Reply to Why are youth and high school sports so competitive to get into now?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]WHAT’S the POINT of all this?? Unless you’re truly an exceptional athlete, it will have a minimal impact on college admissions. Meanwhile, if all the travel ball crap hurts your grades, it will be counter productive.  So I don’t get it — what’s the objective here? [/quote]

I totally agree but also think that's the point of the thread -- the vast majority of high school athletes even on varsity squads at schools with great programs will never play past high school. So they are just playing for the general benefits of sports (which I agree there are many!).

But in order to get that general benefit you have to invest thousands of dollars starting when your kid is in elementary school and treat your kid like they are a future Olympian or likely to get a full ride at a D1 program. Like that's the level of dedication these sports require even from families whose kids will never play past high school (and in many cases don't even want to). The days of playing a few years of rec tennis and liking it and then getting a spot on your high school team and competing a few years before making it a casual hobby as an adult are over.

It used to be that at most schools (excepting situations like the weird Texas football programs that actively recruited athletes to move there to attend and other outliers) even the best sports programs would have a handful of star players who were really intense (either due to their own commitment or parent insistence or in some cases the marriage of the two) but most kids were just content to work hard in practice and try to win and maybe atted a few off-season skills clinics but that's it. Twenty years ago half the kids on a competitive high school soccer team had never played club soccer at all. Half the swimmers on my high school team had only ever competed in a few seasons of summer swim and that was it. And we had a great team! But it was possible to just be a generally strong and fast swimmer and then try out as a freshman and do really well through team development. They were still really looking for raw talent and teachability at the high school level back then -- not finished athletes. Now I just don't think you can swim in high school without having done club and they are looking for an already refined skill set. A significant portion of high school swimmers do not expect to learn anything from their high school coaches because they work with club and private coaches. It's just a very different environment.

[b]Where does this leave middle class families who value athletics generally but do not want or have the ability to spend the time and money to get their kids onto high school teams? [/b]In limbo. And that's the frustration. A lot of us used to view high school sports as a valuable experience that builds character and discipline but also a way to make friends and find a sense of belonging. But not something you need to train for from preschool. And we haven't replaced it with anything -- rec programs do not fill this gap for the most part because they are not connected to schools and are less immersive -- fewer practices and competitions and you don't get the same benefits of team cohesion.

I don't know what the answer is. It's honestly too bad.[/quote]

They've been replaced by less athletic UMC kids who have hyper focused on a sport. I think you're right about the value of athletics and the part if plays in a high school experience. UMC families realized that and realized that their athletic enough kids could have that experience if they started early, especially in a less popular sport. [/quote]

Yes. It’s quite sad.

What we have done to combat is encourage kids earlier to try out sports that aren’t as popular. Eg: DD loves soccer but not enough to spend all her time on it. She won’t make her high school team, where 100+ kids try out and travel kids often don’t even make it. We are having her try some other sports before high school that I know aren’t as competitive. The plan is to play rec or low level club soccer and then play other sports for the school team. Those may not be her favorite in terms of the sport but she will get the school team experience. We have done this with our two older kids also, and it is not ideal but works out ok.[/quote]

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