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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Most kids aren’t academic superstars anyway. The two kids I’ve known who really excelled in sports and were recruited by division one colleges focused more on their sport than academics. But they also were not going to be in advanced classes even if they had been encouraged to study more.

The first kid was recruited by Stanford to play soccer. He broke his leg freshman year there. He ended up barely making a few assists on the team while at Stanford. He majored in communications and put in bare minimum while he struggled on the field for 4 years. He has done very well by networking and being a very typical soccer bro.

The second kid was recruited by Nebraska to play volleyball. This kid just wasn’t very bright. It didn’t matter if she focused or not. As it was she was being tutored. She squeaked along in classes at Nebraska while doing well on the volleyball court. She graduated with a degree but no skills other than volleyball so she’s spent the last 10 years playing semi pro volleyball around the world and coaching. She is defiantly fumbling in life and has told me she struggles with her identity.

Point is, for both these kids it would not matter if they had focused more on academics. Most kids who are athletically gifted aren’t going to be able to excel in school. But those who can should because even the most gifted athletes I know aren’t that successful. Play your sport. Love it. But don’t make sacrifices for it if you can actually do well in school. [/quote]

Only on DCUM can somebody spin going to Stanford to be a negative thing.

Gurl, you cray cray.[/quote]

So true. The boy graduated from Stanford as a D1 soccer player and was able to play enough to get a few assists while fighting through an injury.[/quote]

It was an accomplishment to get into Stanford for sure and I said this has helped him tremendously. I did say he’s doing very well. He lives in the Bay Area, done marketing and sales and in a VP somewhere I’ve never heard of that does business development. What I drew from his story was that here was an example of a kid who was the top of the top players in high school. His club team one the national championships. He was all American. Player of the year. And I really doubt he’s touched a soccer ball since college. He broke his leg freshman year and never really recovered I suspect. [b]If it were not for the strong network at Stanford[/b] he would have not done so well. But he’s done well. Not an academic kid but no dummy either. [/quote]

Bolded is why it is worth it to get into schools like Stanford regardless of how "Academic" you are. The world works based on networking not grades. Grades and the school name may help land that first job but after that it is all on the individual. Everyone that graduates has demonstrated on paper their proficiency in their field of study but it will be their work ethic, body of work and who they know after graduation that will go further in determining their success.

[/quote]

Yes. Exactly.  He wasn’t going to get into a top school without soccer. He did study hard. He just wasn’t going to be taking the hardest course load. And he wasn’t killing it in the Stanford communications department.

Had he been more academically inclined he may not have been able to be as successful on the field and then not gotten into Stanford. But on the other hand he may have been even more successful as a lawyer or doctor.

If you have a kid who can hang in AP classes that’s a safer bet then thinking your mediocre kid is going to get into a good college with a soccer network. [/quote]

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