Check out the book “How to be a High School SUperstar” by Cal Newport…it talks about how to take an interest and make it into a meaningful EC.
I’m with the “let her explore and find her interests and passions group.” Nothing much to add on that since several posters have expressed this very well.
Look at the website of the HS she’ll be attending and see if they have a list of clubs and activities. Have her look at the list and pick some that sound interesting. She can go to a few meetings of each and see what sticks.
If you are going to push anything she’s not terribly interested in, I’d make it charity work. Despite the lack of interest, she’ll still be helping others with her time and effort.
(I just skimmed – sorry if someone already mentioned these!)
I’m another parent of a kid who is doing a sport in high school without being all that great at it. She’s not going to play in college. She loves her team, they are her closest friends, it keeps her in good physical shape, so why not?
My D played water polo and swam all through high school. She was not great at either but loved the team aspect and loved helping younger players. She could not compete at either this past year because of a surgery but still helped out as team manager. Both coaches coach younger kids over the summer and both asked her to assist them. So now she has 2 part-time jobs making good money and doing what she loves-teaching her sports to young kids. Nothing makes her happier than working with 3 year olds in the water!
If she is interested in foreign languages, is she also interested in other cultures? She might find her niche in studying abroad, joining a Model UN club, helping ESL students, or working on a missions project.
“Am I right there is no point in having her spend 6 hours going for tennis practice after school?”. I think the premise of this thread is really sad. In general, you should let your kid do the activities she likes. What is the “point” of sports? Physical fitness. Comraderie and social connections. Teamwork. Everything your kid does doesn’t have to be about being the most impressive thing to colleges.
My kids have both done sports they weren’t particularly good at. One spent well over 6 hours per week on it. Older one got into quite a few of the schools that the cc community here drools over despite being about the worst one on the team. She did it for the exercise and for the friendship. For heaven’s sake, are you raising a child or a resume?
That said, if she just wants to stay home and do nothing, I would look with her at what the possibilities are–and there should be more at the high school level than at middle schools–and get her to try something that might be of interest. Make it clear that kids in high school tend to be very involved in their ECs and she will be left out of a lot of the social groups that form if she does nothing. I would also have her continue with some kind of sport involvement for the exercise. PE is pathetic. Please don’t make her feel like her purpose or value is to be judged by some adcom in a few years. Let her be a kid and live her life.
Interesting point in there ^. My girls were lousy at sports, but the camaraderie and sense of commitment were priceless. And being coached, learning team skills and meeting general expectations (showing up, following the routine, etc,) are life lessons. Did I say my kids were lousy? It was amusing, but they still talk about their experience.
I think I’d have a strong contender for lousy over here on the bench with my senior. 
We love her- but…
On the other had it looks very likely my rising h.s. freshman may have a shot at being a pretty good c.c. runner. Very odd since our family is NOT athletic.