Hi I’m a high school sophomore now and I am considering if I should play a spring sport.
I have made varsity swimming team during the winter season and I also have really good grades (3.9 GPA in honor classes) and good extracurriculars. I am just thinking about if I should play a spring sport or spend more time to work on other extracurriculars and grades.
I have tried Track and made varsity last year but I did not really like it. I am thinking about if I should play a spring sport this year since I only have swimming now. But my question is that how much does this even matter because I definitely can improve my other extracurriculars and my grades a lot if I do not play spring sport.
Unless you are good enough to be recruited, which is doubtful with starting something new in HS, it will just be another EC.
Do what you enjoy. It doesn’t have to be athletics.
I agree. Do it if you want to, not for college applications.
If you’re just starting at the age of 15 chances are you won’t be very good so you better enjoy it for its own sake. My DD plays ultimate frisbee in the spring as her fun blowoff EC. Her “real” sport is in the fall, so this one is super low-key and just gets her out of the house and running around after a long winter. Find something that suits your personality, activity level and don’t worry about how everything looks. If your resume is solid at the top then a little variety at the bottom that shows who you are is more useful than a series of shallow feints towards Important Things.
Sports may be a more valuable EC at some small LACs due to the high percentage of students in sports – it helps if the non recruited athletes include many who may be interested in walking on.
If you have a rowing club in your area I highly recommend giving it a try. Not only will it keep your fitness level up you might find out you actually enjoy it. In my experience endurance athletes like swimmers have been pretty successful when it comes to the erg. Being a sophomore is not to late to start rowing and get recruited by a college if you have the passion for it and are somewhat successful at it. Good luck!