<p>Impossible I say! But that's just from my observation.. It seems like a sliding scale, with smartness one side and athletic ability on the other. The better you are at one, the more it detracts from the other. I'm not saying jocks are dumb either, I know some smart jocks. But it doesn't seem like there's anyone at the top of both pecking orders..</p>
<p>Whats a jock?
Well im smart but not athletic, though i did start vtodd country></p>
<p>i meant to say i took cross country!^)^</p>
<p>I know several--at my school it was common. Two are at Stanford on football and running scholarships, respectively (the runner was top 5% in our class). One is at Princeton to play lacrosse. One is at UPenn (also lacrosse). The guy who took 2nd at conference championships in the discus was also top 5%. And I was top 5% and was varsity in track and cross country. (I know the 5% thing because we all got awards for it.)</p>
<p>Well our val this year was capt of the golf team and on varsity soccer [going to Duke] and our sal was a nationally ranked swimmer [going to Stevens after turning down Columbia]</p>
<p>Cross country is so hard :( my legs hurt! still!</p>
<p>I'm dumb and I suck at athletics, do I qualify for this thread?</p>
<p>yes i know someone with perfect SATs who is captain of 2 varsity athletic teams</p>
<p>^^ AAHH, so jealous of those superior people!</p>
<p>^that person was also good looking and played 3 instruments</p>
<p>my physics teacher is this genius body-builder guy. i think he grades by multiplying the number of push-ups we did in class by the number of sports days we were at in the last five years, and adding to the square root of our PE grade.</p>
<p>no joke.</p>
<p>and at the end of every assignment he write something in big letters like, "CONCEIVE IT, BELIEVE IT, ACHIEVE IT!!". oh so inspirational.</p>
<p>Oh, and there was also a senior back when I was a freshman who was a national champion wrestler and now attends Harvard (where he's still a damn good wrestler).</p>
<p>I'm smart (somewhat) Althetically gifted is my thing! seriously.</p>
<p>Kid in my grade is the 2nd best h.s. goalie (soccer) in the nation. He's on the national team. He started as a freshman and I think he was 17-1 or something with like 1 goal allowed. He's insane. He's also rediculously smart. He can go wherever he wants for college.</p>
<p>I know quite a few people who are at the top of both sports and academics. In fact, it's pretty common with girls.</p>
<p>There are definitely plently of smart athletes out there. The valedictorian (going into senior year, but I know he'll stay at the top) at my school runs track and is pretty good. However, the people ranked about 2-10 aren't very athletic--at all. Despite that, I'd say that of the top 20%, the vast majority are athletes. My brother is also ridiculously smart and quite good at pitching, though he's never been on a team, so the world may never know.. </p>
<p>"The better you are at one, the more it detracts from the other."
I'll admit that athletics do take away from time that could be otherwise spent studying, but I don't think that they actually detract from ones intelligence or academic potential. If you are measuring how "smart" someone is by looking at their high school GPA or class rank, then athletics might be a factor. However, I don't take either to be a true measure of intelligence, which I suppose is why I don't agree with your observation. </p>
<p>Also, I will concede that people who discover they are not academically inclined are more likely to turn to other things (such as sports) to find something that they are successful at, thus forming the "dumb jock" stereotype. </p>
<p>ah, I could go on and on..</p>
<p>i think to be valedictorian you have to be someone with a lot of self-discipline and a good work ethic. people who work hard and can sacrifice a little pleasure to get results will naturally be good athletes. but "smarts" are another thing</p>
<p>sean123</p>
<p>stop complaining about your x-country....ur the one that joined it.</p>
<p>just look at the roster at any team at stanford or williams</p>
<p>I used to be a lot smarter :/
damn soccer, damn it</p>