Reply to Please help us understand the youth sports culture in the US

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My spouse and I are immigrants and don’t understand the obsession with youth sports in the US. We have 2 kids: one is naturally athletically gifted and the other , not so much, but is very academically competitive .

We were surprised when our not so athletic child was waitlisted at several high schools who accepted other kids in his class who had lower grades and lower standardized test scores but were good athletes.

I understand these kids will get recruited by good colleges and make the schools look good.

But what’s the end game ? If it’s a college scholarship, the math doesn’t add up. By the time, one pays for years of coaching and travel to get to the level where their child can be recruited, they could have easily saved that money over the years and paid for a college tuition.

Is it to keep kids out of trouble /boost their confidence/ stay healthy/ make friends with similar interests ? If so, why practice sports which such intensity , travel for tournaments, risk burning the child out …

This is a genuine question and not intended to throw shade at anything or anyone. We are simply trying to understand the culture better.[/quote]

Honestly, the easy answer is go look at the Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce blow up. Now, 13 year old girls and the Swiftie groupies cared about who Taylor Swift was dating. But, generally no one else did. Most of her boyfriends have been, what appears to be nice enough looking but I would describe as your average band/acting dork (and I mean this in the nicest way) but I'd wager they weren't what most people would consider the cool kids in HS (I'm sure some were). They aren't physical specimens and generally not someone I'd want to have a beer with (maybe Hiddleston). She starts dating Kelce and everyone in the US knows about it because it is mixing the largest sport in the US, the NFL with one of its biggest stars. It was so big that people like Ryan Reynolds et al were in her box last night. So she could basically relive the high school dream of dating the HS football team's biggest jock. And don't get me wrong, I think they are a nice couple.

That's the easiest way to describe the importance of sports in America.[/quote]

Not sure what professional athletes and entertainers has to do with anything.

Following premier league stars and their WAGs is a major part of European pop culture, but it doesn’t trickle down to HS or even college sports.

The big difference outside the US is that sports talent is identified and professionalized at a much earlier age.  Hence why Barcelona started training Messi at 5 and the French basketball prodigy (#1 NBA draft pick) was pulled out of normal school and trained starting at like 10.

In Europe, the serious athletes all attend a place like IMG in the United States.  Anyone remaining in normal HS is not on a Pro path and there are no college sports.[/quote]

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