Feel bad for the kids who get cut in high school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At my nearest public swimming pool there is the slow lane which is for anyone who takes over 2 mins to swim 50m. The time for the medium lane is 1-2 min and fast is under 1 min. That is a very logical breakdown which allows for pretty much any adult amateur to train at the level they are at.

Couldn’t schools have a class of team that has standardised benchmarks instead of tryouts! Say for basketball they have to sprint 10 laps of the court while dribbling the ball under a certain time and any kid that meets that standard is allowed. That would create a high bar of performance without the cut throat competition.

So if 50 kids meet that threshold…what do you do?

You answered your own question. Create an intramural league of 10 x 5 person teams.

Who is coaching all of these inclusive teams and where are they finding space?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have kids in elementary and high school. I am watching kids get cut in sports and activities they love and have played all their lives. Hate how competitive this world is.

I just saw my child’s friends get cut from a sport they have played together since elementary school. I feel like kids should all be able to play. Let there be two freshmen teams or have a practice squad or club team that doesn’t go against other schools.

What happens to the below average kids?

varsity sports should be removed from public education.

that is my opinion, I also watched from a distance as great kids get cut.

100%. Sports at schools and colleges should be more inclusive and open to all.

Dream on

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At my nearest public swimming pool there is the slow lane which is for anyone who takes over 2 mins to swim 50m. The time for the medium lane is 1-2 min and fast is under 1 min. That is a very logical breakdown which allows for pretty much any adult amateur to train at the level they are at.

Couldn’t schools have a class of team that has standardised benchmarks instead of tryouts! Say for basketball they have to sprint 10 laps of the court while dribbling the ball under a certain time and any kid that meets that standard is allowed. That would create a high bar of performance without the cut throat competition.

So if 50 kids meet that threshold…what do you do?

You answered your own question. Create an intramural league of 10 x 5 person teams.

Who is coaching all of these inclusive teams and where are they finding space?

It's intramural at the school. There are no coaches. Yes, some kids had to take the initiative to lobby the principal to let them use the gym at lunch for January and February, and they also had to lobby some teachers to agree to ref / oversee...but the kids were motivated and got it done.

There is no minimum ability level. Friends just form their own teams of up to 15 players each and sign up (though most teams are like 8-10). The only rule is that nobody who is on the real basketball team is allowed to play because they don't want ringers...and the official basketball coach probably wouldn't be a fan either.

[Anonymous]

Solution: Anybody who feels this or that way about kids not being on a team can coach that additional team they want to exist so bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have kids in elementary and high school. I am watching kids get cut in sports and activities they love and have played all their lives. Hate how competitive this world is.

I just saw my child’s friends get cut from a sport they have played together since elementary school. I feel like kids should all be able to play. Let there be two freshmen teams or have a practice squad or club team that doesn’t go against other schools.

What happens to the below average kids?

varsity sports should be removed from public education.

that is my opinion, I also watched from a distance as great kids get cut.

100%. Sports at schools and colleges should be more inclusive and open to all.

College sports are inclusive and open to all…that’s why you have varsity, club and intramural teams for players of any and all ability.

Intramural teams aren’t open for everyone at most large universities

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have kids in elementary and high school. I am watching kids get cut in sports and activities they love and have played all their lives. Hate how competitive this world is.

I just saw my child’s friends get cut from a sport they have played together since elementary school. I feel like kids should all be able to play. Let there be two freshmen teams or have a practice squad or club team that doesn’t go against other schools.

What happens to the below average kids?

varsity sports should be removed from public education.

that is my opinion, I also watched from a distance as great kids get cut.

100%. Sports at schools and colleges should be more inclusive and open to all.

College sports are inclusive and open to all…that’s why you have varsity, club and intramural teams for players of any and all ability.

Intramural teams aren’t open for everyone at most large universities

Yeah I went to a school where intramurals were a big deal and it was pretty hard to make some of the teams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have kids in elementary and high school. I am watching kids get cut in sports and activities they love and have played all their lives. Hate how competitive this world is.

I just saw my child’s friends get cut from a sport they have played together since elementary school. I feel like kids should all be able to play. Let there be two freshmen teams or have a practice squad or club team that doesn’t go against other schools.

What happens to the below average kids?

varsity sports should be removed from public education.

that is my opinion, I also watched from a distance as great kids get cut.

100%. Sports at schools and colleges should be more inclusive and open to all.

College sports are inclusive and open to all…that’s why you have varsity, club and intramural teams for players of any and all ability.

Intramural teams aren’t open for everyone at most large universities

Intramurals at my university were mostly people who were varsity athletes in high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have kids in elementary and high school. I am watching kids get cut in sports and activities they love and have played all their lives. Hate how competitive this world is.

I just saw my child’s friends get cut from a sport they have played together since elementary school. I feel like kids should all be able to play. Let there be two freshmen teams or have a practice squad or club team that doesn’t go against other schools.

What happens to the below average kids?

varsity sports should be removed from public education.

that is my opinion, I also watched from a distance as great kids get cut.

100%. Sports at schools and colleges should be more inclusive and open to all.

College sports are inclusive and open to all…that’s why you have varsity, club and intramural teams for players of any and all ability.

Intramural teams aren’t open for everyone at most large universities

Intramurals at my university were mostly people who were varsity athletes in high school.

It sucks there is no room in sports for people who aren’t super talented

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:pick an individual sport then you have nobody to blame but yourself

Even sports like swimming and tennis have limited spots at the big schools.

Parents must be delusional if they think it's easier to make a team at private schools compared to large public schools. Try making the cut for the tennis or golf team at either Langley High School (public) or Sidwell Friends (private), and you'll quickly see how tough the competition is. Both schools consistently win championships, and only a few spots on the roster, these kids are often trained from a young age because parents have lot of $$$. In fact, kids who get cut from Langley could easily be the top player at other schools in Fairfax County Public Schools. Just saying...

You are cherry picking…the Sidwell football team is pretty bad and essentially any boy can play. Baseball is usually OK but doesn’t cut much. So, you choose a different sport

Basketball a completely different story as they are ranked nationally many years.

GDS is crappy in most sports…though tops in volleyball.

Obviously, the WCAC schools are competitive though you can make the teams at The Heights or Ireton as examples.

Even at wcac schools you can find a sport. This thread is a lot of “woe is me” boo hooing, and not a good mindset to get the most out of high school athletics. It’s true that, if you don’t play travel, you’re going to have a hard time making basketball, baseball, or soccer as a freshman at Gonzaga, for example. If you don’t belong to a cc golf will be hard. But anyone can show up freshman year and play football. If you dedicate yourself for 4 years you have a good chance of playing in college. Water polo needs kids. Anyone can show up and wrestle. Rugby basically doesn’t cut. I know of kids that make freshman lacrosse without playing growing up. In any of these sports you don’t need a travel background and if you work hard for 4 years you will have success.

No one is entitled to play their sport of choice at their school of choice. Just as no one is entitled to work at their company of choice in the their position of choice. You have to earn it, and high school sports is oftentimes the first time we’re exposed to this.

The vast majority of football, water polo, and lacrosse players played from 5

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They can try no-cut sports like XC/track, rowing, ultimate frisbee, or field hockey (which at our school is no-cut).

Cross country and track both have try outs to make the team.

Depends on the school (and on whether you consider being "varsity" as making the team). Some schools allow everyone who is interested to participate in practices, but not all of those kids will be selected for most, if any, meets or receive a varsity letter. At DCs school, XC/track were no cut but you basically only lettered if you were selected for the post season.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have kids in elementary and high school. I am watching kids get cut in sports and activities they love and have played all their lives. Hate how competitive this world is.

I just saw my child’s friends get cut from a sport they have played together since elementary school. I feel like kids should all be able to play. Let there be two freshmen teams or have a practice squad or club team that doesn’t go against other schools.

What happens to the below average kids?

varsity sports should be removed from public education.

that is my opinion, I also watched from a distance as great kids get cut.

100%. Sports at schools and colleges should be more inclusive and open to all.

College sports are inclusive and open to all…that’s why you have varsity, club and intramural teams for players of any and all ability.

Intramural teams aren’t open for everyone at most large universities

Intramurals at my university were mostly people who were varsity athletes in high school.

To this day at both my kids’ schools, groups of kids band together and create an intramural team. There is no cap on the number of teams and anyone can create one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At my nearest public swimming pool there is the slow lane which is for anyone who takes over 2 mins to swim 50m. The time for the medium lane is 1-2 min and fast is under 1 min. That is a very logical breakdown which allows for pretty much any adult amateur to train at the level they are at.

Couldn’t schools have a class of team that has standardised benchmarks instead of tryouts! Say for basketball they have to sprint 10 laps of the court while dribbling the ball under a certain time and any kid that meets that standard is allowed. That would create a high bar of performance without the cut throat competition.

Because team sports aren't objective like that. The track team dribbler who can't shoot, rebound, or play defense makes the team, while the big man who is a monster at the boards and defense gets cut.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:pick an individual sport then you have nobody to blame but yourself

Even sports like swimming and tennis have limited spots at the big schools.

Parents must be delusional if they think it's easier to make a team at private schools compared to large public schools. Try making the cut for the tennis or golf team at either Langley High School (public) or Sidwell Friends (private), and you'll quickly see how tough the competition is. Both schools consistently win championships, and only a few spots on the roster, these kids are often trained from a young age because parents have lot of $$$. In fact, kids who get cut from Langley could easily be the top player at other schools in Fairfax County Public Schools. Just saying...

You are cherry picking…the Sidwell football team is pretty bad and essentially any boy can play. Baseball is usually OK but doesn’t cut much. So, you choose a different sport

Basketball a completely different story as they are ranked nationally many years.

GDS is crappy in most sports…though tops in volleyball.

Obviously, the WCAC schools are competitive though you can make the teams at The Heights or Ireton as examples.

Even at wcac schools you can find a sport. This thread is a lot of “woe is me” boo hooing, and not a good mindset to get the most out of high school athletics. It’s true that, if you don’t play travel, you’re going to have a hard time making basketball, baseball, or soccer as a freshman at Gonzaga, for example. If you don’t belong to a cc golf will be hard. But anyone can show up freshman year and play football. If you dedicate yourself for 4 years you have a good chance of playing in college. Water polo needs kids. Anyone can show up and wrestle. Rugby basically doesn’t cut. I know of kids that make freshman lacrosse without playing growing up. In any of these sports you don’t need a travel background and if you work hard for 4 years you will have success.

No one is entitled to play their sport of choice at their school of choice. Just as no one is entitled to work at their company of choice in the their position of choice. You have to earn it, and high school sports is oftentimes the first time we’re exposed to this.

The vast majority of football, water polo, and lacrosse players played from 5

Wut

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:this is what happens when you have HSs with 3000 kids and only 24 spots on the soccer roster. Also, most of the HS coaches are terrible so your kid will learn more playing club or rec.

But this is also real life.

Yep, these large schools are awful. I don't understand why parents move into these districts even the good ones. Oh but they have a few extra classes to select from.

However, it is true a spot on a competitive basketball team where the coach is trying to sell tickets is much different than when parents pay for coaching. It's more like a job even at smaller schools. There is a reason competitive D1 colleges lost to the basketball and football players when the players demanded pay.

I don't think couples with no kids or even just toddlers are thinking about the size of the HS they feed into (they likely care about how elementary/middle/HS rank academically) and what it will mean for sports for their kids who either don't yet exist or aren't playing sports.

I also don't think anyone believes it's a big enough issue to move when their kids are older and it finally hits them that making the Madison HS baseball team is hard as one example.

Actually, it is a thing. In travel circles with younger kids, parents at smaller schools make fun of parents at larger schools because, we can make a team.

It’s not a big enough deal to move but plenty go to private school for sports. My kids go to Madison and it’s not uncommon at all. It’s not just because they didn’t make the team. Sometimes sports are better at privates. Sometimes it’s because they have a chance at a team where they wouldn’t at Madison. I am guilty of asking my kids if they wanted to consider private schools…for sports. The reality is that many of us can and are willing to pay for private school for sports. It’s a different level of insanity.

Well, yes the private schools now usually have the best teams and recruit students for sports…but I don’t know anyone who would send their kid to private primarily because that private has a weak sports team where their kid can play. Those parents are looking seriously at private schools for academic reasons…and then that may be the reason to pick GDS over STA.

Right I’m the Pp who switched to private. Academics were our priority and then it came down to commute/athletics/social (not necessarily in that order). For DCs there were two schools that were solid academic fits, but one was a better fit athletically because it was not an athletic powerhouse. So, they have solid academics and a chance to play multiple sports they love which is more in line with our HS experiences in the early 1990s.

+1 We decided to go private when my daughters started middle school, mostly for the more well rounded academics, but also for smaller classes/ more personal attention.

Anyways we found out later that all students are required to do 2 seasons of sports each year. Through that process, my daughters were introduced to a sport that they wouldn’t otherwise have had exposure to. Now as 10th graders, they both play in a club and at school and love it.

DH and I are not particularly athletic and found many benefits to the girls playing team sports in high school.

[Anonymous]

My son plays a HS varsity sport, and also plays in a student-created soccer league of 6 teams. When I asked him who created the league, he said “the Brazilians.” They play on a private school field that is apparently in the neighborhood where most of the Brazilian kids live. They get kicked off the field whenever the strict priest is on duty.

It’s so random, but they have such a great time whenever they get a game in. It reminds me of the way we rolled growing up in the ‘80s. I always feel terrible for kids who get cut from a sport they love—one of mine did—but rec sports are such a lovely option.