Does anyone hate how competitive the world has become?

[Anonymous]

Well, keep up and rise to the occasion or get left behind. Make smart decisions, be a planner, take risks and create opportunities. American’s are largely complacent and choose to not reach for more. My kids enjoy excelling and being at the very top for everything. I do, as well. I am a competitive person though and always have been. My husband likes appearances as he is from an old Dallas family who is like that. Most will just not achieve and settle or suffer though. It is a fact of life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, keep up and rise to the occasion or get left behind. Make smart decisions, be a planner, take risks and create opportunities. American’s are largely complacent and choose to not reach for more. My kids enjoy excelling and being at the very top for everything. I do, as well. I am a competitive person though and always have been. My husband likes appearances as he is from an old Dallas family who is like that. Most will just not achieve and settle or suffer though. It is a fact of life.

Good advice but I think one problem is the parents create the opportunities not the children. Too many parents decide everything for their children which doesn’t help kids grow into independent adults.

You can be very successful without worrying about everyone around you. If you want a 4.0 GPA you do the work and sacrifice social time when you need to study. It’s a solo goal. It’s not a competition. If you are looking for an activity that you’d enjoy you research what’s available that would fit your skills.

Your kids are not at the very top of everything. No one is. How do you explain when, for example, they enter a national competition in some subject, it doesn’t matter, and they don’t place. Do they fall apart or do you explain that this happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s just the dc area. Move to the south or Midwest

THIS - or mountains. East Coast metro is the worst for rat race competitiveness.

If you’re speaking about sports, the DC area isn’t exactly known as a sports hub. It’s also not an area where a lot of pro athletes come from. The travel sports are similar to cheerleaders traveling to compete. It can be a fun activity for the whole family to involved in. But there might be a handful that can play in college, maybe 1-2%. Same with grades, 1% of students will get SATs greater than 1500.

So is it really competitive? You can’t give your child the genetics necessary to be a super athlete. He can only be the best he can be with what he has to work with. Same with academics. So students aren’t really competing against other students, they are just working on being the best that they can be. Parents need to be happy with that.

It is competitive enough where you need specialized training from a young age to make it to the high school level. It isn't like in the Midwest where anyone can sign up for any sport they want.

There are more D1 basketball players who go pro from the Midwest than the DC area. So they must be doing something right. Same with Hockey where cold states like Michigan produce a lot of the pro hockey players. The Southern states dominate football. D1 baseball players come from all over and pro baseball has a lot of Dominicans and Cubans who did not need specialized training. Just incredible talents.

No need to be crazy competitive about sports. If the only goal is to play high school sports how much time, commitment and money is really needed? The student will probably play in high school and probably not in college. Relax and let the kid enjoy it.

The DC area has the highest concentration of NBA players for a metro area…not really fair to compare it to 7-8 states combined. Also, the DC area has 4 HS teams ranked in the top 20 in the country which is actually incredible that they are within 20 miles of each other (and they aren’t the crazy national private schools that recruit kids nationwide).

Kids from the DR literally do nothing but play baseball all 12 months and are all gunning to make MLB academy teams at 14 where they receive incredible training for free (and a number sign pro contracts at 15).

I’m not sure how you're defining the high concentration of NBA players. I was talking about where these pro athletes grew up. Are you saying more grew up in DC than any other area?

And where did you get the information that DC area has four high schools nationally ranked in the US? I don’t see it.

I know there are a couple of Catholics schools in the area that do very well. The crazy national privates schools as you call them dominate the top 100 and like it or not that’s where a good amount of future college players are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My wish for my son with a number of learning disabilities is to teach sailing in Costa Rica or something. Have a little place, make a few friends and be happy. Whether he goes to a top college or even college, he's well educated being such a book worm anyway. He has a bit of money he'll inherit from a Trust Fund in his 20s so it'll be enough for him to survive. He has always loved to sail and teach - he's great with kids.

I don't need him to work in an office and become a VP or CEO. I don't need him to be an attorney or neurosurgeon or engineer to be "productive." I don't need him to make X amount of money and live in a "great" neighborhood. I just want him to be happy, healthy, feel good about what he does for work. He needs very little to be happy and academically, it's an uphill climb and I'm adamant that he doesn't have to climb that mountain unless he chooses to. He can live a "small" life and if that's enough for him, that's enough for me. In no way does this make him less of a person, man, son to me. I know his worth and I know how intelligent and knowledgeable he is without society judging him. His sanity and happiness is what I care about most of all.

I adore this person. I’m a mom of a child with multiple LDs and think the same way. Honestly, it’s such a better way to live anyway, find what brings you joy and peace. I wish someone mentioned that to me 30 years ago as an acceptable even valuable life goal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, keep up and rise to the occasion or get left behind. Make smart decisions, be a planner, take risks and create opportunities. American’s are largely complacent and choose to not reach for more. My kids enjoy excelling and being at the very top for everything. I do, as well. I am a competitive person though and always have been. My husband likes appearances as he is from an old Dallas family who is like that. Most will just not achieve and settle or suffer though. It is a fact of life.

define the very top.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, keep up and rise to the occasion or get left behind. Make smart decisions, be a planner, take risks and create opportunities. American’s are largely complacent and choose to not reach for more. My kids enjoy excelling and being at the very top for everything. I do, as well. I am a competitive person though and always have been. My husband likes appearances as he is from an old Dallas family who is like that. Most will just not achieve and settle or suffer though. It is a fact of life.

Dream on sally. Your kids are mediocre

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s just the dc area. Move to the south or Midwest

THIS - or mountains. East Coast metro is the worst for rat race competitiveness.

If you’re speaking about sports, the DC area isn’t exactly known as a sports hub. It’s also not an area where a lot of pro athletes come from. The travel sports are similar to cheerleaders traveling to compete. It can be a fun activity for the whole family to involved in. But there might be a handful that can play in college, maybe 1-2%. Same with grades, 1% of students will get SATs greater than 1500.

So is it really competitive? You can’t give your child the genetics necessary to be a super athlete. He can only be the best he can be with what he has to work with. Same with academics. So students aren’t really competing against other students, they are just working on being the best that they can be. Parents need to be happy with that.

It is competitive enough where you need specialized training from a young age to make it to the high school level. It isn't like in the Midwest where anyone can sign up for any sport they want.

There are more D1 basketball players who go pro from the Midwest than the DC area. So they must be doing something right. Same with Hockey where cold states like Michigan produce a lot of the pro hockey players. The Southern states dominate football. D1 baseball players come from all over and pro baseball has a lot of Dominicans and Cubans who did not need specialized training. Just incredible talents.

No need to be crazy competitive about sports. If the only goal is to play high school sports how much time, commitment and money is really needed? The student will probably play in high school and probably not in college. Relax and let the kid enjoy it.

The DC area has the highest concentration of NBA players for a metro area…not really fair to compare it to 7-8 states combined. Also, the DC area has 4 HS teams ranked in the top 20 in the country which is actually incredible that they are within 20 miles of each other (and they aren’t the crazy national private schools that recruit kids nationwide).

Kids from the DR literally do nothing but play baseball all 12 months and are all gunning to make MLB academy teams at 14 where they receive incredible training for free (and a number sign pro contracts at 15).

I’m not sure how you're defining the high concentration of NBA players. I was talking about where these pro athletes grew up. Are you saying more grew up in DC than any other area?

And where did you get the information that DC area has four high schools nationally ranked in the US? I don’t see it.

I know there are a couple of Catholics schools in the area that do very well. The crazy national privates schools as you call them dominate the top 100 and like it or not that’s where a good amount of future college players are.

At the end of last season, you had PVI, Gonzaga, Sidwell, Jackson-Reed and Bullis in the top 25. PVI finished #2.

Yes, more NBA players grew up in the DC area than I believe any other metro area…Kevin Durant is of course the most famous and his Team Durant AAU program is always one of the best in the country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s just the dc area. Move to the south or Midwest

THIS - or mountains. East Coast metro is the worst for rat race competitiveness.

If you’re speaking about sports, the DC area isn’t exactly known as a sports hub. It’s also not an area where a lot of pro athletes come from. The travel sports are similar to cheerleaders traveling to compete. It can be a fun activity for the whole family to involved in. But there might be a handful that can play in college, maybe 1-2%. Same with grades, 1% of students will get SATs greater than 1500.

So is it really competitive? You can’t give your child the genetics necessary to be a super athlete. He can only be the best he can be with what he has to work with. Same with academics. So students aren’t really competing against other students, they are just working on being the best that they can be. Parents need to be happy with that.

It is competitive enough where you need specialized training from a young age to make it to the high school level. It isn't like in the Midwest where anyone can sign up for any sport they want.

There are more D1 basketball players who go pro from the Midwest than the DC area. So they must be doing something right. Same with Hockey where cold states like Michigan produce a lot of the pro hockey players. The Southern states dominate football. D1 baseball players come from all over and pro baseball has a lot of Dominicans and Cubans who did not need specialized training. Just incredible talents.

No need to be crazy competitive about sports. If the only goal is to play high school sports how much time, commitment and money is really needed? The student will probably play in high school and probably not in college. Relax and let the kid enjoy it.

The DC area has the highest concentration of NBA players for a metro area…not really fair to compare it to 7-8 states combined. Also, the DC area has 4 HS teams ranked in the top 20 in the country which is actually incredible that they are within 20 miles of each other (and they aren’t the crazy national private schools that recruit kids nationwide).

Kids from the DR literally do nothing but play baseball all 12 months and are all gunning to make MLB academy teams at 14 where they receive incredible training for free (and a number sign pro contracts at 15).

I’m not sure how you're defining the high concentration of NBA players. I was talking about where these pro athletes grew up. Are you saying more grew up in DC than any other area?

And where did you get the information that DC area has four high schools nationally ranked in the US? I don’t see it.

I know there are a couple of Catholics schools in the area that do very well. The crazy national privates schools as you call them dominate the top 100 and like it or not that’s where a good amount of future college players are.

At the end of last season, you had PVI, Gonzaga, Sidwell, Jackson-Reed and Bullis in the top 25. PVI finished #2.

Yes, more NBA players grew up in the DC area than I believe any other metro area…Kevin Durant is of course the most famous and his Team Durant AAU program is always one of the best in the country.

You are dreaming. There are way more in DFW

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s just the dc area. Move to the south or Midwest

That’s not true.

I live in the South and people hire professionals to help their kids navigate through high school just so they can get into a middling state university here.

Yeah what’s up with that? Are the k-12 academics lacking or people just don’t leave the south?

Why are families in the south/Texas, even UMC and UC ones, so hellbent on their kid playing sports anywhere, even Tier III schools most people never heard of.

Don’t they have career plans or goals?

What’s the long game here? Just go back home marry the neighbor and work for a grandpa?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s just the dc area. Move to the south or Midwest

THIS - or mountains. East Coast metro is the worst for rat race competitiveness.

If you’re speaking about sports, the DC area isn’t exactly known as a sports hub. It’s also not an area where a lot of pro athletes come from. The travel sports are similar to cheerleaders traveling to compete. It can be a fun activity for the whole family to involved in. But there might be a handful that can play in college, maybe 1-2%. Same with grades, 1% of students will get SATs greater than 1500.

So is it really competitive? You can’t give your child the genetics necessary to be a super athlete. He can only be the best he can be with what he has to work with. Same with academics. So students aren’t really competing against other students, they are just working on being the best that they can be. Parents need to be happy with that.

It is competitive enough where you need specialized training from a young age to make it to the high school level. It isn't like in the Midwest where anyone can sign up for any sport they want.

There are more D1 basketball players who go pro from the Midwest than the DC area. So they must be doing something right. Same with Hockey where cold states like Michigan produce a lot of the pro hockey players. The Southern states dominate football. D1 baseball players come from all over and pro baseball has a lot of Dominicans and Cubans who did not need specialized training. Just incredible talents.

No need to be crazy competitive about sports. If the only goal is to play high school sports how much time, commitment and money is really needed? The student will probably play in high school and probably not in college. Relax and let the kid enjoy it.

The DC area has the highest concentration of NBA players for a metro area…not really fair to compare it to 7-8 states combined. Also, the DC area has 4 HS teams ranked in the top 20 in the country which is actually incredible that they are within 20 miles of each other (and they aren’t the crazy national private schools that recruit kids nationwide).

Kids from the DR literally do nothing but play baseball all 12 months and are all gunning to make MLB academy teams at 14 where they receive incredible training for free (and a number sign pro contracts at 15).

I’m not sure how you're defining the high concentration of NBA players. I was talking about where these pro athletes grew up. Are you saying more grew up in DC than any other area?

And where did you get the information that DC area has four high schools nationally ranked in the US? I don’t see it.

I know there are a couple of Catholics schools in the area that do very well. The crazy national privates schools as you call them dominate the top 100 and like it or not that’s where a good amount of future college players are.

At the end of last season, you had PVI, Gonzaga, Sidwell, Jackson-Reed and Bullis in the top 25. PVI finished #2.

Yes, more NBA players grew up in the DC area than I believe any other metro area…Kevin Durant is of course the most famous and his Team Durant AAU program is always one of the best in the country.

What are good girls basketball programs in Dallas, not exurbs. Our friend there can’t find any, especially for kids under grade 9.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s just the dc area. Move to the south or Midwest

That’s not true.

I live in the South and people hire professionals to help their kids navigate through high school just so they can get into a middling state university here.

Yeah what’s up with that? Are the k-12 academics lacking or people just don’t leave the south?

Why are families in the south/Texas, even UMC and UC ones, so hellbent on their kid playing sports anywhere, even Tier III schools most people never heard of.

Don’t they have career plans or goals?

What’s the long game here? Just go back home marry the neighbor and work for a grandpa?

Yeah. I never understood that either.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know for real (data/stats) if playing for your high school gets you into a top 10 college? I would guess you would have to be really good and get recruited or something. Just being on a team is not going to help. And realistically how many kids get recruited from one high school?
My kids were not into sports. They were more into academics and took lots of AP’s and even classes like MV, linear algebra etc..had almost a perfect SAT (first try) but that did not get my DS into MIT or Stanford..
My conclusion is, unless you are an athletic recruit or a legacy, or URM its mostly a crapshoot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know for real (data/stats) if playing for your high school gets you into a top 10 college? I would guess you would have to be really good and get recruited or something. Just being on a team is not going to help. And realistically how many kids get recruited from one high school?
My kids were not into sports. They were more into academics and took lots of AP’s and even classes like MV, linear algebra etc..had almost a perfect SAT (first try) but that did not get my DS into MIT or Stanford..
My conclusion is, unless you are an athletic recruit or a legacy, or URM its mostly a crapshoot.

Your actually question is what ECs are needed or given points to on a college app.

From the schools perspective they want to see a handful of dedicated activities (sports, arts, music, clubs, volunteering, a job) that your kid did every year, showed progress, dedication, and leadership in over time.

They do not want nor care to see you changing it up every single year or every fall/winter/spring, and no progress or development.

So have some primary things. And stick with them.

Obviously if you’re competitive go compete on the strongest team, program, and level you can. That certainly shows discipline, talent, perseverance, dedication, time management.

Look the college wants to know you don’t flit around and never finish anything. Or never reach your potential. What kind of alum would that be?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know for real (data/stats) if playing for your high school gets you into a top 10 college? I would guess you would have to be really good and get recruited or something. Just being on a team is not going to help. And realistically how many kids get recruited from one high school?
My kids were not into sports. They were more into academics and took lots of AP’s and even classes like MV, linear algebra etc..had almost a perfect SAT (first try) but that did not get my DS into MIT or Stanford..
My conclusion is, unless you are an athletic recruit or a legacy, or URM its mostly a crapshoot.

Yeah ivies and Stanford hoover up all the 4.0/5.0 top scholar athletes big time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s just the dc area. Move to the south or Midwest

That’s not true.

I live in the South and people hire professionals to help their kids navigate through high school just so they can get into a middling state university here.

Yeah what’s up with that? Are the k-12 academics lacking or people just don’t leave the south?

Why are families in the south/Texas, even UMC and UC ones, so hellbent on their kid playing sports anywhere, even Tier III schools most people never heard of.

Don’t they have career plans or goals?

What’s the long game here? Just go back home, marry the neighbor, and work for grandpa?

+1
It’s almost like a closed market emerging market country.

No one leaves - go to the big state schools, get in a sorority or fraternity, find your spouse, graduate, return back to Dallas forever and work for Dad’s firm or SAHM.