Anonymous
05/14/2026 12:00
Subject: Ivy Athletic Recruiting Success Stories--Share What it Takes To Make It
Anonymous wrote:Baseball has 500,000.
Soccer has 850,000.
Basketball has 900,000.
Football has 1,000,000.
Track has over 1,200,000.
Even golf has 250,000.
According to the NFHS, squash has a couple of thousand.
Squash and sailing is the last bastion of elite, white privilege at Ivies. Where mediocre skill meets money. There is nothing wrong with gaming the system as long as you play by the rules but don't pretend it is anything but a backdoor way to preserve what the university community despises.
You don't need to be a zillionaire to learn to play squash, but it's not going to be easy to do if you're lower income. Maybe you can even learn the basics of sailing or rowing or horseback riding or golf etc. But learning to play and get into the level where you can get recruited to the ivy League or two different things. That is going to require some financial investment and if you make that investment in squash, you are going to have to compete against a significantly much smaller pool of athletes than if you're trying to get recruited to the track team. Even accounting for the smaller size of the squash team relative to the track team.
Anonymous
05/14/2026 11:55
Subject: Ivy Athletic Recruiting Success Stories--Share What it Takes To Make It
Baseball has 500,000.
Soccer has 850,000.
Basketball has 900,000.
Football has 1,000,000.
Track has over 1,200,000.
Even golf has 250,000.
According to the NFHS, squash has a couple of thousand.
Squash and sailing is the last bastion of elite, white privilege at Ivies. Where mediocre skill meets money. There is nothing wrong with gaming the system as long as you play by the rules but don't pretend it is anything but a backdoor way to preserve what the university community despises.
Soccer has 850,000.
Basketball has 900,000.
Football has 1,000,000.
Track has over 1,200,000.
Even golf has 250,000.
According to the NFHS, squash has a couple of thousand.
Squash and sailing is the last bastion of elite, white privilege at Ivies. Where mediocre skill meets money. There is nothing wrong with gaming the system as long as you play by the rules but don't pretend it is anything but a backdoor way to preserve what the university community despises.
Anonymous
05/14/2026 11:47
Subject: Ivy Athletic Recruiting Success Stories--Share What it Takes To Make It
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:These niche sports- fencing, sailing, squash, rowing are not the normal hyper competitive ones like baseball, football, basketball, cross country, volleyball, etc.
Too few engage in these esoteric sports to even matter. When you have millions and millions competing in particular sports that is far different than 200 in the entire country.
The niche, elite sports are Ivy centric. So those are the sports a kid should do if they want a chance as an Ivy recruit. The other more widespread sports are for lesser schools and public plebes. This thread is about Ivy recruitment.
Yes. They aren't niche, though, they are Olympic sports. The Ivies focus on the Olympics.
Participation rates say otherwise. Squash, sailing, fencing and rowing are niche sports played by very few. For those trying to game an Ivy admission they are far easier to be successful in than real sports. Most high school students find the real sports much more fun. The funny thing about squash is it is getting its clock cleaned by pickleball and is becoming an even more nichy niche sport.
Cool, so tell your kid to play a niche sport. Then they might actually get a good job when they graduate from college.
Many of these niche sports require access to squash courts, golf courses, sailboats or rowing shells, horses..... They are definitely sports for wealthy kids for the most part. And it's fine for wealthy kids to have their expensive niche sports, but don't pretend like anyone can just go out and master these sports without plenty money to invest in it.
Tell your kid to run track instead of making excuses. Track has the largest roster of any collegiate sport.
No one's making excuses. Ivy recruiting is incredibly competitive. My recruited athletes were not good enough to get recruited into the ivy league. My student was admitted for academics, not athletic ability.
A lot of niche sports are populated by kids with the money to invest in learning to master the sport. That is just a statement of fact.
If you get recruited for track, you have had to compete against a much much larger population of athletes than someone that gets recruited for squash.
Anonymous
05/14/2026 11:41
Subject: Ivy Athletic Recruiting Success Stories--Share What it Takes To Make It
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:These niche sports- fencing, sailing, squash, rowing are not the normal hyper competitive ones like baseball, football, basketball, cross country, volleyball, etc.
Too few engage in these esoteric sports to even matter. When you have millions and millions competing in particular sports that is far different than 200 in the entire country.
The niche, elite sports are Ivy centric. So those are the sports a kid should do if they want a chance as an Ivy recruit. The other more widespread sports are for lesser schools and public plebes. This thread is about Ivy recruitment.
Yes. They aren't niche, though, they are Olympic sports. The Ivies focus on the Olympics.
Participation rates say otherwise. Squash, sailing, fencing and rowing are niche sports played by very few. For those trying to game an Ivy admission they are far easier to be successful in than real sports. Most high school students find the real sports much more fun. The funny thing about squash is it is getting its clock cleaned by pickleball and is becoming an even more nichy niche sport.
Cool, so tell your kid to play a niche sport. Then they might actually get a good job when they graduate from college.
Many of these niche sports require access to squash courts, golf courses, sailboats or rowing shells, horses..... They are definitely sports for wealthy kids for the most part. And it's fine for wealthy kids to have their expensive niche sports, but don't pretend like anyone can just go out and master these sports without plenty money to invest in it.
Tell your kid to run track instead of making excuses. Track has the largest roster of any collegiate sport.
Anonymous
05/14/2026 11:29
Subject: Ivy Athletic Recruiting Success Stories--Share What it Takes To Make It
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:These niche sports- fencing, sailing, squash, rowing are not the normal hyper competitive ones like baseball, football, basketball, cross country, volleyball, etc.
Too few engage in these esoteric sports to even matter. When you have millions and millions competing in particular sports that is far different than 200 in the entire country.
The niche, elite sports are Ivy centric. So those are the sports a kid should do if they want a chance as an Ivy recruit. The other more widespread sports are for lesser schools and public plebes. This thread is about Ivy recruitment.
Yes. They aren't niche, though, they are Olympic sports. The Ivies focus on the Olympics.
Participation rates say otherwise. Squash, sailing, fencing and rowing are niche sports played by very few. For those trying to game an Ivy admission they are far easier to be successful in than real sports. Most high school students find the real sports much more fun. The funny thing about squash is it is getting its clock cleaned by pickleball and is becoming an even more nichy niche sport.
Cool, so tell your kid to play a niche sport. Then they might actually get a good job when they graduate from college.
Many of these niche sports require access to squash courts, golf courses, sailboats or rowing shells, horses..... They are definitely sports for wealthy kids for the most part. And it's fine for wealthy kids to have their expensive niche sports, but don't pretend like anyone can just go out and master these sports without plenty money to invest in it.
Anonymous
05/14/2026 10:57
Subject: Ivy Athletic Recruiting Success Stories--Share What it Takes To Make It
Anonymous wrote:Squash will be in the LA Olympics in 2028
People on this board are idiots. It's also a very prestigious sport internationally. They still don't understand the point of the ivy league, and what the schools' motivations are. They think the ivy league should be a combination of DevRy technical school and the India Institute of Technology. And they whine when the schools do what they have always done. Turn out interesting and succesful people. Not just in STEM. Take note of the Ivy League people in the NHL playoffs (hockey is an ivy league focus for the last 100 years). Take notice of the ivy league people at the academy awards. etc.
But, at this board you get "engineering. STEM. SAT". A bunch of uncultured rubes here.
Anonymous
05/14/2026 09:37
Subject: Ivy Athletic Recruiting Success Stories--Share What it Takes To Make It
Squash will be in the LA Olympics in 2028
Anonymous
05/14/2026 08:17
Subject: Ivy Athletic Recruiting Success Stories--Share What it Takes To Make It
Anonymous wrote:Ivy recruiting can get a little whacky. My kid attended a recruiting session run by the Harvard baseball coach. Kind of a gruff old guy who wasn’t afraid to be maybe too honest.
For a top recruit he wanted at least a 1350…he might go lower for a true Power 4 player who he honestly thought wanted Harvard (ie a dream recruit who is too good for Ivy play).
He mentioned that every now and then he will meet a recruit who is both a great player and a 1580 SAT super impressive candidate. In that situation he may get greedy and not select that kid as a top recruit because he is very confident the kid will get in his own…so he is getting a top player for “free”. He will use his top slots for the second best 1350 kid and the other kid gets an asterisk so admissions know the coach likes him, but the kid needs to get in on their own.
Different sport and different Ivy but same thing happened to a high stat friend. Luckily he got in and is on the team.
Anonymous
05/14/2026 02:30
Subject: Ivy Athletic Recruiting Success Stories--Share What it Takes To Make It
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:These niche sports- fencing, sailing, squash, rowing are not the normal hyper competitive ones like baseball, football, basketball, cross country, volleyball, etc.
Too few engage in these esoteric sports to even matter. When you have millions and millions competing in particular sports that is far different than 200 in the entire country.
The niche, elite sports are Ivy centric. So those are the sports a kid should do if they want a chance as an Ivy recruit. The other more widespread sports are for lesser schools and public plebes. This thread is about Ivy recruitment.
Yes. They aren't niche, though, they are Olympic sports. The Ivies focus on the Olympics.
Squash is not an Olympic sport.
Anonymous
05/13/2026 22:45
Subject: Ivy Athletic Recruiting Success Stories--Share What it Takes To Make It
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:These niche sports- fencing, sailing, squash, rowing are not the normal hyper competitive ones like baseball, football, basketball, cross country, volleyball, etc.
Too few engage in these esoteric sports to even matter. When you have millions and millions competing in particular sports that is far different than 200 in the entire country.
The niche, elite sports are Ivy centric. So those are the sports a kid should do if they want a chance as an Ivy recruit. The other more widespread sports are for lesser schools and public plebes. This thread is about Ivy recruitment.
Yes. They aren't niche, though, they are Olympic sports. The Ivies focus on the Olympics.
Participation rates say otherwise. Squash, sailing, fencing and rowing are niche sports played by very few. For those trying to game an Ivy admission they are far easier to be successful in than real sports. Most high school students find the real sports much more fun. The funny thing about squash is it is getting its clock cleaned by pickleball and is becoming an even more nichy niche sport.
Cool, so tell your kid to play a niche sport. Then they might actually get a good job when they graduate from college.
Anonymous
05/13/2026 22:31
Subject: Ivy Athletic Recruiting Success Stories--Share What it Takes To Make It
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:These niche sports- fencing, sailing, squash, rowing are not the normal hyper competitive ones like baseball, football, basketball, cross country, volleyball, etc.
Too few engage in these esoteric sports to even matter. When you have millions and millions competing in particular sports that is far different than 200 in the entire country.
The niche, elite sports are Ivy centric. So those are the sports a kid should do if they want a chance as an Ivy recruit. The other more widespread sports are for lesser schools and public plebes. This thread is about Ivy recruitment.
Yes. They aren't niche, though, they are Olympic sports. The Ivies focus on the Olympics.
Participation rates say otherwise. Squash, sailing, fencing and rowing are niche sports played by very few. For those trying to game an Ivy admission they are far easier to be successful in than real sports. Most high school students find the real sports much more fun. The funny thing about squash is it is getting its clock cleaned by pickleball and is becoming an even more nichy niche sport.
Anonymous
05/13/2026 22:25
Subject: Ivy Athletic Recruiting Success Stories--Share What it Takes To Make It
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Ivy recruiting can get a little whacky. My kid attended a recruiting session run by the Harvard baseball coach. Kind of a gruff old guy who wasn’t afraid to be maybe too honest.
For a top recruit he wanted at least a 1350…he might go lower for a true Power 4 player who he honestly thought wanted Harvard (ie a dream recruit who is too good for Ivy play).
He mentioned that every now and then he will meet a recruit who is both a great player and a 1580 SAT super impressive candidate. In that situation he may get greedy and not select that kid as a top recruit because he is very confident the kid will get in his own…so he is getting a top player for “free”. He will use his top slots for the second best 1350 kid and the other kid gets an asterisk so admissions know the coach likes him, but the kid needs to get in on their own.
I’ve heard of this happening.
Also heard of some coaches being wary of the solid athlete who has very strong GPA/test scores. They would rather take the superior athlete with meh academic scores because they prefer the kid on their roster who will prioritize the sport over classes. Ivy coaches want to win.
You have never heard this….nonsensical fiction.
Anonymous
05/13/2026 20:20
Subject: Ivy Athletic Recruiting Success Stories--Share What it Takes To Make It
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:These niche sports- fencing, sailing, squash, rowing are not the normal hyper competitive ones like baseball, football, basketball, cross country, volleyball, etc.
Too few engage in these esoteric sports to even matter. When you have millions and millions competing in particular sports that is far different than 200 in the entire country.
The niche, elite sports are Ivy centric. So those are the sports a kid should do if they want a chance as an Ivy recruit. The other more widespread sports are for lesser schools and public plebes. This thread is about Ivy recruitment.
Yes. They aren't niche, though, they are Olympic sports. The Ivies focus on the Olympics.
I know. My kid was an HYP recruit.
Anonymous
05/13/2026 19:53
Subject: Ivy Athletic Recruiting Success Stories--Share What it Takes To Make It
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:These niche sports- fencing, sailing, squash, rowing are not the normal hyper competitive ones like baseball, football, basketball, cross country, volleyball, etc.
Too few engage in these esoteric sports to even matter. When you have millions and millions competing in particular sports that is far different than 200 in the entire country.
The niche, elite sports are Ivy centric. So those are the sports a kid should do if they want a chance as an Ivy recruit. The other more widespread sports are for lesser schools and public plebes. This thread is about Ivy recruitment.
Yes. They aren't niche, though, they are Olympic sports. The Ivies focus on the Olympics.
Anonymous
05/13/2026 17:18
Subject: Ivy Athletic Recruiting Success Stories--Share What it Takes To Make It
Anonymous wrote:These niche sports- fencing, sailing, squash, rowing are not the normal hyper competitive ones like baseball, football, basketball, cross country, volleyball, etc.
Too few engage in these esoteric sports to even matter. When you have millions and millions competing in particular sports that is far different than 200 in the entire country.
The niche, elite sports are Ivy centric. So those are the sports a kid should do if they want a chance as an Ivy recruit. The other more widespread sports are for lesser schools and public plebes. This thread is about Ivy recruitment.