Anonymous wrote:Most pro athletes played multiple sports before high school. There are tons of articles about it.

Most pro athletes in the US only, and that is quickly changing. This concept of a multi sport athlete is peculiarly American.

A few years ago my cousin made the JV soccer team at Wilson even though he had never played travel soccer, only Rec and playing with friends. But he trained hard summer beforehand. He didn’t make varsity soccer but was so athletic, the football team picked him up. Sports and other activities got him accepted at every school he applied to (but no sports scholarships).

Agree that it depends on the high school your child wants to attend. At our high school, soccer, basketball and baseball are so competitive, typically only kids that play travel make the team with very few exceptions. But other sports, like wrestling, Lacrosse, football and cross country you can pretty much make the team if you are athletic and work hard. Talk to a few parents with kids in high school sports to get the low down for your school.

12yr old doing AAU basketball for the first time. She is enjoying it but it is competitive already and if it weren’t for covid, I’d be curious what her chances were of making the team.

Anonymous wrote:NP. My DS, age 10, decided to focus only on basketball and with several nights of basketball practice each week, he has no time for travel soccer, only Rec. He excels at both sports but I worry he won’t be tall enough to continue playing travel or make a HS basketball team.

My 10 yo DD loves basketball and is on an AAU team right now. She is having so much fun. DH and I are not tall and her chances of being tall are slim. Even so, there are so many girls who try out for the high school team. I don’t care if she makes it. She’s having fun NOW. Who knows what she will want to do in high school. That is years away.

Anonymous wrote:NP. My DS, age 10, decided to focus only on basketball and with several nights of basketball practice each week, he has no time for travel soccer, only Rec. He excels at both sports but I worry he won’t be tall enough to continue playing travel or make a HS basketball team.

Who cares? He enjoys the sport and can play for fun!

NP. My DS, age 10, decided to focus only on basketball and with several nights of basketball practice each week, he has no time for travel soccer, only Rec. He excels at both sports but I worry he won’t be tall enough to continue playing travel or make a HS basketball team.

Anonymous wrote:Doesn’t this depend entirely how competitive a particular team is at a certain school? I can’t imagine that every single high school sports team is really that competitive. Some of you guys are intense and your kids will burn out way before high school.

Yes.

At many DCPS high schools, kids with no experience can play baseball or football. At Wilson (DCIAA and former DCSAA champs and frequent USA Today national top 25 team), there are three boys basketball teams, 120 kids show up for both Freshman/JV and varsity tryouts, and as far as I know every single kid on at least JV and Varsity has years of travel experience, while many varsity starters in previous years have been nationally ranked players.

At schools like Gonzaga, St. John’s, DeMatha, Paul VI, etc., my understanding is that pretty much all sports are full of travel/ranked kids, many of whom are recruited specifically for their athletic prowess.

I don't know about the classic American sports but why not choose a sport that kids usually don't start until HS? My kid started rowing in HS and pretty much every other freshman had no experience.

Around here a kid could likely do high school wrestling if they start at 13. I saw a kid pick up lacrosse and one pick up baseball in middle school. Athletic kids who want to practice can find a way.

Doesn’t this depend entirely how competitive a particular team is at a certain school? I can’t imagine that every single high school sports team is really that competitive. Some of you guys are intense and your kids will burn out way before high school.