Anonymous wrote:I was a solid 3rd place athlete in varsity track and swimming. I was deep on my college D3 cross country team - like #7-9, rarely scoring. I was a solid midfield starter for field hockey on an ok team. I was good enough to make the varsity team, but never the star. I wasn’t holding the team back and I got to participate and feel included - but never had to worry about division / state meets conflicting with other commitments.
I am sad that sports specialization and travel sports and extra lessons / coaching from a young age seem so prevalent in this area because I doubt my kids will have that type of HS sports experience.
I tend to agree. But, at least my community had a pretty good rec soccer program through my kids' teen years. So they got to be solid contributors to a sports team -- even if that team was just competing against other rec teams. My kids were more into band and academics, so they weren't going to be on the varsity squads.