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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This is a question to the parents of upperclassmen of honors/magnet/ib kids headed to college.

A lot of very smart kids are spending 2 hrs a day in practice for their sport.

My question is, what is the motivation?
- is it that the kids just really really like it? Either the sport itself, or the community ?
- do you think the kids believe they have a chance of getting a sports related scholarship (in which case, you basically have to be number 1 or 2 in that sport at your school, and most are *not* number 1)?
- do you think it has a significant impact on college acceptances, showing that you are well rounded? in other words, do you think selective colleges, given 3 kids from the same school, taking similar loads, having similar gpas/sats, and 1 is doing all academic clubs (robotics, math team, etc), 1 is doing a mix of random clubs, and 1 is doing 1 or more varsity sports - is the sports kid really coming out looking better? Assuming they aren't number 1?

I only ask because my 8th grader has a lot of varied interests. She does have a sport she enjoys (and is good at, but not the best) but 2 hrs/day 5-6 times a week seems very high cost, both in being able to explore other interests and time for academics.  And, you know, sleep. At an informational meeting this week, one of the kids (in several sports and a challenging program) admitted they get about 5 hrs of sleep a night.[b] That doesn't seem healthy for a growing teen. [/b]
[/quote]

They don't! There is so much emphasis in this county on ECs (especially sports) and it puts so much pressure on these kids. I think the type of commitment you're talking about here works for high flyers. For kids in the middle, it's difficult for a lot of them to balance school and ECs that require a daily commitment. I remember when my kid was a wrestler and they would have matches during the week along with daily practices. Often he wouldn't get home until after 10pm from weeknight matches and then have to finish up homework, try to get some sleep and then be up at 6:30 the next morning for school. In the middle of his junior year he just said enough and literally quit because his grades were suffering and he was exhausted. He tried very hard to balance everything for 2 years so we respected his decision to put his own interests (grades and getting into a good college) over a sport he knew he would not be continuing in college. Yes, he felt like he let some people down but in the end it really was the best decision he could make. Just make sure your kid is up for that balancing act. There's no wiggle room in high school.[/quote]

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