Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your kid is talented enough the coaches won’t make them choose. They will accommodate them because they don’t want to risk losing them entirely.

DS is ranked second in the state for shotput for his grade. Coach still said no. She wanted 100% commitment.

Anonymous wrote:If your kid is talented enough the coaches won’t make them choose. They will accommodate them because they don’t want to risk losing them entirely.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s nice isn’t it?

Go back 20 years and the same 20 kids made/started on football, basketball, baseball. Same with girls. In the 80s a 1,000 kid high school would have 80 guys playing sports and 50 girls.

Now, there are more sports and almost all kids focus on one or two sports. It really has opened the doors to school sports to way more kids.

Except the high schools are now 3k so 100 girls may show up for volleyball tryouts

None of this is different now from then.
Different cities towns have different size schools.

They would have to build more gyms.
Exactly. My dad always talks about trying out for freshman football when 200 other kids tried out. My grandfather wouldn't buy him cleats until he made the team. Think about that in today's society. He made the team and he got cleats. It is just people whining to whine.

Not really. In the late 90's the process had already started. I recall there were the kids that were in AAU that were the stars, then there were everyone else. Now everyone else has to be in AAU also. AAU is year round training. No stop. When I was growing up there were season. The coaches couldn't coach us in preseaon other than conditioning and providing a place to play pick up games. Literal rules.... NO COACHING. Many kids went from sport to sport.

Now private AAU coaches coach year round. No multi-sport athletes. Kids start training very young. Didn't make the swim team whe you were five so sorry Mr. Phelps (Michael only started when he was 7 ) in our area that would never happen.

No, not really. This was the 1950s. His school was huge. My aunt went to a Catholic HS that was 4000 kids - for free - not scholarship, it was free (think about that for a second). The argument that Hs schools are so bigger today than they were in the past is pure whining. Sure some are, but some aren't. It is what it is. If you can't compete then don't.

DP. This is just a mean-spirited response. I graduated in a class of 300. To make the varsity basketball team I essentially competed against 300 juniors and seniors for 13 spots. I was in the top 4% of that cohort. At today’s extreme, had I gone to a school that graduates over 1000, I would need to be in the top 1.3% of junior and seniors to make the team. You’re moving from people within normal distribution patterns making the team to only statistical outliers will be on the team. Yeah, people are going to take a look at that and want to understand what is happening. Not sure why you think that is whining or why you are so callous about it.

The data also doesn’t support you. In 1976, the largest HS enrollment classification in Texas started an enrollment of 1200. In 1990, the largest HS classification in Texas started at an enrollment of 1900. Today, it starts 2275 and 1900 would put you in the third highest enrollment division in Texas HS sports. I couldn’t easily find data for VHSL, and VA hasn’t had the population/building boom of Texas, but similar trends are probably in play there.

I'm sorry facts seemed mean-spirited.

To your point. in 1980, the population of Texas was 14.2 million in 2023 it was 30.5 million. Interesting, that the classification didn't more than double. Should Texas (or any state) build schools to maintain the same level of classification? How much in taxes do you want to dedicate toward school building. That would certainly create more sprawl.

Couldn’t schools just have more teams?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s nice isn’t it?

Go back 20 years and the same 20 kids made/started on football, basketball, baseball. Same with girls. In the 80s a 1,000 kid high school would have 80 guys playing sports and 50 girls.

Now, there are more sports and almost all kids focus on one or two sports. It really has opened the doors to school sports to way more kids.

Except the high schools are now 3k so 100 girls may show up for volleyball tryouts

None of this is different now from then.
Different cities towns have different size schools.

Exactly. My dad always talks about trying out for freshman football when 200 other kids tried out. My grandfather wouldn't buy him cleats until he made the team. Think about that in today's society. He made the team and he got cleats. It is just people whining to whine.

Not really. In the late 90's the process had already started. I recall there were the kids that were in AAU that were the stars, then there were everyone else. Now everyone else has to be in AAU also. AAU is year round training. No stop. When I was growing up there were season. The coaches couldn't coach us in preseaon other than conditioning and providing a place to play pick up games. Literal rules.... NO COACHING. Many kids went from sport to sport.

Now private AAU coaches coach year round. No multi-sport athletes. Kids start training very young. Didn't make the swim team whe you were five so sorry Mr. Phelps (Michael only started when he was 7 ) in our area that would never happen.

No, not really. This was the 1950s. His school was huge. My aunt went to a Catholic HS that was 4000 kids - for free - not scholarship, it was free (think about that for a second). The argument that Hs schools are so bigger today than they were in the past is pure whining. Sure some are, but some aren't. It is what it is. If you can't compete then don't.

DP. This is just a mean-spirited response. I graduated in a class of 300. To make the varsity basketball team I essentially competed against 300 juniors and seniors for 13 spots. I was in the top 4% of that cohort. At today’s extreme, had I gone to a school that graduates over 1000, I would need to be in the top 1.3% of junior and seniors to make the team. You’re moving from people within normal distribution patterns making the team to only statistical outliers will be on the team. Yeah, people are going to take a look at that and want to understand what is happening. Not sure why you think that is whining or why you are so callous about it.

The data also doesn’t support you. In 1976, the largest HS enrollment classification in Texas started an enrollment of 1200. In 1990, the largest HS classification in Texas started at an enrollment of 1900. Today, it starts 2275 and 1900 would put you in the third highest enrollment division in Texas HS sports. I couldn’t easily find data for VHSL, and VA hasn’t had the population/building boom of Texas, but similar trends are probably in play there.

I'm sorry facts seemed mean-spirited.

To your point. in 1980, the population of Texas was 14.2 million in 2023 it was 30.5 million. Interesting, that the classification didn't more than double. Should Texas (or any state) build schools to maintain the same level of classification? How much in taxes do you want to dedicate toward school building. That would certainly create more sprawl.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s nice isn’t it?

Go back 20 years and the same 20 kids made/started on football, basketball, baseball. Same with girls. In the 80s a 1,000 kid high school would have 80 guys playing sports and 50 girls.

Now, there are more sports and almost all kids focus on one or two sports. It really has opened the doors to school sports to way more kids.

Except the high schools are now 3k so 100 girls may show up for volleyball tryouts

None of this is different now from then.
Different cities towns have different size schools.

Exactly. My dad always talks about trying out for freshman football when 200 other kids tried out. My grandfather wouldn't buy him cleats until he made the team. Think about that in today's society. He made the team and he got cleats. It is just people whining to whine.

Not really. In the late 90's the process had already started. I recall there were the kids that were in AAU that were the stars, then there were everyone else. Now everyone else has to be in AAU also. AAU is year round training. No stop. When I was growing up there were season. The coaches couldn't coach us in preseaon other than conditioning and providing a place to play pick up games. Literal rules.... NO COACHING. Many kids went from sport to sport.

Now private AAU coaches coach year round. No multi-sport athletes. Kids start training very young. Didn't make the swim team whe you were five so sorry Mr. Phelps (Michael only started when he was 7 ) in our area that would never happen.

No, not really. This was the 1950s. His school was huge. My aunt went to a Catholic HS that was 4000 kids - for free - not scholarship, it was free (think about that for a second). The argument that Hs schools are so bigger today than they were in the past is pure whining. Sure some are, but some aren't. It is what it is. If you can't compete then don't.

DP. This is just a mean-spirited response. I graduated in a class of 300. To make the varsity basketball team I essentially competed against 300 juniors and seniors for 13 spots. I was in the top 4% of that cohort. At today’s extreme, had I gone to a school that graduates over 1000, I would need to be in the top 1.3% of junior and seniors to make the team. You’re moving from people within normal distribution patterns making the team to only statistical outliers will be on the team. Yeah, people are going to take a look at that and want to understand what is happening. Not sure why you think that is whining or why you are so callous about it.

The data also doesn’t support you. In 1976, the largest HS enrollment classification in Texas started an enrollment of 1200. In 1990, the largest HS classification in Texas started at an enrollment of 1900. Today, it starts 2275 and 1900 would put you in the third highest enrollment division in Texas HS sports. I couldn’t easily find data for VHSL, and VA hasn’t had the population/building boom of Texas, but similar trends are probably in play there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not sure what HS coaches you have been dealing with but the ones that I have seen- absolutely do not encourage kids to play multiple sports. I have seen the XC coach say his sport is more important than the soccer team and the football coach get upset that a kid wants to continue with his club swim team.

It’s not just sports. My 6th grade kid had to choose between indoor track and the school musical. The director didn’t mind if he missed a rehearsal or two, but the track coach told him it was all or nothing.

That’s why “High School Musical” seems so quaint. The idea that anyone could be captain of the basketball team AND lead in the school play seems like it’s from a distant era.

Why would a basketball player be in a musical

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not sure what HS coaches you have been dealing with but the ones that I have seen- absolutely do not encourage kids to play multiple sports. I have seen the XC coach say his sport is more important than the soccer team and the football coach get upset that a kid wants to continue with his club swim team.

It’s not just sports. My 6th grade kid had to choose between indoor track and the school musical. The director didn’t mind if he missed a rehearsal or two, but the track coach told him it was all or nothing.

That’s why “High School Musical” seems so quaint. The idea that anyone could be captain of the basketball team AND lead in the school play seems like it’s from a distant era.

Why would a basketball player be in a musical

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not sure what HS coaches you have been dealing with but the ones that I have seen- absolutely do not encourage kids to play multiple sports. I have seen the XC coach say his sport is more important than the soccer team and the football coach get upset that a kid wants to continue with his club swim team.

It’s not just sports. My 6th grade kid had to choose between indoor track and the school musical. The director didn’t mind if he missed a rehearsal or two, but the track coach told him it was all or nothing.

That’s why “High School Musical” seems so quaint. The idea that anyone could be captain of the basketball team AND lead in the school play seems like it’s from a distant era.

Anonymous wrote:I am not sure what HS coaches you have been dealing with but the ones that I have seen- absolutely do not encourage kids to play multiple sports. I have seen the XC coach say his sport is more important than the soccer team and the football coach get upset that a kid wants to continue with his club swim team.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give them opportunities to try various sports at rec level. You can sport hop, keep what they like, and drop what they don't like. They can play 2-3 rec sports for a few of years until they decide what they like best. That's when you try to get them in a club. They should not have a problem getting into JV if they play club one or two years before high school (but it may depend on the sport).

We did this with our kids and it didn't work out. The kids who stuck with one sport for years had the advantage in skill and ability. If I had to do it again, i would just pick a single sport that my child liked and I could tolerate the schedule and stick with it.

Anonymous wrote:Give them opportunities to try various sports at rec level. You can sport hop, keep what they like, and drop what they don't like. They can play 2-3 rec sports for a few of years until they decide what they like best. That's when you try to get them in a club. They should not have a problem getting into JV if they play club one or two years before high school (but it may depend on the sport).