Anonymous
Post 08/13/2024 11:21     Subject: Does anyone hate how competitive the world has become?
Anonymous wrote:Most kids are not playing college sports and even less becoming pros. This was back in the day and now.

What has changed and become more difficult is to make varsity teams. Your kid may not make the baseball, volleyball or basketball team. To make these teams, your kid has to play early and train. It isn’t that competitive for a kid who is good and has played since he was young. Yes, it is hard for a kid who isn’t so talented and has only played rec.

Not sure that kids not making HS sports teams is new. I was not a particularly gifted athlete when I was in middle and high school (in the 80s!) and have memories of not making numerous school sports teams. I went to a public school that only graduated about 125 students every year and still had this experience. For many of the large suburban schools in the DMV that have many more students, it is simply a numbers game that many kids aren't going to make the more popular sports teams. For some smaller private schools, the reason some students attend certain schools is to play certain sports. It's not an accident that the Sidwell basketball teams, Bullis track team, or Flint Hill volleyball teams are dominant most years. I'm sure that makes it hard for the "regular" kids who just want to play a sport as an extracurricular activity, but again I don't think this is new. There have been private school sports machines taking top athletes in certain sports for many years (e.g., DeMatha basketball in the 70s and 80s).
Anonymous
Post 08/13/2024 10:06     Subject: Does anyone hate how competitive the world has become?
They say teamwork makes the dream work
Anonymous
Post 08/13/2024 09:52     Subject: Does anyone hate how competitive the world has become?
Anonymous wrote:Most kids are not playing college sports and even less becoming pros. This was back in the day and now.

What has changed and become more difficult is to make varsity teams. Your kid may not make the baseball, volleyball or basketball team. To make these teams, your kid has to play early and train. It isn’t that competitive for a kid who is good and has played since he was young. Yes, it is hard for a kid who isn’t so talented and has only played rec.


I agree. But I would add that for all 3 of those sports size/height (out of control of the teen, for the most part) is a big factor as well. That isn’t anything new. But is yet another hurdle in larger competitive high schools.
Anonymous
Post 08/13/2024 09:44     Subject: Does anyone hate how competitive the world has become?
Most kids are not playing college sports and even less becoming pros. This was back in the day and now.

What has changed and become more difficult is to make varsity teams. Your kid may not make the baseball, volleyball or basketball team. To make these teams, your kid has to play early and train. It isn’t that competitive for a kid who is good and has played since he was young. Yes, it is hard for a kid who isn’t so talented and has only played rec.
Anonymous
Post 08/13/2024 09:41     Subject: Does anyone hate how competitive the world has become?
Anonymous wrote:It’s because parents are involved. They’ve ruined everything!


And that gets back to the foreign elite test mill culture that has taken root.
Anonymous
Post 08/13/2024 09:33     Subject: Does anyone hate how competitive the world has become?
It’s because parents are involved. They’ve ruined everything!
Anonymous
Post 08/13/2024 09:22     Subject: Does anyone hate how competitive the world has become?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It’s just the dc area. Move to the south or Midwest


I moved from DC to a northern suburb of Chicago. It’s just as or maybe worse than the competitive scene in the DC area.

Kids go to multiple activities in a day, basically no change of making a sport unless you’ve been playing since early elementary and the extreme pressure to get perfect grades. Parents know their kids are burnt out but they’re all convinced they’re kids going to be a pro athlete and a genius someday.

Parents blame social media for so many mental health problems but i believe the over scheduling and competing attitude is far more impactful


Let me guess, your kids attend New Trier? You chose to buy in the most competitive area in Chicago. My kids are in a top ranked school in the western burbs and it's competitive but not that crazy.


This has less to do with the area and more to do with the parents. My boys are and were always very talented athletes. DH and I are realistic and don’t expect them to become professional athletes. They may play college sports but unlikely college recruits at the top schools they want to attend.

We know parents whose kids are less athletic than ours who plan, hope and expect their kids to become athletic superstars. I don’t know if they are delusional or what. We also know many D1 and former professional athletes whose kids are also athletic but don’t seem as athletic or skilled as their parents and the parents don’t push.
Anonymous
Post 08/13/2024 08:53     Subject: Does anyone hate how competitive the world has become?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It’s just the dc area. Move to the south or Midwest


I moved from DC to a northern suburb of Chicago. It’s just as or maybe worse than the competitive scene in the DC area.

Kids go to multiple activities in a day, basically no change of making a sport unless you’ve been playing since early elementary and the extreme pressure to get perfect grades. Parents know their kids are burnt out but they’re all convinced they’re kids going to be a pro athlete and a genius someday.

Parents blame social media for so many mental health problems but i believe the over scheduling and competing attitude is far more impactful


Let me guess, your kids attend New Trier? You chose to buy in the most competitive area in Chicago. My kids are in a top ranked school in the western burbs and it's competitive but not that crazy.
Anonymous
Post 08/13/2024 08:50     Subject: Does anyone hate how competitive the world has become?
Anonymous wrote:My wish for my son with a number of learning disabilities is to teach sailing in Costa Rica or something. Have a little place, make a few friends and be happy. Whether he goes to a top college or even college, he's well educated being such a book worm anyway. He has a bit of money he'll inherit from a Trust Fund in his 20s so it'll be enough for him to survive. He has always loved to sail and teach - he's great with kids.

I don't need him to work in an office and become a VP or CEO. I don't need him to be an attorney or neurosurgeon or engineer to be "productive." I don't need him to make X amount of money and live in a "great" neighborhood. I just want him to be happy, healthy, feel good about what he does for work. He needs very little to be happy and academically, it's an uphill climb and I'm adamant that he doesn't have to climb that mountain unless he chooses to. He can live a "small" life and if that's enough for him, that's enough for me. In no way does this make him less of a person, man, son to me. I know his worth and I know how intelligent and knowledgeable he is without society judging him. His sanity and happiness is what I care about most of all.


Fortunately, he has that bit of a trust fund that he'll inherit in his 20's. Most average/below average don't have anything like that and really do struggle.
Anonymous
Post 08/13/2024 08:36     Subject: Does anyone hate how competitive the world has become?
Anonymous wrote:Foreign elites lol


Yes, people from other countries with hundreds of millions.
Anonymous
Post 08/13/2024 08:26     Subject: Does anyone hate how competitive the world has become?
Foreign elites lol
Anonymous
Post 08/13/2024 08:24     Subject: Does anyone hate how competitive the world has become?
Pp again. The college admissions seems that much more difficult with the foreign elites in boarding schools and international schools as well. There are just so many of them. That leaves MC Timmy out.
Anonymous
Post 08/13/2024 08:22     Subject: Does anyone hate how competitive the world has become?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It was always competitive, OP. Many countries have had ultra competitive college admissions for generations. Here in America you just didn't realize it because you were part of the privileged. As PP said, in your generation many of the US poor or the US non-whites didn't make it to college. Now it's opened up a lot more, and you're feeling the heat.


It’s not because of US poor or non whites it’s mostly because of foreign elites coming here


This. Foreign elites also affected the housing market.


I was a child of poor Asian immigrants. My parents came here for a better life. Same with DH’s family. DH and I did well in school and professionally. Recently there has been a wave of extremely wealthy Asians. They were not as common when I was a kid. These are people who will buy a $5m home cash without blinking. They have money and brains. So you now have the smart Asian Americans like my kids, the kids of poor Asian immigrants (like me and Dh when we were kids) and now the really smart rich immigrant kids.
Anonymous
Post 08/13/2024 08:19     Subject: Does anyone hate how competitive the world has become?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It was always competitive, OP. Many countries have had ultra competitive college admissions for generations. Here in America you just didn't realize it because you were part of the privileged. As PP said, in your generation many of the US poor or the US non-whites didn't make it to college. Now it's opened up a lot more, and you're feeling the heat.


It’s not because of US poor or non whites it’s mostly because of foreign elites coming here


This. Foreign elites also affected the housing market.


+1

You need to look no further than Langley & McLean areas in the DMV that have a large percentage of elite Asians & Indians.
Anonymous
Post 08/13/2024 08:04     Subject: Does anyone hate how competitive the world has become?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It was always competitive, OP. Many countries have had ultra competitive college admissions for generations. Here in America you just didn't realize it because you were part of the privileged. As PP said, in your generation many of the US poor or the US non-whites didn't make it to college. Now it's opened up a lot more, and you're feeling the heat.


It’s not because of US poor or non whites it’s mostly because of foreign elites coming here


This. Foreign elites also affected the housing market.