who cares!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wake up parents, u14 kids from DA clubs already doing home school to prepare for the professional soccer career, who needs high school or college!!!

Lol. That will work for exactly one child in the metro area in all sports. But I am sure it is yours and yours and yours and mine.

Remember Dexter Manley? A Washington Redskins player that couldn’t read/write.

Thanks telling this, right fit in.

"After his career in the United States ended, he revealed that he was functionally illiterate, despite having studied at Oklahoma State University for four years."

He did go to "Oklahoma State University"

In 1987 he learned to read at the Lab school and become literate by 1990.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Enjoy the lighter course load while you prepare to play in college. Once you are done, my kid that didn't make the cut to play college soccer, will send you his U9 for you to coach. The numbers don't lie, less than 3% will make it to college, less than 3% of those will move onto a pro career. I say "pro" as in MLS which means you not getting those Million dollar contracts.

Why does everybody think of million $$ contracts.

Some people hate fraternities and love a sport. So they go to college... D1, they get some playing time junior and senior year... never go pro, have a college degree and friends from their sport... and they enjoy it.

What don't people understand.

So you got a degree in English and you will never write a book... or you got a degree in chemistry and never published a paper... who cares!

Ikr. Chemistry degree or soccer degree. Same difference. Lol.