Reply to Parents who have been through the process: talk to me about gpas and kids doing sports year round

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP here – – thank you both. This makes sense and you are right, I think some kids can handle it but it’s very impactful to him. But you don’t know what you don’t know. And I think it’s been good socially. Hoping next semester might be slightly better and then we’ll regroup over the summer. And it’s not like he’s doing terrible by any mean. But again, we just don’t want to be in a situation come junior year where his GPA precludes him from schools he might otherwise be interested in[/quote]

[b]It sounds like a good time to start discussing what types of schools he is interested in [/b]and what it takes to get there for those schools. Working on it together should be your path.[/quote]

Omg. No. Whatever you do, OP, do not do this!!

Most 9th graders do not have a clue what schools they’re interested in. Nor should they.

Their focus should be on having a great freshman year. Trying different things - some hard courses, juggling multiple sports etc, and seeing how it goes. What do they like and not like? What’s hard? Is it uncomfortable/stressful? If so, what might make that part better?

The goal is to engage our kids in thinking about (and taking an increasingly active role in) their learning and development. This sounds like what you’re doing, OP. Good instincts!

On the other hand, PP’s suggestion runs the risk of reducing all of high school (and four years of adolescent development) to a goal-directed exercise in getting into specific colleges. IMHO that sells our kids way short and misses the point entirely.

OP, you got the correct advice that being a three sport athlete is not going to help your kid when it comes to admissions. One sport is enough for that purpose. The other two don’t matter. But they MAY matter for your kid’s health and happiness, so good for you for considering that.

Definitely talk with him about all this. Not in terms of college admissions. In terms of whether he feels there are tradeoffs between the sports and the academics right now. And if so, help him brainstorm ideas and options. The more invested and engaged he is, the better.

Finally, it really is ok to take it year by year, and even sports season by sports season. We’ve seen kids drop a second or third “just for fun” no cut school sport sophomore or junior year and then pick it back up senior year. Same for taking a year off a club team and then rejoining later. (Obviously not for the elite recruited athlete type showcase clubs, but yes for the other tiers.)

Same advice goes for thinking about which APs he may take junior and senior year. Take it one year at a time. You’ll know a lot more a year from now about  he can handle/balance junior year.

Enjoy the second half of freshman year with him. Sounds like he’s doing great and you are, too![/quote]

+1 my ADHD boys plays a sport all the time too. I don’t really worry about what that means as an EC for college admissions. I’m more concerned with allowing my kid to pursue the things they enjoy and how they’re developing as a person. [/quote]

Plus their mental health.  My kid needs to move every day, or he's miserable, and his misery affects the whole family. [/quote]

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