Does this look bad?

Applying to College
1

<p>I am currently in grade 11 at a school in Canada. Last year, I played junior varsity basketball. I'd never played basketball on a team before but I enjoyed it a lot. </p>

<p>This year my parents didn't want me to play because they wanted my marks to be higher, but once I raised my marks they left the decision up to me. The varsity coach said if I decided to play he was planning on putting me on his team. I really love playing but opted out because I have a fairly heavy course load next semester and I will be playing soccer in the April, and I didn't want to risk jeopardizing my marks. </p>

<p>I plan to play next year on the varsity team as I am taking my stronger subjects - english, social, etc. So I am not worried about getting good marks in these as I tend to do so fairly easily.</p>

<p>However, recently the JV coach has been asking me if I would still consider playing. They are in need of a point guard and he could easily fit me on the roster. They have already picked captains so I am out of the running for that, but I stand a good chance for MVP. </p>

<p>Please help me in answering the following questions:</p>

<p>1) Does me NOT playing basketball this year look bad on my college application?</p>

<p>2) Would me playing JV again look bad (I am playing jrs again just to get an award..blah blah blah), or just show that I am committed to playing (no matter what level)? </p>

<p>3) Is it worth it to play JV again if I cannot get a leadership role (captain)?</p>

<p>4) SHOULD I OR SHOULD I NOT PLAY?!</p>

<p>I'm not sure what to do! Obviously since I originally opted out I can no longer play varsity, which would be kind of annoying considering I could have been on the team if I had decided to play in the first place. However playing junior varsity would give me more flexibility with the commitment. I have a great relationship with the coach, and he said if I needed time off to focus on my academic studies he would understand 100%. </p>

<p>I do like playing a lot and I definitely miss it, but I don't want to regret playing if my marks drop!</p>

<p>Please, help!!</p>

2

<p>Play JV, then explain within your application why you chose to do so. (The Common App has a space for application footnotes.)</p>

3

<p>This one, I think, is simple. Take college out of the equation. Entirely. Play if you want to, don't play if you don't want to. Don't worry about a leadership position. Don't explain on your application; there's no reason to "explain" anything. For basketball, if you're not a recruited athlete, do what makes you happy.</p>

4

<p>Personally...I vote for what Chedva said.</p>

<p>Don't spend your entire high school life (or the rest of your life, for that matter) worrying about every little action you do. You only get to live once...don't waste it by freaking out. Live life to it's fullest. Just listen to what Bob Marley says: "Don't worry, Be happy".</p>

5

<p>Come to think of it, I would listen to what the second and third posters said. :-)</p>

6

<p>wow... no offense but I really don't like people like you. You only want to play sports just so that you can put it onto your resume....... kind of pathetic. If you truly love basketball then do it. You will never play high school sports again in your life soon, so take the advantage of being able to do it right now.</p>

7

<p>"wow... no offense but I really don't like people like you. You only want to play sports just so that you can put it onto your resume....... kind of pathetic. If you truly love basketball then do it. You will never play high school sports again in your life soon, so take the advantage of being able to do it right now."</p>

<p>wow... no offense but I really don't like people like YOU. You don't know me, AT ALL. I have been playing soccer since I was 4. Do you think that's something I do to put it on my college application? I started playing basketball last year because my favourite teacher was coaching and invited me to play. The reason I waivered this year was because my parents stressed the importance of my marks at this stage of life. In fact, they were the ones who originally didn't let me play. Basketball wasn't something that had been a part of my life as long as soccer. So it wasn't hard for me to imagine returning to not playing and focus on school.</p>

<p>I simply wanted to know if this would have an affect on my college application, that's all... But, hey, if that makes me pathetic...</p>