How important are sports??

<p>I used to run track and cross country, I did well my freshman year and was one of two freshman (on a big team) who made varsity spring track. Then sophomore year I ran cross country again and again was varsity, and I qualified for the state divisional meet. My hip began hurting (still don't know why) during training but I ran through it until states. There I did pretty bad (because of my hip), and I rested in-between seasons to let it heal...</p>

<p>It's been like six months, and I still feel pain when walking and I can't run yet. I've seen a ton of doctors and gotten two MRIs but I still feel the pain. </p>

<p>IF I don't get better, and I don't play varsity sports Junior and Senior year, how much does this hurt my chances at a good college??? (I was definitely going to be a captain for at least one season, maybe even all three)</p>

<p>TL;DR: I ran track, and I got hurt and it's not getting better. How much does not playing sports/being a captain hurt my college chances??</p>

<p>Unless you were an NCAA competitive candidate and highly recruited, your sport is the equivalent of someone else who was in concert band or Boy Scouts. Plus, the vast majority of colleges don’t look at ECs at all. How’s your GPA?</p>

<p>

If your definition of a “good college” is the same 100 or so colleges that everyone else wants to get into, then having strong ECs is important. Merely playing sports is not enough at that level, though.</p>

<p>

This is from the free chapter of the book “Admission Matters”, at <a href=“http://www.admissionmatters.com/[/url]”>http://www.admissionmatters.com/&lt;/a&gt; I suggest you read that chapter (its free!) and also a good book on admissions to understand the whole flow. This book, naturally, is one I’d recommend but there are many other good ones. </p>

<p>Bottom line is you will have plenty of good colleges to choose from, sport or no sport.</p>