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[quote=pbraverman][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We are not in DC -- we are in NYC.

DD goes to a private day school like Sidwell here in Manhattan.  Next year she will be a freshman and wants to play three sports - soccer, basketball and lacrosse.  She has been playing all three in middle school but I think it will be too much in high school.

Anyone have a kid who play a sport every season?  [/quote]

I'm an academic teacher who also coaches a sport at a private day school.  First, I would say "Hooray for your daughter!"  Great that she loves sports so much.  In terms of your question, for a kid who loves sports and recognizes that there will be some sacrifices of free time to balance academics and sports, it is very do-able.  Many athletes have better GPAs in-season than out-of-season as playing a sport really forces them to be organized with their time.  You can also take a bit of a wait-and-see approach -- she may find that after playing high school soccer in the fall she realizes HS sports/homework is more of a juggling act and that she wants to scale back and only play one other season.  Or she may play three sports as a freshman/sophomore and drop one as the academic requirements ramp up junior year.  I would encourage her to give it a try, while counseling her to be realistic and periodically self-check if she feels overloaded.  The three sport athletes I have coached and taught tend to be active kids who love the decompression/stress-relief of their sport.[/quote]

I worked in schools for a long time, and concur with the teacher's wisdom above. My own daughter is a HS senior who plays one sport, but it goes for almost three full seasons when club teams are figured in, and the more active she is in sports, the more focused she is at school. That's not to say that every student will find the same thing — I'd encourage you to observe and listen to your daughter and see how it's going, probably once each season. If she wants to take a season off, that may be very healthy. But I don't see any reason it can't be done by a student who wants to do it and who meets the challenge adeptly. (You don't sound like the kind of parent who's pushing her child to do that, but if a child's motivation in sports is really her parents' motivation, that's a different question...)

Peter
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Disclaimer: The anonymity here makes me uncomfortable; it's easy to be uninformed, personal, or simply mean-spirited if people don't identify themselves. For that reason, I have an account so you know whose words you're reading. I have more than 20 years' experience as a teacher and administrator in independent schools, and I hope I can be helpful to some folks. If you don't like something I've said, you're in good company — there's a long line of past students ahead of you. :) If you want to chat further, please feel free to contact me offline: peter &lt;at&gt; arcpd &lt;dot&gt; com[/quote]

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