Anonymous wrote:I don’t have an athlete, but was talking to a friend who does.

Me: He’s doing really well. Does he want to play in college?

Friend: Not really. But he likes his club team. And to stay on it he has to act like he does.

Sensible parent, and the kid had a bad injury that colored their view. And one conversation. But it seems silly that you would have to act interest in playing in college if you love a sport, enjoy playing, but don’t want to continue in college.

My DS is in a very similar situation with his club team. He's a HS Junior and hasn't yet decided if he wants to play in college, but with his club team the strong assumption is that this is your goal. And your parents' goal.

Anonymous wrote:I don’t have an athlete, but was talking to a friend who does.

Me: He’s doing really well. Does he want to play in college?

Friend: Not really. But he likes his club team. And to stay on it he has to act like he does.

Sensible parent, and the kid had a bad injury that colored their view. And one conversation. But it seems silly that you would have to act interest in playing in college if you love a sport, enjoy playing, but don’t want to continue in college.

What sport is that? Basketball?

I don’t have an athlete, but was talking to a friend who does.

Me: He’s doing really well. Does he want to play in college?

Friend: Not really. But he likes his club team. And to stay on it he has to act like he does.

Sensible parent, and the kid had a bad injury that colored their view. And one conversation. But it seems silly that you would have to act interest in playing in college if you love a sport, enjoy playing, but don’t want to continue in college.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who is the “them” you are referring to?

Back in the day I was a recruited swimmer at a Div III SLAC. I quit after sophomore year because my shoulder blew out. 16 years of the sport took its toll.

I have a feeling, though, that the percentage of students who decide not to continue with their sport is roughly the same as the number who quit orchestra, band or theatre.

I just notice most of these supposedly recruited athletes end up at colleges they'd never have any interest in were it not for a spot on some team that plays in front of a dozen fans. It seems so pointless and predictable. Of course your kid is going to be unhappy. Why even allow this? Seems far wiser to your child go where they genuinely want, then play club or intramurals.

Sounds like you run in a different crowd than many of us and are assuming it’s the same everywhere. The vast majority of serious athletes I know are working to get committed to top academic schools. Almost all of the ones who end up at D3 play the full 4 years barring injury. Same for the kids who end up in the Ivy League. Those who play D1 and don’t get much in athletic money do often quit after a year or two so they can focus more on school if playing time is not looking promising. I know a lot of D1 soccer players on athletic scholarships ranging from 50% to 100% averaged over 4 years. Most of them play for 4 years barring injury or unhappiness with the coach. There are also a fair amount of men’s soccer players from our area making a decent living from the sport, and a lot who will make way more than the average 16-22 year old then quit to do something not directly related to playing. They make very good connections during those years for business jobs.

In short; no, I definitely haven’t noticed the phenomenon you mention.

This is my experience too. I have 2 sons that are D1 athletes at highly academic schools. Their friends that played with them that did not play in college knew they wouldn't all along and liked to play sports. But the serious athletes are at Yale, UCLA, Tufts, Washington and Lee, RPI, UPenn, Duke, Bucknell, etc I could go on.

Clearly not everybody gets recruited and many are sidelined by injury.

I don't really understand all the jealousy surrounding athletic kids. I don't see it from their friends but I definitely see it from the parents.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone else notice this? Almost all of them end up at regional public or podunk private colleges, then proceed to quit their sport after a year. And then most of them seem to transfer out to the university more (or most) of their high school friends attend. Even the D1 swimmer girl we knew quit and left her SEC university. Seems like these realities are totally ignored by the fanatic parents?

+100
Yeah the sports scene is extremely crazy! Starting travel sport at a young age doesn’t seem to pay off.

my kids all have played travel sports although not at young ages. Never ever has that been for a pay off. They get good and want a more challenging environment. If a child did that for academics or music it would be applauded not critiqued like sports. I would much prefer to go to a game 10 minutes away than an entire weekend in Norfolk. And I especially am not excited for my kid to pick a school based on where they can play but for one of them, that is important TO THEM. Many kids, maybe even most kids, enjoy playing sports and are good at it plus competitive. So even if kid gets partial sports scholarship it doesn’t come close to funds spent on sport. If you want to criticize me for indulging my kid by spending too much time or money okay but you are 1000% wrong if you think the motivation was a payoff. I suspect most travel parents are in the same mindset.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who is the “them” you are referring to?

Back in the day I was a recruited swimmer at a Div III SLAC. I quit after sophomore year because my shoulder blew out. 16 years of the sport took its toll.

I have a feeling, though, that the percentage of students who decide not to continue with their sport is roughly the same as the number who quit orchestra, band or theatre.

I just notice most of these supposedly recruited athletes end up at colleges they'd never have any interest in were it not for a spot on some team that plays in front of a dozen fans. It seems so pointless and predictable. Of course your kid is going to be unhappy. Why even allow this? Seems far wiser to your child go where they genuinely want, then play club or intramurals.

The kids want the attention of being signed. High schools make such a big deal out of it and the kids teammates all make a big deal when anyone of them sign at Gilligan & Skipper U. I don't think the parents necessarily push it. The kids want it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who is the “them” you are referring to?

Back in the day I was a recruited swimmer at a Div III SLAC. I quit after sophomore year because my shoulder blew out. 16 years of the sport took its toll.

I have a feeling, though, that the percentage of students who decide not to continue with their sport is roughly the same as the number who quit orchestra, band or theatre.

I just notice most of these supposedly recruited athletes end up at colleges they'd never have any interest in were it not for a spot on some team that plays in front of a dozen fans. It seems so pointless and predictable. Of course your kid is going to be unhappy. Why even allow this? Seems far wiser to your child go where they genuinely want, then play club or intramurals.

Sounds like you run in a different crowd than many of us and are assuming it’s the same everywhere. The vast majority of serious athletes I know are working to get committed to top academic schools. Almost all of the ones who end up at D3 play the full 4 years barring injury. Same for the kids who end up in the Ivy League. Those who play D1 and don’t get much in athletic money do often quit after a year or two so they can focus more on school if playing time is not looking promising. I know a lot of D1 soccer players on athletic scholarships ranging from 50% to 100% averaged over 4 years. Most of them play for 4 years barring injury or unhappiness with the coach. There are also a fair amount of men’s soccer players from our area making a decent living from the sport, and a lot who will make way more than the average 16-22 year old then quit to do something not directly related to playing. They make very good connections during those years for business jobs.

In short; no, I definitely haven’t noticed the phenomenon you mention.

Np here. You are delusional. Are you a coach?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who is the “them” you are referring to?

Back in the day I was a recruited swimmer at a Div III SLAC. I quit after sophomore year because my shoulder blew out. 16 years of the sport took its toll.

I have a feeling, though, that the percentage of students who decide not to continue with their sport is roughly the same as the number who quit orchestra, band or theatre.

I just notice most of these supposedly recruited athletes end up at colleges they'd never have any interest in were it not for a spot on some team that plays in front of a dozen fans. It seems so pointless and predictable. Of course your kid is going to be unhappy. Why even allow this? Seems far wiser to your child go where they genuinely want, then play club or intramurals.

Agreed. My kids are in college now and I've watched the star athletes they grew up with more or less fail in college sports and in college. So many the stars "signed" to play at colleges that aren't ever mentioned on dcum and you would never want an average student to attend. I mean really crappy colleges that are more like high schools. I don't understand how parets are ok with this. I know of 2 superstars in football who were big names in hs football who got scholarships to d1 programs. One crapped out for not even pretending to go to class. One sat on the bench and started playing the eligibility red shirt game. He ended up transfering to one of those crappy colleges and no one is interested in him in the nfl. I know several baseball and lax "stars" who've transferred to 2 or 3 small no name colleges and never got a degree.

I think it boils down to the fact that parents are utterly unrealistic about their kids abilities and prospects and the parents are as addicted to the attention and popularity as their kids are as high school athletes.

They quit because they're burned out and finally free of their overbearing douchey parents.

I know several who got into top schools and quit, yes. But they stayed at the school, lived as a normal college student at a top school (which don’t give athletic money anyhow).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who is the “them” you are referring to?

Back in the day I was a recruited swimmer at a Div III SLAC. I quit after sophomore year because my shoulder blew out. 16 years of the sport took its toll.

I have a feeling, though, that the percentage of students who decide not to continue with their sport is roughly the same as the number who quit orchestra, band or theatre.

I just notice most of these supposedly recruited athletes end up at colleges they'd never have any interest in were it not for a spot on some team that plays in front of a dozen fans. It seems so pointless and predictable. Of course your kid is going to be unhappy. Why even allow this? Seems far wiser to your child go where they genuinely want, then play club or intramurals.

Sounds like you run in a different crowd than many of us and are assuming it’s the same everywhere. The vast majority of serious athletes I know are working to get committed to top academic schools. Almost all of the ones who end up at D3 play the full 4 years barring injury. Same for the kids who end up in the Ivy League. Those who play D1 and don’t get much in athletic money do often quit after a year or two so they can focus more on school if playing time is not looking promising. I know a lot of D1 soccer players on athletic scholarships ranging from 50% to 100% averaged over 4 years. Most of them play for 4 years barring injury or unhappiness with the coach. There are also a fair amount of men’s soccer players from our area making a decent living from the sport, and a lot who will make way more than the average 16-22 year old then quit to do something not directly related to playing. They make very good connections during those years for business jobs.

In short; no, I definitely haven’t noticed the phenomenon you mention.

Anonymous wrote:Almost made it through the first page without a TJ reference. Almost. Imagine going to a party with these parents. There’s no subject that can’t be wrestled over to some dull reference to TJ.

My TJ kid is a travel soccer star! DC would not even think of going to the schools that try to recruit him/her through soccer. Yay DC!

Anonymous wrote:^^^ No such thing as a sports scholarship at Division 2 and 3 regional public and podunk private colleges. And most of the student-athletes at D1s are on partial scholarships, if anything.

Untrue.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone else notice this? Almost all of them end up at regional public or podunk private colleges, then proceed to quit their sport after a year. And then most of them seem to transfer out to the university more (or most) of their high school friends attend. Even the D1 swimmer girl we knew quit and left her SEC university. Seems like these realities are totally ignored by the fanatic parents?

+100
Yeah the sports scene is extremely crazy! Starting travel sport at a young age doesn’t seem to pay off.

Same can be said about academics.

Kids on a tough academic track don’t temd to drop out of college. A few do.

You are leaving out how many switched to an easier major and how many took >4 years to graduate.

Also, there is no evidence, only the OPs inane assertion, that athletes "tend" to quit their sport.

Almost made it through the first page without a TJ reference. Almost. Imagine going to a party with these parents. There’s no subject that can’t be wrestled over to some dull reference to TJ.