My child will have to choose one of the other in high school.
My first reaction is that they are relatively equal, but a sport might be more of an edge, but if I’m wrong please let me know. Additional info: my child will likely be varsity 3 or 4 years, but never be D1 and is a relatively talented musician. Yes, DC likes both eq
Alternative: Would a rec/club team (not travel) outside of high school carry similar weight as a high school team?
sorry, to finish the sentence: … likes both equally.
What does your SON want to do? That should drive the decision.
He can pick up a sport during another season.
What do you think a sport is an “edge” for? College admissions? Merit aid? What?
Lots of colleges have marching bands, and pep bands. Some students absolutely LOVE marching band.
If your son doesn’t do marching band, will he still be in his school band otherwise? My kids were both excellent musicians…and they were in their high school ensembles for four years…but wouldn’t have walked across the street to be in a marching band.
Four years of whatever makes the child happy.
Thank you for your reply!
It 100% does not matter. Let your kid pick their own activities based on their interests. Don’t weigh down every choice with what an admissions officer would think. Admissions officers don’t much care – they want interested and interesting kids. It isn’t about specific activities.
Also, I’m new to the College Confidential forums. Do all replies get the “what does your 8th grader want to do?” response? If so, I’m out of here. : )
My only additional thought is would it be possible to play the sport in 9th grade and see how she likes it and if she doesn’t like it as much try to do Marching Band 10th grade and up? It would seem harder to do the reverse but I have no real idea.
Thank you. That seems like a very reasonable approach!
If this were our high school, the band director would definitely look askance at a student for not doing marching band but wanting to be in other musical groups. While not technically required, here you will get passed over for slots in the higher ensembles because the directors will see you as an athlete who does band, not a band kid who plays a sport. But things may be different at your school. I would ask some questions of parents with older band kids and see what the landscape is where you are. Given that she is not an athletic superstar, I’d probably vote for marching band though. (For the record, my kids chose sports, and that decision cost them in the music program. Still, for 2 of the 3 our decision made sense, but the other one should probably have done marching band. )
No one here is trying to offend you. We know you are trying to help your middle school student make an informed decision.
However, the reality is…extracurricular activities like sports and marching band really need to be the student choice…not the parent choice. Sure…you can help guide the student and give advice…but at the end of the day, the student needs to make this choice.
I’m not sure either a sport or marching band gives an “edge” in a different way. Both are fine ECs.
I will give you an anecdote…and it’s not just MY kids…but many others who they know.
If your kid is an excellent musician, she might find marching band is not all that terrific MUSICALLY. Frankly, it’s the routines that can be the challenge…the music…not so much so.
In addition, some depends on your daughter’s instrument. One of my kids is a brass player. In marching band…it was a louder is better approach to playing…which did NOT align at all with his orchestra and wind ensemble playing. Also, we live in a colder climate…so the last thing he wanted to do was practice and play outside.
And lastly, he had a very expensive professional quality instrument. He was required to march in a couple,of parades…so we actually purchased a used student model for walking the streets…because dropping an expensive professional model was NOT worth the risk.
Second kid played an instrument which doesn’t have marching band music (oboe). She was also required to march in those few parades. It was not her cup of tea.
As an aside, neither of my kids were particularly talented athletes…but both were on HS teams. They liked what they did, but were never starters, and never were record breakers or anything like that.
So…if your daughter wants to do Marching Band in the fall AND wants to do a sport another season…maybe she can find another sport to do.
Yes, I can see that happening. She placed in a regional competition and wants to continue because she loves the instrument she plays and wants to play in smaller ensembles.
For those who mentioned “what makes her happy” - I know. Both make her happy! She likes them both! She does well in both! She is asking me what to do, so I am on here trying to get insight and suggestions. : )
Does she have to try out for her fall sport?
My professional musician kid would,say…marching band develops excellent collegial and group skills…but NOT musical skills. In other words…marching band (in his opinion…and that of his musician friends) will not improve your kid’s musical ability in same way as concert ensembles.
Thank you for the comments and experiences!
Her music tutor LOVED marching band and talks it up a lot. Her sports coaches encourage her to try out for varsity as a freshman. What’s a girl to do? : )
At the end of the day, knowing her, she will be happy in either one. I wish she knew what she wanted. : )
Yes, I think she is looking forward to marching band in particular, because of the friendships she would make. Her music tutor speaks fondly of her time in marching band.
Is the marching band competitive @polarxpress ? And does the child need to have a “band” class in their schedule? If so, is the class a CP or is there honors offered? What has been the past success of the sport team and the band in previous years? Your child should reach out to current participants of each and get some input which should help. In the end don’t feel there is a right or wrong path here. She shouldn’t feel pressure at this stage - it’s an EC.
One thing to weigh would be - is she good enough at her instrument to be a first chair or section leader? or is she good enough to be a captain on the sporting team - could be a leadership opportunity. Good luck!
Thank you for the comments and questions!
@polarxpress "For those who mentioned “what makes her happy” - I know. Both make her happy! She likes them both! She does well in both! She is asking me what to do, so I am on here trying to get insight and suggestions. : ) "
Hi - welcome! First, I want to say that your daughter has been very lucky to make it through 8th grade without having to choose one activity over another. For my D20 and most of her friends, these decisions were made back when they were 11 or 12.
The reason you’ll often hear “do what makes you happy” is because more often than not there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to choosing an extracurricular activity. There are many reasons for being in the marching band (was in it) including the friendships, the parties, and even the leadership potential if you’re a section leader. She’ll also have opportunities to attend adjudicated and ranked competitions. There are many reasons for being an athlete (hubby played baseball) including the friendships, the parties, and even leadership potential. She’ll also have opportunities to participate in competitions. See where I’m going with this? 
My advice - let her choose totally and completely. Tell her you are staying out of it but you will respect and support whatever decision she makes. She needs to own this. It will be the first of many decisions she is going to have to make over her lifetime. This is not a life-or-death decision. If she doesn’t like the activity she chooses, do something different the following year.
^I agree. And if the decision is totally hers, you can remind her of that when the going gets tough. If she picks something because she thinks it’s what you want her to do, she won’t be as motivated.
The other reason you’ll hear “do what makes you happy” is because a lot of us have kids who are out of high school. For me, at least, I wish I hadn’t pressured my oldest as much as I did. I wish I had told him to have more fun and cut himself a little slack.
Thanks for the explanation behind some of the responses. Given the majority of the responses, it looks like there is no clear “winner” or “better”, even when I look at the responses critically and skeptically. : )
Thanks all. Much appreciated. : )