I’m a freshman in high school, and I want to do some sport next year for an extracurricular. I’m short, not very athletic, not particularly great at any sport, and a little overweight. What sport would you recommend for me? I’ve considered badminton and tennis. I’d prefer badminton because it seems less athletically demanding, but tennis is more popular. I’d also consider basketball, but even as a point guard, I don’t think I’m skilled enough to make the team. I’ve been playing bball recreationally for a few years though.
I plan to take classes over the summer to become decent at whatever sport I choose.
(Btw…I don’t necessarily want to be great at a sport…I just want to be good enough to make the varsity team by my junior/senior year. This will NOT be my main extracurricular. Also, our school is mostly academically focused, and the athletic department isn’t very competitive.)
Cross country is a wonderful sport. And no, you don’t have to be a great runner when you start! Every team I’ve seen has overweight runners. My older son was a very fast runner. My younger son was very slow. In one race, the older one got first place and the younger one got last! I’m not kidding. And everyone cheered the younger one as much as they did the older one. The good thing about it is that EVERYONE can participate - nobody gets cut.
If you start running this summer, you could be ready for the fall. Look up “Couch to 5K” - it’s a great program to get you from zero running up to 30 minutes straight.
I know what I’m talking about. I didn’t start running until I was 44. I couldn’t even run 90 seconds when I started! I did the Couch to 5K program, then kept increasing my time and distance. I’ve run 5ks, 10ks, and even half marathons. And I am INCREDIBLY slow, painfully so. But it doesn’t matter! I’m in good shape and have met a lot of great people. One of them is the person who told me about College Confidential!
You should not participate in a sport for the sole purpose of bolstering your college application. It will suck up time that you could have spent on activities you actually care about.
But, as said above, cross country would be a great choice if you’re interested in participating.
Things that you can pursue for a lifetime of enjoyment, or stress-relief, should be your targets. Take now as an opportunity to learn how to do the sport properly. It is very important to have a physical outlet several times during the week.
Cross country is an ideal candidate, as are tennis and basketball. I would consider swimming and martial arts (or boxing) as other candidates. Badminton? It is either incredibly fast-paced and vigorous or loosely played and unsatisfying, neither of which sound like your cup of tea. Squash or racquetball may be better alternatives.
Your school has varsity badminton? That is very cool! I agree with @Ciella that if your school has sports that don’t cut, you might want to consider one of those. Many schools don’t cut from cross country and track and football, at least where I live.
The great thing about cross country is, like @MaineLonghorn said, you can train on your own this summer. And if you like it, you can perhaps run the distance races on the track team in the spring! And you will get in good shape!
You may still be able to try out for the basketball team if cross country is a fall sport and basketball is a winter sport, plus you’ll be in better shape for basketball from all that cross country running.
Your summer training will be more successful if you contact the X-C coach and have them put you in touch with the appropriate group of next Fall’s runners.
You either want to get with a group that has speed similar to you or with the most advanced runners who can figure out how to integrate your training into their work outs.
The whole point is to train with someone so your workouts stay regular.
Be true to yourself. Thousands and thousands of students are admitted to colleges without ever having been on a school sports team. You would probably be much happier getting deeply involved in something that you love.
Don’t be mistaken that schools look for a whole lot of EC’s. They like depth better than breadth. It isn’t like a Chinese take-out menu where you need one item from each column (one sport, one volunteer project, one church activity, etc). Find one or two things that you love doing, and do a lot of it. Or get a job.
If you are determined to be in a sport, does your school offer intramural teams? That would help you get physically fit, experience a sport, and list an EC. Or, if determined to try for varsity, I agree that cross country would be the way to go. If your school track is available to the public during the summer, start walking the track, then run for short intervals in between walking, and work up toward endurance.
The OP didn’t mention wanting to do a sport for college app purposes. He/she mentioned wanting to make varsity by jr/sr year. I assumed he/she had other reasons - like wanting a letterman jacket, or just wanting to “be” a high school athlete, or perhaps just wanting to get involved in something personally challenging or different from his/her other ECs.
So, @ThingsThatStuff, are you just looking for ECs for your college applications?
Consider yoga. You can start slow, working on strength, flexibility and balance. It’s a non-competitive athletic activity that can pay benefits for the rest of your life. The equipment cost is low (space and a yoga) and you can do it anywhere. The meditation component is attractive to some and not to others so find a class that offers the right mix for you of ‘work-out’ vs. meditation. Some yoga classes are very precise and technical and can be demanding. Others more ‘come as you are’ and get what you need from it.
If your school doesn’t offer yoga, see about starting it as an after school activity. You will need to find a trained instructor to guide the group and space at the school.
Look for sports that are no-cut in your high school. In our HS many of the less athletic kids go to track which is no-cut or do club sports such as ultimate frisbee.
Wrestling might not be a great option at many high schools, where it is often extremely competitive and high-pressured. Team members face relentless pressure to “make weight,” and are often encouraged to “purge” with laxatives or emetics prior to weigh-in. My unathletic son wrestled in elementary and middle-school, because we thought it was good for him to develop balance and tenacity. He did not keep up with it, once the coaching became more demanding and intense. He was JV football manager as a sophomore and junior. You can offer to manage some teams. In some cases, you will be able to work out with the team for your own fitness. My older son ended up managing Track one term after being cut from the team.
Thanks for the replies
I absolutely abhor running (unless it’s part of a sport…i don’t mind that)…so i’m not doing cross country.
I guess I should have also mentioned that while I’m not exactly athletic, I’m not in terrible shape either…I can run an eight minute mile, but i would heavily prefer a sport where skill is more important than athleticism
I’m heavily considering tennis…i’ve played it before, I’m fit enough to start it (i think), and I can probably get into much better shape by the time that my speed becomes a bottleneck…
Besides something that will provide lifelong enjoyment (like tennis or basketball), I would also look for a good program. If the coaches are producing a winning team, they know how to teach and motivate and they are very efficient. After all, they have similar raw material to their competitors. In that kind of program- one that is consistently deep in talent- the coaches are really cultivating their athletes. That makes for rapid learning, a close-knit team, and overall more enjoyment with the whole experience.
Start with your goals in mind. I suggest one goal is to elevate heart rate and to sweat and release endorphins 3 - 5 days a week for the rest of your life. There is no better time than now to set the groundwork on technique and workout discipline for your chosen sport. You have not revealed your other goals. But start there.
