S1 was a very good student. He played jv football for two years and was in a few h.s. clubs/honor societies. That was the sum total of his h.s. EC/ athletic involvement. He was really into weight lifting and running but did it all on his own. His major EC was his part-time job. He worked 25 hours per week at a large chain grocery store. Went from bag boy to cashier to running the customer service desk. He often opened the store on weekend mornings.
When he interviewed for a NROTC scholarship (which he received), S1 said the officer interviewing him was more interested in S1’s grocery store job skills…time management, leadership, work ethic, people skills… than any h.s. activities. Not being on a h.s. varsity team didn’t hurt him at all.