<p>Is it worthwhile for students who don't really excel in a sport to continue participating in it? </p>
<p>For example, I have a talent for music, but if I play soccer then I probably won't have enough time to finish the pieces I need to complete for contests. </p>
<p>So to make this universal - should kids who are very talented in an academic activity compete in sports that they aren't really that great at? Does it actually help the app to have the sports on it, when it could potentially have more recognition related to the pupil's talent as a result of dropping the/a sport?</p>
<p>What do you WANT to do? Do you enjoy soccer? Do you want more time with music, or do you just feel you SHOULD compete more? Your choices should not be based on what might look best on a college application (which could vary from college to college anyway), but on what you really want to do.</p>
<p>My son played tennis and played the trumpet in high school until the time came when there was a time conflict between tennis and orchestra, and he had to choose. By then he knew that music was what he loved the most, so he chose music. However, he wishes he could have continued both.</p>
<p>Choose the activities that you love to do and that you care about the most, whether that means playing or not playing a sport.</p>
<p>The truth is soccer stresses me out because I'm not terribly good (I'm on varsity, but I also keep the benches nice and toasty). I like doing things that I am good at - on the other hand, it's always good to make oneself do things that they don't want to do. I feel like I could compose for 2 hours after school every day in the place of soccer and make it worthwhile. </p>
<p>Does that sound reasonable? </p>
<p>Remember - I'm not great, but I'm not horrible? I'm extremely flexible - I love stress (I know, it's weird, I don't get it either) because it of the catharsis I achieve everytime I relieve the high stress, and because it helps me complete things efficiently. So ultimately, it's all about what makes sense in terms of college admissions. [Please correct me if I'm wrong.]</p>
<p>There is no reason whatsoever that you should participate in any EC that you don't enjoy. If you don't excel at a sport, then it isn't going to help with college admissions anyway (they don't recruit the kids who are sitting on the bench). So it isn't a hook.... whereas if you excel in something else that COULD be a hook -- such as winning one of the music contests you would like to enter.</p>
<p>Exercise is good, and you will probably find that you are more efficient and able to work better at everything, including your music, if you spent a reasonable amount of time exercising every day -- but certainly you could choose another activity than soccer.</p>
<p>I agree with the other posters. You sound like you really care about your music, so go for it. As for exercise, there are many other ways to keep fit ; you don't have to warm the soccer benches. If you're lousy at it, it won't impress adcoms anyway.</p>
<p>Everyone else has already said this but it's an important message: life is too short to waste on voluntary activities that bring you no pleasure. Do what you enjoy but be open to trying out new experiences and broadening your horizons. Have one eye on what might spruce up you college app but don't sacrifice your real self to an artificial construct. Be your best self not somebody else--authenticity and passion come through between the lines of a college app.</p>
<p>absolutely do the music. it is a wonderful gift.</p>
<p>what i worry about are the brilliant kids who don't have any ecs that indicate a warmth for or willingness to help fellow human beings. some are truly robotic but brilliant nonetheless.</p>
<p>But I also worry about kids who do "human warmth" ecs just 'cause it looks good for college. A brilliant scientist can go to his/ her lab and also help humanity through their work.</p>
<p>fhimas:
It depends what your ultimate goal with music is. If you are planning on trying to go to conservatory - well, sadly, you better drop everything else and work on music. Same for any other very competitive music program.</p>
<p>I don't disagree with the other posters, but offer a slightly different perspective for consideration. My S also had music as his primary interest and passion, pariticipating in symphonic band, jazz band, and his own rock band. He competed in jazz band competitions at state and national levels. He also played soccer for 4 years, only the last year as varsity and could be found on the bench quite often. </p>
<p>He didn't feel the conflict that you do re time given to soccer taking away from his music. I would suggest you look at that carefully before making your decision - soccer where we are is a short fall season with 3 weeks of pre-season summer practice, so even if there was a time conflict it would be for a small portion of the year.</p>
<p>I think the value in continuing with soccer is <em>not</em> how it will look for college admissions (other than the consistency of staying with a "balancing" EC for 4 years). My S enjoyed soccer, but like everyone else, found it harder to enjoy an activity where he was one of the "lesser lights." He was fortunate to have a wise and gifted coach, who valued the lesser players for the role they played as team members, providing tough scrimmage practice for the first string. Through him, he learned that he could retain his enjoyment of the sport even when never in the spotlight, never excelling, rarely playing an important role in games. He learned that there is value in being a key member of the team in other ways than being the leader or a star.</p>
<p>So, if you don't enjoy it, drop it. But if what you don't enjoy is being one of the lesser players, think a little more.</p>
<p>Sports are great for everyone if and only if they are participating. If you are spending all of your time watching then it is a waste of your time and you should do something else. My son was a pretty good soccer player but his JV season was a disaster. The coaches had too many kids on the team and lots of them did not get a chance to play. JV was supposed to be developmental, and everyone was supposed to get playing time, but the coach just didn't work it that way. My son switched to cross country where everyone gets to run, at practice and at most of the meets. A good coach will track the progress of every runner from his stars to the slowpokes. Running is something you can continue to your benefit long after you graduate from hs. Conversely, winter track is a sport where the kids would go to meets that lasted long into the evening and might compete for 30 seconds and spend the rest of the night sitting around.</p>
<p>So what if you are other than a top athlete ---the colleges would not know that you are a mediocre player. There is somethging to be said for the kid that sticks with a sport he likes even if he isn't tops at it. Teams and schools need kids like this since not every team or class could or should be made up of superstars. If you are a heavily academic type or artsy then a sport may show another side of you and given all the issues with exercise why not take advantage of any way to stay in shape?</p>
<p>I completely agree - but the problem is it consumes a lot of time. That was my rationale - I don't particularly love it, on the other hand it's a good way to stay in shape. But right now, I need that time for other activities, and I'm afraid that those other activities require the time that soccer consumes.</p>
<p>Yes---all important factors to consider and good for you to be able to recognize when you are over extended and need to concentrate on priorities. I just didn't want people to think you had to excel at everything.</p>
<p>Yeah- last year I tried to pull a superman. Basically thought I could do everything. Turned out I couldn't, and I ended up staying up till about 3am every night, and ended up with not one, but TWO B pluses (oh yes, the horror). And my parents yelled at me every night because they were so worried about me. Sucky experience.</p>
<p>If music is the EC you LOVE then the drop the soccer and concentrate on the music. Narrow and deep EC's with better grades are better for college admissions then too many ECs and not as great grades. Listen to your gut. You can still work out when you have the time- lifting weights, running etc. on your schedule instead of on the soccer teams schedule.</p>
<p>Do what is best for you and look for colleges that appreciate you for who you are and what you've accomplished. Or, you can apply to the same 10 schools everyone else applies to and pray -- in which case you should probably play soccer and finish your pieces, and drop sleep from your schedule if necessary. ;)</p>
<p>I think I will drop soccer in order to pursue more music. Besides, quitting will allow me to kick some national speech butt (original oratory loves me - don't worry, it's a symbiotic relationship) and I'll have time to work on music. Unfortunately, I don't think soccer will fit in. </p>
<p>So, to make this a universal thread - kids with competing interests should reduce their involvement in many activities to few where they can excel hardcore?</p>
<p>So, I gather from your response that you're planning to apply to those same 10 that everyone else applies to. Go for it, but don't drop dead from exhaustion on the off chance that Harvard prefers 4 years of soccer over 3. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, there are dozens of top schools who won't care one way or the other whether you kept the soccer bench toasty another year or not. FWIW, colleges do look for awards, captain, etc., in varsity sports. Just being on a team is nice, but being captain or being named league MVP is better. Sticking with a sport all 4 years looks good in terms of showing that you stick with things, but you will be showing that with other stuff. If you had a legitimate shot at starting on a very competitive team, or making captain, or being named to an all-league team, etc., then I'd say you might want to consider it if you're planning to apply to the 10 schools that reject 90% of applicants because that would show that you not only stuck with something, but actually had an impact, and that could matter. </p>
<p>I think kids with competing interests should participate in activities that they enjoy whether they excel in them or not, as well as one or two where they can excel. You were not put on this earth to please HPYS admissions people. And sometimes there's no telling what will please them anyway.</p>