Does anyone hate how competitive the world has become?

[Anonymous]

I even know Texas high school grads athletes who tried great Big 10 schools yet transferred to TCu or SMU for sophomore year onwards. Oh well. Some regional thing going on there, big time.

[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.

Now I am curious what family! signed, former Dallasite.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Stanford hoovers up top athletes period...you don't have to be a scholar athlete. They have higher standards than NCAA minimums, but their standards are far below the average Stanford stats for non-athletes.

Even Ivy athletes in football, basketball, baseball can be hundreds of SAT points lower than the median for non-athletes.

The other thing is you don't have to do anything else except your sport, and if you get a commitment then completing the application is nothing more than an administrative exercise. Nobody is reading it...in fact you get dedicated AO's at Stanford or Harvard reviewing what you do before you even submit it just to make sure you don't do something stupid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Stanford hoovers up top athletes period...you don't have to be a scholar athlete. They have higher standards than NCAA minimums, but their standards are far below the average Stanford stats for non-athletes.

Even Ivy athletes in football, basketball, baseball can be hundreds of SAT points lower than the median for non-athletes.

The other thing is you don't have to do anything else except your sport, and if you get a commitment then completing the application is nothing more than an administrative exercise. Nobody is reading it...in fact you get dedicated AO's at Stanford or Harvard reviewing what you do before you even submit it just to make sure you don't do something stupid.

In the industry I have worked for 25 years, I frequently find out that some of my best and intelligent business partners played D1 team sport at their Ivy.

It doesn't bother me, I did club water polo and a ton of stuff in college- loved all four years, and when you ask they roll their eyes at doing the AAU or ECNL or crazy volleyball circuit for 4-6 years of K-12. Many also only play collegiate level for 2 years and then peel out, then can do internships, study abroads, etc.

Sure maybe there are some dumb, unmotivated Ivy athletes, but don't underestimate how many there are in the other bucket. THey also showed up in business school too, even hard-working smart Olympians.

[Anonymous]

I think the world has always been this competitive, but in the USA, now more "travel sports" programs have moved down to the age 8-12 group and demanded 3-4 practices a week, multiple games a month, and stupid & unnecessary out-of-state tournaments.

This boxes out the athletic kids from being multi-sport for longer, finding their people, and playing on local or school teams.

Frankly the only good way to be multisport in addition to 1-2 primary activities is to go to a small middle or high school, or private school. Your kid will be nice and well rounded, and the teams won't have A, B, C teams where club players only make varsity and showup for half the practices.

[Anonymous]

Super competitive to get into college in India, China, Japan, Europe, UK.
But their applications are mainly academic testing and merit-based, to get to IIT, Shanghai uni's, Todai/Kyodai, Top tracks in EU, A-Levels for Oxbridge.

[Anonymous]

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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.

Sometimes I get sucked into these stupid arguments. There are a lot of talented basketball players in the DMV. To argue this is ridiculous. Of course there are other talented basketball players from the south and Midwest as well. Not everyone may end up in the NBA but these DMV kids are at least college players.

I have an excellent tennis player. DMV is not known for tennis. That doesn’t mean he isn’t a great tennis player. Are there kids in Florida or California who are better? Sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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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.

Sometimes I get sucked into these stupid arguments. There are a lot of talented basketball players in the DMV. To argue this is ridiculous. Of course there are other talented basketball players from the south and Midwest as well. Not everyone may end up in the NBA but these DMV kids are at least college players.

I have an excellent tennis player. DMV is not known for tennis. That doesn’t mean he isn’t a great tennis player. Are there kids in Florida or California who are better? Sure.

Define excellent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So it appears that people living in ‘great’ school districts are facing more competition and pressure because everyone has money and wants the same colleges and sports etc. If you go further away or to an ‘okay’ school district there will be less competition and less pressure.. big fish little pond..
So why do people keep moving to better/best school districts? Are they seeking competition? Or do they think that by being in a better school district will help them in some way? But clearly its harder for those kids who compete with others like them.

It is exactly this. “Only the best will do” for them so they move where the “great” schools are, and then are *shocked* to find out that everyone around them is competitive.

I laughed aloud about not being able to make a JV team. In my area, girls were being sent for free to a camp to learn to play field hockey, just so the high school had enough girls who knew how to play to field a team. They took anyone.

Wtf do I care if my DC is on a varsity football team. They are not going to play for the NFL. They may become diplomats or nuclear engineers, however, so I'll put my money into study abroads and mathnasiums.

But if you want to encourage your DS to take his developing brain and bash it against another boy's head, have at it.

They probably won’t be diplomats or nuclear engineers either. You’re no different than the parents who have private sports tutors in the 4th grade.

[Anonymous]

Call me hot not pretty

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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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.

Sometimes I get sucked into these stupid arguments. There are a lot of talented basketball players in the DMV. To argue this is ridiculous. Of course there are other talented basketball players from the south and Midwest as well. Not everyone may end up in the NBA but these DMV kids are at least college players.

I have an excellent tennis player. DMV is not known for tennis. That doesn’t mean he isn’t a great tennis player. Are there kids in Florida or California who are better? Sure.

That poster was pretty specific with the city requested and no exurbs programs 60-180 minutes away. Understandable.

Your cliches didn’t address girls basketball in Dallas city and immediate beltway, so to speak.

Plus girls sports, if you have one, are vastly differently resourced than boys sports. Even under the same umbrella.

We have literally changed programs due to the subpar coaching or prioritizing of girls games by the coaching staff.

Culturally, I could see athletic UMC girls in the south getting sucked into the feminine sports like tennis, vball, golf, drill team, gymnastics, and maybe soccer. All of which are likely over resourced, better run programs than girls basketball in that area.

Sometimes you have to pick based on the best coaching and programs and logistics in your area. No one wants an hour commute to practice multiple times a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everything is so damn competitive now, and I don't know how people survive this world. It starts when someone is young with how competitive youth sports has become. It is extremely difficult to even make the JV team now. College admissions are more competitive and cutthroat than ever, and you have to be insanely lucky to get into a school like UVA, UMich, or UNC right now.

Even if you make it into a good college, the competition doesn't stop there. Most engineering, premed, and business clubs require applications and interviews to join. Greek life rejects most people who try to join. Getting research experience is extremely hard too.

And it is impossible to find a job now once you graduate.

How are kids supposed to survive now?

We need new ways to colonize other people. Since the 3rd world countries have gained freedom and education, it is a shit show for everyone now. Worms in fish in Paris! OMG!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Sometimes I get sucked into these stupid arguments. There are a lot of talented basketball players in the DMV. To argue this is ridiculous. Of course there are other talented basketball players from the south and Midwest as well. Not everyone may end up in the NBA but these DMV kids are at least college players.

I have an excellent tennis player. DMV is not known for tennis. That doesn’t mean he isn’t a great tennis player. Are there kids in Florida or California who are better? Sure.

Define excellent.

If you’re “excellent” and serious about progressing in tennis you’d be at a tennis academy or boarding school in Florida by now.

If it’s just something to do and maybe walk on in college and keep playing, do whatever. It’s an individual sport, find a great local coach and some court time.

I know families who pick tennis as their kids sport so they can control the practice schedule. Difficult to do that if on a team sport.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Stanford hoovers up top athletes period...you don't have to be a scholar athlete. They have higher standards than NCAA minimums, but their standards are far below the average Stanford stats for non-athletes.

Even Ivy athletes in football, basketball, baseball can be hundreds of SAT points lower than the median for non-athletes.

The other thing is you don't have to do anything else except your sport, and if you get a commitment then completing the application is nothing more than an administrative exercise. Nobody is reading it...in fact you get dedicated AO's at Stanford or Harvard reviewing what you do before you even submit it just to make sure you don't do something stupid.

In the industry I have worked for 25 years, I frequently find out that some of my best and intelligent business partners played D1 team sport at their Ivy.

It doesn't bother me, I did club water polo and a ton of stuff in college- loved all four years, and when you ask they roll their eyes at doing the AAU or ECNL or crazy volleyball circuit for 4-6 years of K-12. Many also only play collegiate level for 2 years and then peel out, then can do internships, study abroads, etc.

Sure maybe there are some dumb, unmotivated Ivy athletes, but don't underestimate how many there are in the other bucket. THey also showed up in business school too, even hard-working smart Olympians.

I didn't say the Ivy athletes are dumb nor unmotivated...just that there are a fair amount with 1300 and 1400 SAT scores which are high for many athletes, but lower than the median scores at the Ivy league school. They all usually have rigorous transcripts and good grades.

However, it is different than the athlete experience of MIT, and it is different if you play football at an Ivy vs. you run XC or you are a fencer (i.e., yes, all Ivy schools recruit football players with 1250 SAT scores, but again good transcripts...it's not even the majority of recruited football players, but they are in every recruitment year).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the world has always been this competitive, but in the USA, now more "travel sports" programs have moved down to the age 8-12 group and demanded 3-4 practices a week, multiple games a month, and stupid & unnecessary out-of-state tournaments.

This boxes out the athletic kids from being multi-sport for longer, finding their people, and playing on local or school teams.

Frankly the only good way to be multisport in addition to 1-2 primary activities is to go to a small middle or high school, or private school. Your kid will be nice and well rounded, and the teams won't have A, B, C teams where club players only make varsity and showup for half the practices.

There is a difference. One you would know if you lived elsewhere (just for reference, I have lived on 4 continents).

The big difference is that in the US it is not just being competitive. It is not just winning. It is winning and crushing the competition. In the rest of the world, the emphasis is on doing well. Winning is secondary.

Maybe then the solution is emphasizing that winning isn't everything.