Anonymous
Post 12/03/2025 19:47     Subject: It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here
Don’t forget how much time varsity teams need. Once they play school teams, they give up many other ECs while majority won’t be recruited.
Anonymous
Post 12/03/2025 19:46     Subject: It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:In the other thread about cuts, everyone mentioned how you many kids on travel teams since 8 don’t pass freshman tryouts in high school. Even if your kid is lucky enough to make varsity, it doesn’t matter much for admissions. It’s just crazy when it’s so hard to make the high school team.

This can't be real.


It's very real at sports powerhouse high schools. At my kids school there were many college bound AAU women's basketball players or club volleyball players who couldn't make the varsity team.


There are crappy club teams in every sport…if you are trying to claim that there are AAU players that are playing in college but can’t make the HS team, I find that hard to believe, unless they are playing for a crappy D3 team (of which there are many).

Even the very best DMV basketball teams (some nationally ranked) have players that aren’t playing in college.


Happens all of the time. I'm in CA so let's use what I know as an example:
Ontario Christian
Mater Dei
Etiwanda
Sierra Canyon
Archbishop Mitty are the top 5 girls BB schools and all are ranked in the top 10 in the country (along with some MD/DMV schools so good for you). Mitty's coach is the U16 national team coach. Kids go to these schools shooting to make a team because they are the best.

Three of them are volleyball powers as well.

Kids that don't make the team still play club sports because club is what actually matters for recruiting, not HS. There are lots of kids at these schools who go on to play at good college programs without being able to make their HS team.



Yet, the MD/DMV HS teams you mention above have girls playing on those teams who are not playing in college at all. Now, they are likely only interested in top D1 programs (either top from an athletic perspective and/or Ivy D1)...but the reality is they are not recruitable by those colleges, yet they are still on the HS team.

I can't speak for CA schools.



Maybe they aren't but that isn't to say that they aren't good enough to play somewhere. My DD's HS team was a national top 10 team when she was there. I know 3 kids (a high academic D3, and 2 mid-major D1) who didn't make the varsity team after their sophomore year so they were done. There is a kid at a well known Patriot League school who never left the bench in high school as well. When you only carry 3 or 4 kids per grade it can be brutal.


The Sidwell team from three years ago that finished #1 in the country had 1/3 of the team not play in college.

Thats not to say those girls had much playing time, but they made the team…as long as players don’t get hurt, you just need 7-8 great players to win.

Again…perhaps the CA teams are able to recruit entire teams of college players, but this is a DC site and it’s not the case around here.
Anonymous
Post 12/03/2025 19:39     Subject: It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here
Both my son and daughter were cut from the golf team at Langley High School in different years. The competition at public schools in affluent areas is absolutely brutal.
Anonymous
Post 12/03/2025 19:33     Subject: It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:In the other thread about cuts, everyone mentioned how you many kids on travel teams since 8 don’t pass freshman tryouts in high school. Even if your kid is lucky enough to make varsity, it doesn’t matter much for admissions. It’s just crazy when it’s so hard to make the high school team.

This can't be real.


It's very real at sports powerhouse high schools. At my kids school there were many college bound AAU women's basketball players or club volleyball players who couldn't make the varsity team.


There are crappy club teams in every sport…if you are trying to claim that there are AAU players that are playing in college but can’t make the HS team, I find that hard to believe, unless they are playing for a crappy D3 team (of which there are many).

Even the very best DMV basketball teams (some nationally ranked) have players that aren’t playing in college.


Happens all of the time. I'm in CA so let's use what I know as an example:
Ontario Christian
Mater Dei
Etiwanda
Sierra Canyon
Archbishop Mitty are the top 5 girls BB schools and all are ranked in the top 10 in the country (along with some MD/DMV schools so good for you). Mitty's coach is the U16 national team coach. Kids go to these schools shooting to make a team because they are the best.

Three of them are volleyball powers as well.

Kids that don't make the team still play club sports because club is what actually matters for recruiting, not HS. There are lots of kids at these schools who go on to play at good college programs without being able to make their HS team.



Yet, the MD/DMV HS teams you mention above have girls playing on those teams who are not playing in college at all. Now, they are likely only interested in top D1 programs (either top from an athletic perspective and/or Ivy D1)...but the reality is they are not recruitable by those colleges, yet they are still on the HS team.

I can't speak for CA schools.



Maybe they aren't but that isn't to say that they aren't good enough to play somewhere. My DD's HS team was a national top 10 team when she was there. I know 3 kids (a high academic D3, and 2 mid-major D1) who didn't make the varsity team after their sophomore year so they were done. There is a kid at a well known Patriot League school who never left the bench in high school as well. When you only carry 3 or 4 kids per grade it can be brutal.
Anonymous
Post 12/03/2025 19:13     Subject: It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Who doesn’t have sports on the application? Almost all high school students do at least one sport.

There are dozens of schools that make it to state every year. You are not going to stand out unless you have something special.


That’s mathematically impossible


I mean, there’s 50 state champions every year. Multiply 50 by number of sports & number of kids on those teams, it’s a lot of “state champions” applying every year.

Bottom line: do sports because you enjoy it, not for some edge for college apps. If doing multiple sports or doing a sport year round means that you don’t feel like you’re prepared for college/college apps (grades suffer bc lack of study time or don’t have time to study for SAT), then you can consider dropping a sport or dropping down a level.

But sports are a choice. Travel or year round is a choice. Don’t act otherwise.



There are more than 50 state championship teams each year. Some larger states have multiple state championships for the same sport. This isn’t to take away from anyone who participates in a high school sport. However, playing varsity on most high school teams doesn’t mean as much in today’s recruiting climate. It’s not like 35 years ago when good-but-not-great athletes could play Div 3 as walk-ons.
Anonymous
Post 12/03/2025 19:08     Subject: It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here
Anonymous wrote:We actively discouraged HS sports for our two sons. Way too much time for any meaningful payoff in terms of college admissions. GPA is much more important than 4 years on the baseball team or whatever. Kids play club sports that don't have grueling travel schedules and focus on academics.

But we seem to be the minority. I'm baffled by the number of people I know whose kids spent 30+ hours a week around sports in HS. Very few will be recruited anywhere attractive and even among those who are, it's not uncommon to lose interest, get injured, etc and ultimately you may be stuck at a school that wouldn't have been optimal without the team aspect. I really think there is some kind of mania/obsession that sets in and skews perspectives.


Colleges get that sports take a lot of time. They are impressed by kids who can excel academically while devoting so much time to a non-academic pursuit. They know that the kid who did sports had to work much harder and be more efficient and organized than the kid who studied and only did academic-related extracurriculars.
Anonymous
Post 12/03/2025 19:08     Subject: It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Sports are not more important than other extracurriculars like music. And those go all year, not just a season.


THIS 100%

My kid spends 10 hrs/week minimum on music, and layers on another 12 hrs/week during musical season.

They aren't more important but usually more time consuming and physically exhausting.
My kid had a 4 hour practice last night after waking up and training an hour before school. Today they missed their last class to ride a bus for an hour an a half to another high school and won't return until 10 PM. All that, and half the kids on the team won't get any playing time anyway.
Anonymous
Post 12/03/2025 19:05     Subject: It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Who doesn’t have sports on the application? Almost all high school students do at least one sport.

There are dozens of schools that make it to state every year. You are not going to stand out unless you have something special.


That’s mathematically impossible


I mean, there’s 50 state champions every year. Multiply 50 by number of sports & number of kids on those teams, it’s a lot of “state champions” applying every year.

Bottom line: do sports because you enjoy it, not for some edge for college apps. If doing multiple sports or doing a sport year round means that you don’t feel like you’re prepared for college/college apps (grades suffer bc lack of study time or don’t have time to study for SAT), then you can consider dropping a sport or dropping down a level.

But sports are a choice. Travel or year round is a choice. Don’t act otherwise.

Anonymous
Post 12/03/2025 18:53     Subject: It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:In the other thread about cuts, everyone mentioned how you many kids on travel teams since 8 don’t pass freshman tryouts in high school. Even if your kid is lucky enough to make varsity, it doesn’t matter much for admissions. It’s just crazy when it’s so hard to make the high school team


I think there's an overemphasis on organized sports in American culture. I think it should be more about exercise, free play and connecting socially. Instead it's become a treadmill of keeping up with the Joneses and rushing to join leagues, club and varsity teams and have to do a relentless schedule of mandatory practices, games and meets that feels like a job without pay. All to show your "commitment" to the team. We've lost the plot.



I mean, you can make virtually the same argument about academics. School should be about learning, but instead it’s a competitive grind focused on grades, test scores, and college admissions. We have indeed lost the plot.
Anonymous
Post 12/03/2025 18:49     Subject: It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here
Anonymous wrote:Who doesn’t have sports on the application? Almost all high school students do at least one sport.

There are dozens of schools that make it to state every year. You are not going to stand out unless you have something special.


That’s mathematically impossible
Anonymous
Post 12/03/2025 18:49     Subject: It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here
Anonymous wrote:We actively discouraged HS sports for our two sons. Way too much time for any meaningful payoff in terms of college admissions. GPA is much more important than 4 years on the baseball team or whatever. Kids play club sports that don't have grueling travel schedules and focus on academics.

But we seem to be the minority. I'm baffled by the number of people I know whose kids spent 30+ hours a week around sports in HS. Very few will be recruited anywhere attractive and even among those who are, it's not uncommon to lose interest, get injured, etc and ultimately you may be stuck at a school that wouldn't have been optimal without the team aspect. I really think there is some kind of mania/obsession that sets in and skews perspectives.


You do realize that some high school kids actually ENJOY their sports, don’t you? Some of them play for love of the game, not because mommy is angling for a leg up in the college admissions process…
Anonymous
Post 12/03/2025 17:48     Subject: It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here
I think sports absolutely help in college admissions process, even with being recruited. It's just that parents around here tend to do the usual sports where there are a gazzillion kids doing it too (lacrosse, soccer, baseball, swim) across the US and it's really difficult to use that as a hook because you need to be an all-star every year. It means that teams have to be the top in their sport and they need to go to state level or regional level competitions on a yearly basis. So maybe a better rant is to say "choose your sport wisely" if your intent is to really use it for college admissions. (As with everything else about college admissions ... it's always manicured talent that drives the success.)
Anonymous
Post 12/03/2025 16:53     Subject: It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:In the other thread about cuts, everyone mentioned how you many kids on travel teams since 8 don’t pass freshman tryouts in high school. Even if your kid is lucky enough to make varsity, it doesn’t matter much for admissions. It’s just crazy when it’s so hard to make the high school team.

This can't be real.


It's very real at sports powerhouse high schools. At my kids school there were many college bound AAU women's basketball players or club volleyball players who couldn't make the varsity team.


There are crappy club teams in every sport…if you are trying to claim that there are AAU players that are playing in college but can’t make the HS team, I find that hard to believe, unless they are playing for a crappy D3 team (of which there are many).

Even the very best DMV basketball teams (some nationally ranked) have players that aren’t playing in college.


Happens all of the time. I'm in CA so let's use what I know as an example:
Ontario Christian
Mater Dei
Etiwanda
Sierra Canyon
Archbishop Mitty are the top 5 girls BB schools and all are ranked in the top 10 in the country (along with some MD/DMV schools so good for you). Mitty's coach is the U16 national team coach. Kids go to these schools shooting to make a team because they are the best.

Three of them are volleyball powers as well.

Kids that don't make the team still play club sports because club is what actually matters for recruiting, not HS. There are lots of kids at these schools who go on to play at good college programs without being able to make their HS team.



Yet, the MD/DMV HS teams you mention above have girls playing on those teams who are not playing in college at all. Now, they are likely only interested in top D1 programs (either top from an athletic perspective and/or Ivy D1)...but the reality is they are not recruitable by those colleges, yet they are still on the HS team.

I can't speak for CA schools.

Anonymous
Post 12/03/2025 16:46     Subject: It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:In the other thread about cuts, everyone mentioned how you many kids on travel teams since 8 don’t pass freshman tryouts in high school. Even if your kid is lucky enough to make varsity, it doesn’t matter much for admissions. It’s just crazy when it’s so hard to make the high school team.

This can't be real.


It's very real at sports powerhouse high schools. At my kids school there were many college bound AAU women's basketball players or club volleyball players who couldn't make the varsity team.


There are crappy club teams in every sport…if you are trying to claim that there are AAU players that are playing in college but can’t make the HS team, I find that hard to believe, unless they are playing for a crappy D3 team (of which there are many).

Even the very best DMV basketball teams (some nationally ranked) have players that aren’t playing in college.


Happens all of the time. I'm in CA so let's use what I know as an example:
Ontario Christian
Mater Dei
Etiwanda
Sierra Canyon
Archbishop Mitty are the top 5 girls BB schools and all are ranked in the top 10 in the country (along with some MD/DMV schools so good for you). Mitty's coach is the U16 national team coach. Kids go to these schools shooting to make a team because they are the best.

Three of them are volleyball powers as well.

Kids that don't make the team still play club sports because club is what actually matters for recruiting, not HS. There are lots of kids at these schools who go on to play at good college programs without being able to make their HS team.



Anonymous
Post 12/03/2025 16:41     Subject: It’s frustrating high school sports don’t matter for admissions when they are so hard to join here
Agree. My kids even went to a small school and still they cut kids rather than met them participate.

High school sports should be about life lessons like teamwork, communication, sportsmanship, and hard work. Excluding them over high school sports rankings and wins is stupid.