How important are sports?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>Well, ever since the 7th grade, I've been playing two sports: Field Hockey and Lacrosse. Now that I'm a sophomore, my mother told me to quit lacrosse to concentrate more on extracurriculars/academics/SAT IIs, saying that one sport is enough. I got moved up from freshman team to varsity in 9th grade for field hockey, and played varsity this year. I'm not as good at Lacrosse as I am field hockey, but there's a slight chance I may make it into varsity this year.</p>

<p>Should I drop lacrosse and focus on academics? Or should I stick with what I've been doing for the last three years? </p>

<p>Will colleges look unfavorably upon my lack of commitment? </p>

<p>I'm still unsure of my decision, and sports packets are due Feb 20th. Any ideas?</p>

2

<p>If you really like lacrosse, then don't quit. Manage your time better and you should be able to do sports and get high grades. I was on my varsity tennis team in 8th and 9th grade, and we practiced every day. I didn't have any problems getting all A's.</p>

<p>Or you could quit lacrosse, and committ to field hockey. As long as you are involved in at least one sport, colleges shouldn't look down on you.</p>

3

<p>If you keep one sport, I'm sure it'll be fine. Just find some other clubs and extraciriculars that prove you to be a well rounded student. If you stick to those and field hockey, I'm sure that alone will show commitment. I, although I don't play a sport, have at least 10-15 hours of extraciriculars a week, and I still manage to get A+'s. I'm sure if you apply yourself you'll do well.</p>

4

<p>I agree with Jman...keep doing those sports if you enjoy them. Those sports could help in college admissions; if certain schools want to recruit you..</p>

5

<p>Hey, listen up. There have been many studies that show the busier a person is, the better he does in all of the areas (to a certain extent). Also, working out your body works your brain and mind, thus allowing the academics to flow easier through you. I know that might sound dumb, but it really is true.</p>

<p>I play three sports, in which the seasons overlap by a week or so, and my entire year is filled with sports.</p>

<p>Fall:
AP Classes, Gifted Courses: all A's
Varsity Football (extremely time consuming, get home at about 7pm every night)
Recreation Soccer (1 practice per week, a game or two on the weekends)</p>

<p>Winter:
AP Classes, Gifted Courses: all A's
Varsity Swimming (3 practices per week in the morning at 6am, meets sometimes take up 3/4 of weekend)
Indoor Soccer (games on Sunday afternoons and nights)</p>

<p>Spring:
AP Classes, Gifted Courses: all A's
Varsity Soccer (Practice everyday for two hours, games on weekdays, sometimes don't get home until about 9:30pm or 10pm)
Recreation Soccer (same as above)</p>

<p>Summer:
Football workouts 4days per week, football camp, online courses (I took government last summer), and summer programs at colleges.</p>

<p>And, on top of that, I am the Vice-President of the Math team, Vice-President of Jr. Civitans, in that National, French, and Math Honor Societies.</p>

<p>Currently I'm a junior and you might wonder my secret to this success: TIME MANAGEMENT. I am able to do all of the above and still get 7+ hours of sleep every night. It comes from discipline. You have to set a schedule, stick to it, make sacrifices, and never procrastinate.</p>

<p>My advice: Do not quit lacrosse or any other sport you play. The more you play, the more you will work your mind, which in essence, will increase your mental ability.</p>

6

<p>^^exactly how rigorous are your "ap classes, gifted classes"? there is a huge difference between 2 and 7 APs</p>

7

<p>Not only that, but the type of AP's.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Currently I'm a junior and you might wonder my secret to this success: TIME MANAGEMENT. I am able to do all of the above and still get 7+ hours of sleep every night. It comes from discipline. You have to set a schedule, stick to it, make sacrifices, and never procrastinate.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I couldn't agree more.</p>

8

<p>not procrastinating is always the hardest thing. That and not finding shortcuts to studying.</p>

9

<p>My two cents:</p>

<p>Take all this talk about discipline with a grain of salt. The more time you devote to athletics, the less you will have for extracurcciulars, studying, and friends.</p>

<p>Unless you are really determined to excell at both sports, pick the one you are best at (or more importantly, the one you have the most fun doing). If you are stressed out, don't push yourself; your mom is probably right. You're still a kid, enjoy your highschool years!</p>

<p>If the stress of two sports outweighs what you get out of them, drop one. Don't let the laundry lists of these insecure sudents intimidate you. It's all about balance.</p>

10

<p>^^^ You call varsity football, soccer, and swimming laundry lists?? Might I add my school is in one of the toughest divisions of AAAA in GA and we made both the 2nd round of playoffs in football and soccer.</p>

<p>I can't believe you call people insecure when you don't even know them. I simply gave my two cents trying to help him. Playing sports is an AWESOME way to enjoy your high school years. Actually doing activities with people that will teach you life lessons.</p>

<p>But that's ok. Just quit your sports and go 'hang out' everyday after school. That's really 'balanced' and going to help you get you into your dream college.</p>

<p>And no, my AP courses aren't as rigorous as some of yours, I am in 3 this year, AP Stat, AP Chem, and AP Language. Gifted pre-calc and us history. I'm sure most of you intellects on this board could handle these classes, I am quite lucky. I am able to get the necessary work and studying done on top of all my extra-cirricular activities.</p>

11

<p>"The more time you devote to athletics, the less you will have for extracurcciulars, studying, and friends." --Fitter Happier</p>

<p>You don't understand sports very well, my friend. Sports are a special type of extracurricular activity in which you build relationships, learn discipline and teamwork, and work as a unit to achieve a common goal. Yes, playing sports DOES take up ALOT of time, but when you are 65 and telling a story to your grandchildren, would you rather be talking about an awesome sports moment with all the town watching, or how you hung out at the local coffee shop?</p>

12

<p>^^ you sound cocky, dear turbotw. not nearly as mature as you seem to believe you are</p>

<p>and please don't get so defensive when you get criticized</p>

13

<p>They have soccer season in the spring? What the hell.</p>

14

<p>I usually think point-by-point rebuttals on an internet forum are cheesy and pointless, but I'll give it a go anyways!</p>

<p>
[quote]
^^^ You call varsity football, soccer, and swimming laundry lists?? Might I add my school is in one of the toughest divisions of AAAA in GA and we made both the 2nd round of playoffs in football and soccer.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Yes, it is a laundry list. I had no intention of taking anything away from your apparently outstanding work ethic, but it is, nevertheless, a generic list describing your high school triumphs. </p>

<p>
[quote]
I can't believe you call people insecure when you don't even know them. I simply gave my two cents trying to help him. Playing sports is an AWESOME way to enjoy your high school years. Actually doing activities with people that will teach you life lessons.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Sorry, that was sort of a cheap shot on my part; I don't know you and I made an unfair judgement. </p>

<p>
[quote]
But that's ok. Just quit your sports and go 'hang out' everyday after school. That's really 'balanced' and going to help you get you into your dream college.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I can tell by your frequent use of the caps key that you are passionate about atheltics. I don't know if the "you" in this case is me, the original poster, or in general those losers that sometimes hang out without doing anything sport related (phhh). I can tell you this: I said maybe she should quit one of her sports if she finds she can't have fun, play both sports, and also pursue non-athletic EC's that she thinks are important. "Hang out" with friends? Who has the time? Turbo's fitting use of quotations points to the not-too-subtle irony of a "balanced" life without multiple atheltic pursuits. Everyone knows you can't get into your dream college with out at least two varsity letters.</p>

<p>
[quote]
You don't understand sports very well, my friend. Sports are a special type of extracurricular activity in which you build relationships, learn discipline and teamwork, and work as a unit to achieve a common goal. Yes, playing sports DOES take up ALOT of time, but when you are 65 and telling a story to your grandchildren, would you rather be talking about an awesome sports moment with all the town watching, or how you hung out at the local coffee shop?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I understand sports fine, my friend. In fact, I'm on a varsity team myself. Indeed, sports are a great extracurricular activity. They do build the relationships that you describe. They also look good on a transcript. I never contested that. Sometimes, they can even be as cool as the generic situation that you just described with the "all the town watching" moment. I'm pretty sure you stole that from a Disney Channel original movie, though.</p>

<p>My point is that you are an extreme example of forced discipline. From what I can tell, you seem to be very proud of that fact. Is it the wisest choice? I can't speak for everyone, but I know most people can't and won't choose such a path. It's one way for you to stand out on your college application. All the power to you. </p>

<p>Good day to you sir.</p>

15

<p>Haha, why are you hatin' on my Disney Channel movies?? LOL, that's what I get for having a little brother. I read your post with a tone you didn't intend, so that made me look like an idiot. How classy, huh? Everybody has their own strategy or survival method. I figure if I have to do something, I might as well do it the best I can...</p>

<p>I'm glad to see how mature you are, and thank you for calming me down. God Bless, and I hope you get into your dream college.</p>

16

<p>Awesome, I enjoy happy endings. Cheers.</p>

<p>P.S. I was more of a Nickelodeon man in my day, so you'll have to excuse to Disney Channel potshot.</p>

17

<p>Stay with lacrosse. The only reason I would see to quit it is if you can focus on field hockey and play year-round. I had to quit track after freshman year because I focused on swimming by joining a club team that practiced year-round. BTW, while swimming over 20+ hours per week (not including meets) I was also president of NHS, captain of FCA, co-chair of the parade committee and representative in SGA, and I have 7 AP's (2 gov'ts, 2 econs, calc, lang, psych). I manage it, with enough time leftover to hang out with friends or just waste time playing video games. And yes, I have a 4.0/4.6 GPA with good test scores.</p>

<p>But from what I've seen, field hockey doesn't usually have a mandatory year-round club team like swimming does. Lacrosse will keep you in shape for field hockey but track in no way keeps you in shape for swimming. Team sports are usually more complementary than individual sports.</p>

18

<p>^^^^^ Amen</p>

19

<p>what if I'm not good at sports at all?
I'm on the swimming team, but I know I won't make varsity. Will colleges feel I'm a person who suck at sports thus develop a bad perception?</p>

20

<p>yes. if you dont have a varsity sport, you might as well not even apply to college.</p>