Is playing a sport in college "worth it"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:D3 sports are mostly just a con to get rich kids in the door so their rich parents and grandparents 1) pay full boat tuition 2) send big donation checks.

I knew a couple girls that ran cross country for HYP. They were totally mediocre. But daddy was a billionaire.

So you have two data points. Cool story. Glad you spent time on that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:D3 sports are mostly just a con to get rich kids in the door so their rich parents and grandparents 1) pay full boat tuition 2) send big donation checks.

I knew a couple girls that ran cross country for HYP. They were totally mediocre. But daddy was a billionaire.

Um, they must have been very talented if they were running for HYP; most kids I know would be challenged to attend one college, let alone three. How did they handle the commute between campuses?

And that comment about D3 sports is just mean-spirited or ignorant or both. Rich folks aren't really going to care about having a "hook" to get young Larlo Larloton IV into the hallowed halls of (insert Ivy-of-the-moment here). They simply speak to admissions, make the donation and then write the tuition check. Larlo IV will play whatever s/he plays because s/he enjoys the sport, it's part of the social culture, whatever. Rich kids (real rich folks, not over-compensated lawyers, fnancial folks, whatever) aren't going D3.

My DC is a recruited athlete at a D3 school, the kind of school folks on this forum would dismiss as being unacceptable or for losers or a waste of money. DC focused on D3 because s/he wanted the experience of continuing a sport s/he loves but did not want to be indentured to athletics (as are some of their friends who are doing the sport at D1 schools). D3 programs have dedicated coaches, have to run competitive programs, have to answer to the administration about the costs and effectiveness of their programs and care about their student athletes.

How about posters try to sound less sour and less damning of others? Reading the responses, you'd think that athletics (and universities for that matter) were run by Bernie Madoff and the Board of Directors from Enron.

[Anonymous]

I'm not going to respond because I'm worn out on this threat, but your last paragraph did make me smile : )

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son is a recruited D3 athlete. Now that he is in college, I'm looking at his workload and the other extracurricular and social activities and I'm wondering whether playing a sport which he does love, but even at the D3 level can be a big commitment, is "worth it" in the end. I know that this is basically a moot question as my son loves the sport so much he won't give it up anytime soon. So I guess I'm looking to hear from parents to tell me all the wonderful things playing a college sport can do beyond the admissions bump. Anyone out there with relevant experience?

Congratulations to your son. I hope he is enjoying his college experience. My DC, also a recruited D3 athlete, is my third kid to go to college but my first athlete. I can tell you that all kids have to learn how to juggle workload, social life, extracurriculars, etc. Sometimes that can be a bumpy road. As I look at DC's experience, here are the benefits I see from athletics:

Structure: S/He had a sense of what the time commitments were going to be from the outset and had to make a plan about fitting everything in. It also helped to
have extra eyes on (coaches, etc.) to remind about studies, etc. DC has gotten very good at scheduling and time management. And there is less time
shenanigans.

Friends: DC walked in with a ready made social group. Not that these are the only friends DC has, but it was a much easier transition to walk into a place with
7,000 strangers and already have an in-group. This DC had less angst about belonging and fitting in than my other DCs had.
[list]Confidence: I saw it when DC played sports in HS that it gave a bump to confidence in other areas, too. I believe continuing to play continues to build a sense of
mastery and potential for success. I've been surprised to see how sport can open doors--putting DC in contact with folks that s/he otherwise might not
ever have met, gives common ground to folks and talking points. A few times in HS when DC was facing a big challenge, the attitude I heard was: "If
I can do [grueling sport requirement], I can do this, too."

I think your kid knows what he's doing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:D3 sports are mostly just a con to get rich kids in the door so their rich parents and grandparents 1) pay full boat tuition 2) send big donation checks.

I knew a couple girls that ran cross country for HYP. They were totally mediocre. But daddy was a billionaire.

Um, they must have been very talented if they were running for HYP; most kids I know would be challenged to attend one college, let alone three. How did they handle the commute between campuses?

And that comment about D3 sports is just mean-spirited or ignorant or both. Rich folks aren't really going to care about having a "hook" to get young Larlo Larloton IV into the hallowed halls of (insert Ivy-of-the-moment here). They simply speak to admissions, make the donation and then write the tuition check. Larlo IV will play whatever s/he plays because s/he enjoys the sport, it's part of the social culture, whatever. Rich kids (real rich folks, not over-compensated lawyers, fnancial folks, whatever) aren't going D3.

My DC is a recruited athlete at a D3 school, the kind of school folks on this forum would dismiss as being unacceptable or for losers or a waste of money. DC focused on D3 because s/he wanted the experience of continuing a sport s/he loves but did not want to be indentured to athletics (as are some of their friends who are doing the sport at D1 schools). D3 programs have dedicated coaches, have to run competitive programs, have to answer to the administration about the costs and effectiveness of their programs and care about their student athletes.

How about posters try to sound less sour and less damning of others? Reading the responses, you'd think that athletics (and universities for that matter) were run by Bernie Madoff and the Board of Directors from Enron.

Congrats to your kid! I suppose I’m one of those parents who focuses too much on my kids getting into the best schools possible (and yes, obsessing). But I don’t think other kinds of colleges are for losers or unacceptable. I have five kids and they attend/will attend a wide range of schools and that’s okay. Find one where they are happy and challenged, right? I played D3 and it was a fantastic experience. Good luck to yours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is Georgetown prep for DS who is into national level baseball. In 8th grade currently in public school, has been missing a couple weeks of school through the year for championships. Would you recommend Georgetown prep/ Good Counsel/ St John for DS to maintain good balance between academics and sports?

Prep if he could get in - it’s a very academic school. They’re not going to take your kid if he’s not strong in the academics.

Honestly I see kids who play sports at good private schools receiving athletic scholarships to top private schools that I don’t think that they could have gotten into otherwise. The average public school kid I see more going to state schools or schools you’ve never ever heard of.

Why the difference? I've heard this before but don't understand it. Is it because the teams are better at private schools because they recruit?

I don’t know why it is, but while DD was attending private high school I was shocked to see some of the high level schools that some of the kids were recruited . These kids were good athletes but not that good and good students but not that top notch.
I also noticed that certain clubs accepted a lot more private school kids as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is Georgetown prep for DS who is into national level baseball. In 8th grade currently in public school, has been missing a couple weeks of school through the year for championships. Would you recommend Georgetown prep/ Good Counsel/ St John for DS to maintain good balance between academics and sports?

Prep if he could get in - it’s a very academic school. They’re not going to take your kid if he’s not strong in the academics.

Honestly I see kids who play sports at good private schools receiving athletic scholarships to top private schools that I don’t think that they could have gotten into otherwise. The average public school kid I see more going to state schools or schools you’ve never ever heard of.

Why the difference? I've heard this before but don't understand it. Is it because the teams are better at private schools because they recruit?

I don’t know why it is, but while DD was attending private high school I was shocked to see some of the high level schools that some of the kids were recruited . These kids were good athletes but not that good and good students but not that top notch.
I also noticed that certain clubs accepted a lot more private school kids as well.

This varies by sport. In our area, the private schools have the most competitive lacrosse programs, so it makes sense that most of the top recruits come from there. That's not true of soccer. It may also be the case that private school families in general focus more on perceived prestige when choosing colleges.

[Anonymous]

Private schools offer sports like crew and lacrosse and squash and equestrian activities that unlike football and baseball and basketball are not prevalent in public schools. This gives athletes in those sports a real advantage in getting recruited by some excellent colleges and universities. Yet another example of the class system at work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Private schools offer sports like crew and lacrosse and squash and equestrian activities that unlike football and baseball and basketball are not prevalent in public schools. This gives athletes in those sports a real advantage in getting recruited by some excellent colleges and universities. Yet another example of the class system at work.

Great point. Never thought of it like that. Friend’s daughter got into a great school because of squash. Yep, squash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is a recruited D3 athlete. Now that he is in college, I'm looking at his workload and the other extracurricular and social activities and I'm wondering whether playing a sport which he does love, but even at the D3 level can be a big commitment, is "worth it" in the end. I know that this is basically a moot question as my son loves the sport so much he won't give it up anytime soon. So I guess I'm looking to hear from parents to tell me all the wonderful things playing a college sport can do beyond the admissions bump. Anyone out there with relevant experience?

Congratulations to your son. I hope he is enjoying his college experience. My DC, also a recruited D3 athlete, is my third kid to go to college but my first athlete. I can tell you that all kids have to learn how to juggle workload, social life, extracurriculars, etc. Sometimes that can be a bumpy road. As I look at DC's experience, here are the benefits I see from athletics:

Structure: S/He had a sense of what the time commitments were going to be from the outset and had to make a plan about fitting everything in. It also helped to
have extra eyes on (coaches, etc.) to remind about studies, etc. DC has gotten very good at scheduling and time management. And there is less time
shenanigans.

Friends: DC walked in with a ready made social group. Not that these are the only friends DC has, but it was a much easier transition to walk into a place with
7,000 strangers and already have an in-group. This DC had less angst about belonging and fitting in than my other DCs had.
[list]Confidence: I saw it when DC played sports in HS that it gave a bump to confidence in other areas, too. I believe continuing to play continues to build a sense of
mastery and potential for success. I've been surprised to see how sport can open doors--putting DC in contact with folks that s/he otherwise might not
ever have met, gives common ground to folks and talking points. A few times in HS when DC was facing a big challenge, the attitude I heard was: "If
I can do [grueling sport requirement], I can do this, too."

I think your kid knows what he's doing.

My kid plays D3 sports as varsity player but refused the recruiting edge for admissions. All the above advantages for the 1st two years; however, he was smart about himself not to have committed. Starting with the freshman summer, he wanted the freedom to pursue limited research, internships and abroad experiences. It hasn't hurt his participation on the team as there were no broken promises and ill feelings. The secret that no one tells you is that D3 sports and some D1 high academic teams depend heavily on walk ons. If your kid is good enough to play, it's fairly likely the opportunity will present itself. For him playing a sport he loves has been totally worth it under these particular circumstances.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Private schools offer sports like crew and lacrosse and squash and equestrian activities that unlike football and baseball and basketball are not prevalent in public schools. This gives athletes in those sports a real advantage in getting recruited by some excellent colleges and universities. Yet another example of the class system at work.

Anyone’s kid get recruited for bowling??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private schools offer sports like crew and lacrosse and squash and equestrian activities that unlike football and baseball and basketball are not prevalent in public schools. This gives athletes in those sports a real advantage in getting recruited by some excellent colleges and universities. Yet another example of the class system at work.

Anyone’s kid get recruited for bowling??

Yep, mine got the Earl Anthony Scholarship at BGSU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know anyone in law or engineering that played college sports. Also, if one has goals set for mba/law/medicine/phd at a top school, how can one achieve those grades for entrance when time is spent playing sports? Are these college sports players pursuing business?

That takes too narrow a view of sports (and other non-academic activities in college) and of the sort of well-rounded, time-managing, life-balancing person who will succeed in those fields. Lots of people in those fields played sports, but they won't often be talking about their days in collegiate sports, so there is no reason you would know. Nonetheless, about half my friends who are lawyers played sports in college, including my spouse and I. It doesn't matter what level or even if they were great at it, but is does matter that they had the focus and time management skills to do it and still succeed academically.

For medicine it is tricky. The schools care little about extra curriculars like sports. If sports hurt your grades, it better be because you went to the Olympics.

It's not that the firms "care" about the sport. The people I'm talking about had top grades and tests too, like so many others, but on top of that they had a varsity sport. That stands out. So I agree, if you can't hack it, don't do it. But if you manage both, people know you have the all-around ability to manage your life outside of work and do top level work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the kid truly loves it enough to prioritize it over all the possibilities, yes. Unfortunately, they won't know that because sports at any level doesn't
Permit time to explore. So IMO, it makes sense for the gifted few. Other than that, no.

You can play a sport in college without being one of the "gifted few." I know people who picked up brand new sports in college. We aren't just talking about super elite scholarship athletes here.

[Anonymous]

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/11/want-to-be-a-ceo-later-play-sports-now.html