Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand the travel/HS divide.
I’ve been reading on here how college scouts/recruiters don’t go to HS games. Travel is the way in, but you need be be wealthy to do travel in the first place. There is plenty of talent in HS but no one there to see it.
My kid is 11 and we don’t have money to invest in travel soccer but my kid loves soccer. The system sucks.

There is very little $ for soccer scholarships. Your kid is better off spending their time studying and getting good grades. Don't worry about the HS/Travel "divide". It really doesn't matter.

Studying and getting good grades are not necessarily incompatible with playing sports. Most parents know that their kids are unlikely to be recruited, but they would like to offer them a more active life style. Many of these parents cannot enroll their kids into sports because they cannot afford the excessive club fees. The sports are slowly turning into another privilege for the rich.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$$$$. That’s why

Yeah I think this is probably a big part of it.

Middle school sports in MCPS is intramurals right?

Back when we were in middle school in MCPS, we used to compete against other schools Then that cut. And then I think they offered an intramural program. I was never really clear on if that was official or not. Where I initially thought it was the teachers that coached the previous year volunteering so kids could still do those activities within their own school.

And I think I just read somewhere recently where one of the school systems in Virginia was bringing back middle school sports. ( https://wtop.com/loudoun-county/2023/10/luckily-we-were-chosen-loudoun-co-pilots-sports-at-4-middle-schools/ )

But basically I think middle school extra curricular sports are ranked pretty low when it comes to the budget.

This is still the case!

MS kids can play a sport starting in 6th grade. Softball, basketball, cross country.

The kids play against other middle schools and practice after school.

Teachers usually coach.

And then our MS ALSO offers intramurals.

Most MCPS schools start the official sports teams in 7th grade. What MS does your kid go to?

Intramurals/clubs offered is very much a school-by-school thing. You are lucky if your school offers intramurals. My kid's school did not (Newport Mill MS).

Sorry! You are right. It was a typo. I meant that they start sports in 7th grade (not 6th).

I heard a coach saying that - without club experience - it is unlikely for any player to make a high school team in the DMV area. With MCPS focused so much on equity (mostly rich people can afford clubs), I am surprised that they don't make it easier for more students to play sports.

Our MCPS did not offer intramurals and very few kids made the teams.
Agree with you that we should put some more money into this and that it would not cost very much. There are so many kids who would benefit from participating.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand the travel/HS divide.
I’ve been reading on here how college scouts/recruiters don’t go to HS games. Travel is the way in, but you need be be wealthy to do travel in the first place. There is plenty of talent in HS but no one there to see it.
My kid is 11 and we don’t have money to invest in travel soccer but my kid loves soccer. The system sucks.

There is very little $ for soccer scholarships. Your kid is better off spending their time studying and getting good grades. Don't worry about the HS/Travel "divide". It really doesn't matter.

DP but everyone doesn’t play sports to get a college scholarship. I know PP mentioned recruiters but the current system is still a bummer if you just want to get some exercise and have fun on a team without the scholarship hope. It is too expensive and more time intensive than it should be.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$$$$. That’s why

Yeah I think this is probably a big part of it.

Middle school sports in MCPS is intramurals right?

Back when we were in middle school in MCPS, we used to compete against other schools Then that cut. And then I think they offered an intramural program. I was never really clear on if that was official or not. Where I initially thought it was the teachers that coached the previous year volunteering so kids could still do those activities within their own school.

And I think I just read somewhere recently where one of the school systems in Virginia was bringing back middle school sports. ( https://wtop.com/loudoun-county/2023/10/luckily-we-were-chosen-loudoun-co-pilots-sports-at-4-middle-schools/ )

But basically I think middle school extra curricular sports are ranked pretty low when it comes to the budget.

This is still the case!

MS kids can play a sport starting in 6th grade. Softball, basketball, cross country.

The kids play against other middle schools and practice after school.

Teachers usually coach.

And then our MS ALSO offers intramurals.

Most MCPS schools start the official sports teams in 7th grade. What MS does your kid go to?

Intramurals/clubs offered is very much a school-by-school thing. You are lucky if your school offers intramurals. My kid's school did not (Newport Mill MS).

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand the travel/HS divide.
I’ve been reading on here how college scouts/recruiters don’t go to HS games. Travel is the way in, but you need be be wealthy to do travel in the first place. There is plenty of talent in HS but no one there to see it.
My kid is 11 and we don’t have money to invest in travel soccer but my kid loves soccer. The system sucks.

There is very little $ for soccer scholarships. Your kid is better off spending their time studying and getting good grades. Don't worry about the HS/Travel "divide". It really doesn't matter.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$$$$. That’s why

Yeah I think this is probably a big part of it.

Middle school sports in MCPS is intramurals right?

Back when we were in middle school in MCPS, we used to compete against other schools Then that cut. And then I think they offered an intramural program. I was never really clear on if that was official or not. Where I initially thought it was the teachers that coached the previous year volunteering so kids could still do those activities within their own school.

And I think I just read somewhere recently where one of the school systems in Virginia was bringing back middle school sports. ( https://wtop.com/loudoun-county/2023/10/luckily-we-were-chosen-loudoun-co-pilots-sports-at-4-middle-schools/ )

But basically I think middle school extra curricular sports are ranked pretty low when it comes to the budget.

This is still the case!

MS kids can play a sport starting in 6th grade. Softball, basketball, cross country.

The kids play against other middle schools and practice after school.

Teachers usually coach.

And then our MS ALSO offers intramurals.

What school system are you in? This is definitely not the case in MCPS. They offer a few clubs for the most popular sports (which meets once, maybe twice a week). If your child likes a sport that is not considered popular, good luck even finding a club! We wanted to start a club and there were quite a few kids who were interested in joining. We made it clear that the kids would run their club, the teacher would not even have to coach (they would just offer adult supervision, which is required for a club). We eventually gave up because we could not find a teacher to sponsor it. It was really sad to see kids wanting to take the lead, but hitting a wall of teacher/administrative indifference.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$$$$. That’s why

Yeah I think this is probably a big part of it.

Middle school sports in MCPS is intramurals right?

Back when we were in middle school in MCPS, we used to compete against other schools Then that cut. And then I think they offered an intramural program. I was never really clear on if that was official or not. Where I initially thought it was the teachers that coached the previous year volunteering so kids could still do those activities within their own school.

And I think I just read somewhere recently where one of the school systems in Virginia was bringing back middle school sports. ( https://wtop.com/loudoun-county/2023/10/luckily-we-were-chosen-loudoun-co-pilots-sports-at-4-middle-schools/ )

But basically I think middle school extra curricular sports are ranked pretty low when it comes to the budget.

This is still the case!

MS kids can play a sport starting in 6th grade. Softball, basketball, cross country.

The kids play against other middle schools and practice after school.

Teachers usually coach.

And then our MS ALSO offers intramurals.

The system does suck.

I don’t understand the travel/HS divide.
I’ve been reading on here how college scouts/recruiters don’t go to HS games. Travel is the way in, but you need be be wealthy to do travel in the first place. There is plenty of talent in HS but no one there to see it.
My kid is 11 and we don’t have money to invest in travel soccer but my kid loves soccer. The system sucks.

They compete against other schools. Parents volunteer to carpool to the other schools. The cost would be to pay a teacher to stay for an hour a few days each week. In the grand scheme of things the budget needed would be minimal.

Anonymous wrote:$$$$. That’s why

Yeah I think this is probably a big part of it.

Middle school sports in MCPS is intramurals right?

Back when we were in middle school in MCPS, we used to compete against other schools Then that cut. And then I think they offered an intramural program. I was never really clear on if that was official or not. Where I initially thought it was the teachers that coached the previous year volunteering so kids could still do those activities within their own school.

And I think I just read somewhere recently where one of the school systems in Virginia was bringing back middle school sports. ( https://wtop.com/loudoun-county/2023/10/luckily-we-were-chosen-loudoun-co-pilots-sports-at-4-middle-schools/ )

But basically I think middle school extra curricular sports are ranked pretty low when it comes to the budget.

$$$$. That’s why

I went to my son's MS MCPS basketball game the other week and it harkened me back to what sports should be about at that age. The kids were all there cheering, practices at school after school and can take activity bus home and get this, its "Free!". I dont understand with MCPS so focused on equity and mental health why they don't offer more MS sports and larger (2nd string or "B") teams in high school? So many kids can't afford the travel team scene and it really is such a money grab. Plus, getting these kids out in these activities has so many social, mental and physical benefits.