Anonymous wrote:Time to be an adult. Time to build a career. That should be the student's focus in college, where they place almost all of their energy. For very few college students that means a sports career. There are tremendous benefits to being active and being on a team but it is unlikely that most students can manage this without a huge loss to their studies.

College coach here - almost all of my athletes have extremely good GPAs and are on track to do well in their chosen fields. Being able to manage the demands of a tough academic workload and a sport is a skill that employers value, but please, continue being patronizing to college athletes who enjoy the benefits that they get out of competing.

Anonymous wrote:Time to be an adult. Time to build a career. That should be the student's focus in college, where they place almost all of their energy. For very few college students that means a sports career. There are tremendous benefits to being active and being on a team but it is unlikely that most students can manage this without a huge loss to their studies.

PP with an athlete at a T10. They will be graduating with honors and has a great job lined up, in their STEM field, upon graduation. The sport is still in playoffs and they most likely will miss their graduation (which they are fine with, I'm not but it's not my sport or graduation) for this last ride. So you can be on a good team get great grades and have career path started. I'm very proud of my kid for how hard they've worked.

Time to be an adult. Time to build a career. That should be the student's focus in college, where they place almost all of their energy. For very few college students that means a sports career. There are tremendous benefits to being active and being on a team but it is unlikely that most students can manage this without a huge loss to their studies.

Anonymous wrote:Love of the sport, camaraderie, being with equally driven and competitive people who share your interests and maintain similar schedules? So many reasons and no, most don’t think it’s a stepping stone into professional sports. Some people also perform best in a highly scheduled, intense environment.

I know elementary kids who spend every waking hour at tournaments - how on earth can that be "healthy"? It seems some parents are living vicariously.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a tour guide at a t10 college who said she ran track or maybe it was cross country for a year at the college. Then quit. She made it sound like the sport was fighting in a bloody war and she had to quit. It was so over the top. Congrats on scheming into the t10 as a student-athlete sweetie.

Oh, and I also have much more respect for XCTF than I do for other sports because there isn’t money involved. All competition, training & recruiting is done through high schools; there is no pricy travel club scene to speak of. The most expensive part is $110 training shoes a few times a year & spikes.

This isn't true. There are plenty of club track outfits all over the country, but you may just not be aware of them. I was in Virginia Beach for a volleyball tournament a couple months ago and there was a massive AAU track championship meet happening in the same facility.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a tour guide at a t10 college who said she ran track or maybe it was cross country for a year at the college. Then quit. She made it sound like the sport was fighting in a bloody war and she had to quit. It was so over the top. Congrats on scheming into the t10 as a student-athlete sweetie.

You have no idea. For college XCTF, you’re required to compete in all three full-fledged seasons: cross-country, indoor track & outdoor track. You have to run 50+ miles per week year-round to stay in shape with a few week-long breaks throughout the year. It is mentally & physically exhausting.

Sounds easier than swimming.

It’s harder.

They both are easy

No athleticism involved just be skinny

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a tour guide at a t10 college who said she ran track or maybe it was cross country for a year at the college. Then quit. She made it sound like the sport was fighting in a bloody war and she had to quit. It was so over the top. Congrats on scheming into the t10 as a student-athlete sweetie.

You have no idea. For college XCTF, you’re required to compete in all three full-fledged seasons: cross-country, indoor track & outdoor track. You have to run 50+ miles per week year-round to stay in shape with a few week-long breaks throughout the year. It is mentally & physically exhausting.

Sounds easier than swimming.

It’s harder.

They both are easy

Lol go try to run 3 miles in under 18 minutes and report back.

OP - if your kids are young, don't worry about it yet. But as everyone has said, some kids just love it and really want it and if that happens and your kid is good enough, then its great and you let them pursue. My nephew plays football for his college and he is just thrilled to be playing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a tour guide at a t10 college who said she ran track or maybe it was cross country for a year at the college. Then quit. She made it sound like the sport was fighting in a bloody war and she had to quit. It was so over the top. Congrats on scheming into the t10 as a student-athlete sweetie.

You have no idea. For college XCTF, you’re required to compete in all three full-fledged seasons: cross-country, indoor track & outdoor track. You have to run 50+ miles per week year-round to stay in shape with a few week-long breaks throughout the year. It is mentally & physically exhausting.

Sounds easier than swimming.

It’s harder.

They both are easy

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a tour guide at a t10 college who said she ran track or maybe it was cross country for a year at the college. Then quit. She made it sound like the sport was fighting in a bloody war and she had to quit. It was so over the top. Congrats on scheming into the t10 as a student-athlete sweetie.

You have no idea. For college XCTF, you’re required to compete in all three full-fledged seasons: cross-country, indoor track & outdoor track. You have to run 50+ miles per week year-round to stay in shape with a few week-long breaks throughout the year. It is mentally & physically exhausting.

Sounds easier than swimming.

It’s harder.

Believe it or not, many high level banks (GS, JP Morgan) look to see who plays college sports and they have a leg up in the job recruitment process. They like those ppl bc success with sports is correlated with leadership.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a tour guide at a t10 college who said she ran track or maybe it was cross country for a year at the college. Then quit. She made it sound like the sport was fighting in a bloody war and she had to quit. It was so over the top. Congrats on scheming into the t10 as a student-athlete sweetie.

You have no idea. For college XCTF, you’re required to compete in all three full-fledged seasons: cross-country, indoor track & outdoor track. You have to run 50+ miles per week year-round to stay in shape with a few week-long breaks throughout the year. It is mentally & physically exhausting.

Sounds easier than swimming.

DS has ADHD and NEEDS constant physical activity. As a D1 athlete, he is on a strict schedule (that includes study halls) that also helps him function in life. Left to his own devices he may flunk out of college.

Anonymous wrote:We had a tour guide at a t10 college who said she ran track or maybe it was cross country for a year at the college. Then quit. She made it sound like the sport was fighting in a bloody war and she had to quit. It was so over the top. Congrats on scheming into the t10 as a student-athlete sweetie.

Go time yourself in the mile right now. I bet it will take you 10 minutes to run one.

The standard for recruiting at a T10 for distance track is to run under a 5 minute mile.

Anonymous wrote:We had a tour guide at a t10 college who said she ran track or maybe it was cross country for a year at the college. Then quit. She made it sound like the sport was fighting in a bloody war and she had to quit. It was so over the top. Congrats on scheming into the t10 as a student-athlete sweetie.

Oh, and I also have much more respect for XCTF than I do for other sports because there isn’t money involved. All competition, training & recruiting is done through high schools; there is no pricy travel club scene to speak of. The most expensive part is $110 training shoes a few times a year & spikes.