X-country is great because you’re part of a team but also compete against yourself, ie you can see how your times improve. And it’s quantifiable, ie no favoritism, perceived or real. Plus, any body type can do it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:when we brought up trying crew in HS, 8th gr 5'5" 145 lbs DD said she is too heavy for crew. i think it's bs but she did hear that from some friend.

Maybe so but she’d probably be down 20 pounds two months into their workouts! Crew is brutal but gets you in great shape!

They may think that she’s too short for open, thus too heavy for lightweight.
How tall are the parents?

Anonymous wrote:New at FCPS this year is Girl's wrestling.

It was adopted as a varsity sport along with boy's volleyball.

The boy's volleyball seems much more popular than girl's wrestling with 40-50 boys trying out for 12-15 spots and girls wrestling seems to be pretty close to not cut as long as you aren't skipping practices.

I came here to say this.

Girl's wrestling is really growing in the mid-atlantic and there are some HS in the area that are starting to have all female squads. Plus, the number of girls that wrestled at the youth level is very low, so a lot of of these HS girls are wrestling for the first time; its an even playing field for many of them

Don't forget Lacrosse.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:when we brought up trying crew in HS, 8th gr 5'5" 145 lbs DD said she is too heavy for crew. i think it's bs but she did hear that from some friend.

Maybe so but she’d probably be down 20 pounds two months into their workouts! Crew is brutal but gets you in great shape!

And if she doesn’t? Is there weight limit for individual rower to be on a boat?
(And weight loss is not that easy. Ask me how I know)

There are weight limits for the lightweight boats - 130 for girls, I think. There are no weight limits for non-lightweight boats. She is not too heavy for crew. Down the road, she may not be tall enough for competition beyond high school but that shouldn’t stop her now.

New at FCPS this year is Girl's wrestling.

It was adopted as a varsity sport along with boy's volleyball.

The boy's volleyball seems much more popular than girl's wrestling with 40-50 boys trying out for 12-15 spots and girls wrestling seems to be pretty close to not cut as long as you aren't skipping practices.

Field hockey, crew, cross country. Also McLean has club pickle ball so maybe the Arlington and fcc schools do too.

Yorktown field hockey is generally very good, but the freshman team is usually more forgiving.

Hard to get onto volleyball and soccer.

Consider cheerleading too. Looks like fun.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:when we brought up trying crew in HS, 8th gr 5'5" 145 lbs DD said she is too heavy for crew. i think it's bs but she did hear that from some friend.

Maybe so but she’d probably be down 20 pounds two months into their workouts! Crew is brutal but gets you in great shape!

And if she doesn’t? Is there weight limit for individual rower to be on a boat?
(And weight loss is not that easy. Ask me how I know)

Anonymous wrote:when we brought up trying crew in HS, 8th gr 5'5" 145 lbs DD said she is too heavy for crew. i think it's bs but she did hear that from some friend.

Maybe so but she’d probably be down 20 pounds two months into their workouts! Crew is brutal but gets you in great shape!

when we brought up trying crew in HS, 8th gr 5'5" 145 lbs DD said she is too heavy for crew. i think it's bs but she did hear that from some friend.

Anonymous wrote:She plays volleyball, basketball and soccer.... but I'm going to work on expanding her interests a little to at least considering some other options. Ill do some digging too - maybe these larger schools have a freshman, jv and varsity team. That might open up the freshman option.

Thanks very much!

Those are probably the most competitive sports for girls. Add tennis to the list and you have the girl's teams where you have to be really good

Anonymous wrote:Thank you! Good tips on the no cut sports and getting in top shape. Appreciate the feedback.

I only know Yorktown and W&L and it is VERY hard to make the varsity teams there for the popular sports (field hockey, soccer, basketball, etc.). They are pretty good teams and they allow middle schoolers on the lower teams (like freshmen).

Def pick a no cut OR get position coaching for the teams she's interested in (those girls do as my DD is friends with some of them), AND get in top shape.

Sorry to have to say this but it just is what it is these days.

Ultimate Frisbee is a relatively new (and very popular) varsity sport in all the Arlington schools. It is no cut at every school, and some of the high school squads have been nationally ranked. They play among the Arlington schools and other public and independent schools both local and from other states. It’s a fall sport, but I think the teams compete all year. It’s not necessary to play all year however.

Crew is definitely no cut at Washington-Liberty (W-L), and probably Wakefield as well. Yorktown’s crew team in the past has had to small make cuts. All three are very competitive with Wakefield and W-L’s girls teams winning states over the past five years.

The girls poms/dance team at Yorktown might have cuts? But I think the poms/dance team at W-L is still open to all who put in the effort. Wakefield does not currently have a poms/dance team. All three Arlington schools have competitive fall cheerleading and winter cheer (non competitive) and I don’t think there are cuts.

As others have mentioned, track and cross country are no cut. Football is no cut and girls have been on past teams. Wrestling is also no cut.

A fall sport like Ultimate frisbee or cross country is a great way to make friends at a new school. Contact the crew team coaches about fall crew, which may also be an option. Crew competes in the spring, but I think there is fall crew.

Swim and dive might be no cut at W-L and Wakefield. I know the W-L team is quite large, and I believe anyone can join. It is most competitive at Yorktown with the girls team winning states many if not most years.

As another parent mentioned, Meridian teams travel farther for many games since it plays smaller schools which are located farther out from the city. I don’t much about the specific teams there however.

Sports at Yorktown tend to be the most competitive. Their girls soccer team won the state championship a year or so ago. Their field hockey team also won states. Meridian will be the least competitive with Wakefield and WL in between, depending on the sport. Soccer is tough to make at both Yorktown and WL, but what I've noticed is that a lot of the girls soccer players who don't think they will make the team switch to field hockey. There's a freshman team and at least at WL I think all the girls make it. Basketball is much more competitive but bc there is a freshman team most decently good players still make it. Softball is an easier sport to make, even though there's no freshman team. Crew, cross country, swim, and track are all no cut.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She plays volleyball, basketball and soccer.... but I'm going to work on expanding her interests a little to at least considering some other options. Ill do some digging too - maybe these larger schools have a freshman, jv and varsity team. That might open up the freshman option.

Thanks very much!

I can speak to W-L. They have freshman basketball and volleyball teams. Some years it's harder to make and some years they take most girls who show up. 8th graders can also try out for volleyball, so that can make it tougher. Just be aware that tryouts for volleyball are around Aug 1-5, so don't plan any trips at that time. There are no makeups.

Thank you!