<p>Wow, the GFG! At some point, this becomes crazy. At the high school level, there should be an opportunity to try out multiple EC’s, to learn many different things. That’s difficult when there’s such an intense commitment to some particular activity.</p>
<p>When I was a post-doc at MIT, the softball leagues came in three varieties–Fast Pitch, Slow Pitch, and “Kentucky Fried.” I think it would be good if some high school EC’s were offered on the “Kentucky Fried” level–most around here are either “full tilt” or “can’t participate.” On the one hand, one hopes that one’s S/D will learn what is required for excellence in a pursuit. On the other hand, it shouldn’t be necessary to learn that by age 13, in my opinion.</p>
<p>I had a friend on the high school debate team, who used to walk into debates with a single file card in his pocket, competing against teams that brought in file cabinets of evidence cards, on wheels. He mainly used logic in argumentation, supplemented with a small storehouse of facts. He won quite a few debates. His file card said “Smile.” Too bad that’s impossible now.</p>
<p>I call this the professionalism of the high school experience. My kids have done both debate and a competitive sport. Debate these days requires hours of research using databases often first encountered in college research (which is why this EC is such great preparation for college.) Debate students are heavily encouraged to attend summer debate camps at colleges which are often out-of-state and expensive. In sports, my son started with soccer and tennis. In soccer he got on a C team and made many friends, but by the end of sophomore year it was pretty much over for those who did not do premier clubs outside of school. If you weren’t coached outside the high school you weren’t able to qualify for JV or Varsity. So he kept up with tennis. His sister was a state champion and was coached outside of the team in order to compete in regional tournaments. Every girl on her varsity team was coached privately. You cannot compare a high school coach, who basically played high school tennis in their time, with the rigor of practices and match play at a private club. On my son’s varsity team (he plays JV) the number one player was coached by my daughter’s coach and is currently the National Champion of the 18 and under division. He played the regular draw at the US Open this summer (he lost in the main draw and then won the Juniors.) This kid STILL plays high school tennis and has been unbeaten in the state in 4 years. Is this fair to other kids? I have problems with kids of this caliber playing on high school teams. He has a special schedule for classes and basically joins the high school team in April (well after the season has started) so that he can compete in tournaments. Recruiters basically don’t even come to see high school games, they just go to special recruiting camps in CA to get their players. Yes, you can play D2 and D3, but you better be in control of contacting the coaches, because they won’t come looking for you on a high school tennis court. </p>
<p>So I have seen this process first hand, along with the private college admission coaches (we didn’t use one), private class tutoring, etc. In the end, I think a truly well-rounded student will still shine on his own in the application process, but as I told my kids, strive for academic scholarships, not sports scholarships. My D had several offers to play tennis at D2 and D3 schools, and none of the money offers could match her academic scholarship offers, but I do think her status as a state champion was viewed positively by admission officers (they can put it in their stats). She ended up picking a competitive college and chose not to play varsity tennis.</p>
<p>^Now I’m feeling terrible for not heeding S1’s call for a private debate coach. He started debate as a sophomore and showed promise by winning the LD debate state championship for novice and the first speaker award. He wasn’t coached outside the classroom. In my simple mind, I was expecting him to continue winning the states after that. </p>
<p>When that didn’t happen, I thought he just didn’t work hard enough and wanted bad enough. He told me, “Dad, everyone on my varsity team has a private debate coach!” To that I said, “Son, you’ll just have to beat these coached kids at their best without a coach. Woudn’t that be a thrill.” He proceeded to becoming his team’s captain and wrote the school’s LD debate handbook, which S2 used the following year. But, he never won the states again. I wonder - was this my fault? Then again, how much time would he be able to spare for coaching anyway? Guilt slowly goes away…</p>
<p>PaperChaser: First, your “CC handle” reminds me of the Paper Chase movie which we bought for our daughter right before she started law school. It was a favorite of mine when I went to law school. In my son’s school no one does private coaching for debate. Kansas has a huge group of students who debate in high school. In our school of 1,200 students, 180 kids did debate this year. We have really top notch coaches teaching the classes and lots of students stay on through their senior year and mentor the younger kids. Many graduates who end up working in the area come back and judge debates. My nephew who won state and placed at Nationals never had a private coach.</p>
<p>I guess I’m not Asian enough… I try to talk my kids into not taking so many honors/AP classes so they don’t stress out and can’t enjoy high school. I also don’t make they do their homework because they know early on, since kindergarten, that it is their own responsibility to do homework and study. It’s not my grades…</p>
<p>BTW, one of my child is a national merit finalist. The other one has a 4.2 GPA and is a starter on his very competitive high school basketball team, top ranked in the nation. </p>
<p>Going back to the subject of getting private tutoring, as long as it is the student’s own choice to do so, it is fine. However, if it parents’ decision so the kids can get ahead and brag, I don’t agree…</p>