Reply to Did Your Athlete End Up With Plan B?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]As context, I was a D1 athlete, and all of the kids on my club team went to D1 schools. Half of them became All Americans. I was happy going to the best school that I could on a full ride.

OP - a few thoughts.

Playing elite sports prior to HS teaches several key traits that are hard to replicate in other environments: time management, team work, leadership, drive, and discipline. That should be the case whether DC plays sports or not and will translate into other areas if varsity college athletics are not in his/her future.

Talk to the kids' coaches about the recruitment process, when it starts for your sport, your kid's prospects, etc. I was getting letters from a lot of colleges by the time I was a freshman in high school so we knew it was a possibility, and I committed the summer before my junior year (as did my peers by and large).

Let the kid do what he/she wants. If he/she is ready for the commitment, go for it! But, have realistic expectations if it doesn't pan out at the collegiate level. Club sports in college are popular too.[/quote]

This is how I look at it too.  The reason to do the sport is love for the sport and playing, and the main benefits that come from that approach are health and happiness and the teamwork, discipline, etc. benefits that come from playing seriously.  My eldest was a great student and a pretty good athlete.  Her sport was far and away her biggest extracurricular, even though she knew she was unlikely to be recruited even at the D3 level, and she wasn't.  She just absolutely loved it even though it didn't allow time for more than a couple other minor ECs, which were unimpressive from an admissions perspective.  She got into an excellent school on her academic merits, and plays her sport at the club level now.  She has no regrets at all about the time spent on the sport in HS.

My other kid was always extremely talented at his sport, and did get a significant admissions bump from it, along with a sizable scholarship.  He also is happy with his choice, and for him it helped him stay focused on academics.  Their feelings about playing the sport are pretty much the same--it's a major part of who they are.  I think and hope they'll both continue with it as adults. [/quote]

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