Why do people allow kids to play sports at the expense of academics?

[Anonymous]

My son is an a/b student, with one subject that is around the c range and we get him extra help for it (math). He plays a lot of sports and does a travel team. Honestly, I think he would be an A/B student regardless- may be a few more As, may be that C would be a B. BUT he gets a lot of fun, self-esteem, self discipline, etc. from his sports. We value that too. And I am in the boat of hiring people who played sports. It was always a plus for me when looking at resumes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I was on the recruiting committee of biglaw firm I learned that the managing partner nearly insisted that the good candidates have strong team sports on their resume -- preferably at the college level. So you can't just blanket say "better grades equals more opportunities". You'd be wrong.

I have seen this in other fields also. People who have never played a team sport frequently are missing a lot of important skills that are important in a business setting. Working with teammates to win at a sport has many similarities to working with associates to put a winning case together or write a winning sales presentation. Sports develop a lot of qualities that the classroom does not.

I do hiring for one of those organizations that is often seen as a stepping stone to a good job in domestic policy, including hiring interns, and I pay very little attention to high school or college GPA unless it is stellar or abysmal. I could fill the interview calendar with perfect 4.0s who are "passionate about immigration/income inequality/tax policy" but the best candidates have a life outside work and something that makes them fun to talk to. Recent "winners" have included a violinist who went to Interlochen for highschool before she decided not to pursue a professional career, and a kid whose spare time in undergraduate was spent teaching Shakespeare to inmates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son is an a/b student, with one subject that is around the c range and we get him extra help for it (math). He plays a lot of sports and does a travel team. Honestly, I think he would be an A/B student regardless- may be a few more As, may be that C would be a B. BUT he gets a lot of fun, self-esteem, self discipline, etc. from his sports. We value that too. And I am in the boat of hiring people who played sports. It was always a plus for me when looking at resumes.

People put sports on their resume?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Question says it all. Unless your kid is truly scholarship material, I seriously don't understand why you'd let your kid play sports when they are bringing in low Bs. I know colleges like sports because the student seems more well-rounded, but that's stupid if it comes at the expense of grades.

Only star athletes and straight a students should do sports? OK.

I don't plan to join your world. There is more to life. And for most kids, spending more time academics at home does not change their grades, but getting no exercise and having no life out side of academics ... well that's no life for a child and I'm pretty sure it would torpedo a lot of kids' grades due to the depression and anxiety it would cause.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids do better in school when they have are doing sports. I've seen grades for both my kids decline when they didn't have an after school sport. They both do better academically when they have a busier routine. They certainly wouldn't come home and study all afternoon if they didn't have sports practices. Sports are a great outlet after school for them and they come home happy, ready for dinner and then they do their homework.

This.

[Anonymous]

Exercise is good. Have you read Spark?

[Anonymous]

Op here, seriously I'm shocked so many DCUM types settle for academic mediocrity. Shocked. I thought this was a hardcore Kumon/Ivy anything-to-get-into the-best college crowd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here, seriously I'm shocked so many DCUM types settle for academic mediocrity. Shocked. I thought this was a hardcore Kumon/Ivy anything-to-get-into the-best college crowd.

You don't say.

[Anonymous]

I would like OP to explain what's wrong with a B?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would like OP to explain what's wrong with a B?

My post specifically said B minus, but I'm not going to parse it. IMO a B is a mediocre grade. You don't get into the top ten percent of your class or national merit or honor roll by being a B student. If sports help your kids prioritize their time and help them to earn good grades, that's great. That's not the question I posed though- I was asking why people let their kids stay in sports when it is AT THE EXPENSE of academics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would like OP to explain what's wrong with a B?

My post specifically said B minus, but I'm not going to parse it. IMO a B is a mediocre grade. You don't get into the top ten percent of your class or national merit or honor roll by being a B student. If sports help your kids prioritize their time and help them to earn good grades, that's great. That's not the question I posed though- I was asking why people let their kids stay in sports when it is AT THE EXPENSE of academics.

And what we're all saying that is that sports generally don't come at the expense of academics. I don't think anyone said they'd be cool with their straight-A student dropping down to C's so he could spend all day practicing lacrosse. People either don't feel it's coming at the expense of academics, or they think the difference in academic performance is so small that the benefit of the sport to their overall well-being more than outweighs it. You're presuming to know that children who are not yours would do better in school if they didn't play sports, but you don't actually know that at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would like OP to explain what's wrong with a B?

My post specifically said B minus, but I'm not going to parse it. IMO a B is a mediocre grade. You don't get into the top ten percent of your class or national merit or honor roll by being a B student. If sports help your kids prioritize their time and help them to earn good grades, that's great. That's not the question I posed though- I was asking why people let their kids stay in sports when it is AT THE EXPENSE of academics.

There are worse things in life than my children not getting a national merit scholarship.
Like having them grow up without a healthy lifestyle and understanding the importance of physical activity, teamwork, and perseverance.
Or having them grow up to be myopic, judgmental people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would like OP to explain what's wrong with a B?

My post specifically said B minus, but I'm not going to parse it. IMO a B is a mediocre grade. You don't get into the top ten percent of your class or national merit or honor roll by being a B student. If sports help your kids prioritize their time and help them to earn good grades, that's great. That's not the question I posed though- I was asking why people let their kids stay in sports when it is AT THE EXPENSE of academics.

You are aware that there is such a thing as an A/B honor roll, right?

If a kid can take up a sport w/o seeing a dip in their grades that would be the best scenario possible. They earn good grades, enjoy playing a sport AND stay fit. How good is that!

Will colleges care that a kid was on a non competitive team or was a non star player? Really, I don't know. But it doesn't strike me as a make or break scenario - nothing that would necessarily get them in to a college or keep them out of one. They should be playing the sport because they *want* to play it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would like OP to explain what's wrong with a B?

My post specifically said B minus, but I'm not going to parse it. IMO a B is a mediocre grade. You don't get into the top ten percent of your class or national merit or honor roll by being a B student. If sports help your kids prioritize their time and help them to earn good grades, that's great. That's not the question I posed though- I was asking why people let their kids stay in sports when it is AT THE EXPENSE of academics.

We can't all be in the top ten percent of our class. In fact, only ten percent of us can be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I was on the recruiting committee of biglaw firm I learned that the managing partner nearly insisted that the good candidates have strong team sports on their resume -- preferably at the college level. So you can't just blanket say "better grades equals more opportunities". You'd be wrong.

I have seen this in other fields also. People who have never played a team sport frequently are missing a lot of important skills that are important in a business setting. Working with teammates to win at a sport has many similarities to working with associates to put a winning case together or write a winning sales presentation. Sports develop a lot of qualities that the classroom does not.

Team sports can help build these skills, absolutely, and I know the discussion here is focused on sports so that's what you're emphasizing. As someone who knows a lot of high schoolers who are not into team sports at all, I wanted to note: Team sports are not the sole way to build these skills. I work with people who in HS and college (and beyond, as adults) have participated in theatre; dance; music ensembles; community service organizations (like our godson who is an HS junior and heavily involved in senior-level Boy Scouting, which has made his leadership skills grow tremendously). I know kids doing those kinds of things and they're learning skills that will help them in life just as the athletes are. All of those pursuits involve teamwork and leadership and the ability to get up in front of others without fear. All of them require people who succeed at them to work well with others.