<p>Does it make sense to continue to compete in an individual sport that requires more than 15 hours per week training, if the person is not recruitable and places mid-pack? This is the sport that is more the passion and the lifestyle since elementary school which is getting more and more difficult as the person gets older, the level get higher and the competition gets tougher. I guess the question is: if one loves the sport, spend a lot of time in training for many years, but does not have exceptional results to show (at least during HS), should the person keep on going, or colleges will look down at this person for wasting the time that could have been invested in something the person could succeed on.</p>
<p>If you are not a recruited, 80% of the application is base on academic promise. Since you are not going to get recruited, it is a waste of time of you are not spending time on academics.</p>
<p>A college is never going to look down on a person who follows his/her passion, even if that person isn’t at the head of the pack. My daughter ran CC for 4 years and never placed any higher than the middle of the pack. Because of her dedication, she was captain her senior year and put this on her college applications. </p>
<p>Plenty of people are never going to be good enough to be number 1 (or even number 15) in anything, yet they all manage to get in somewhere. I think colleges look down on people who just try to build their resumes than they do on those who work really hard at something and aren’t the best at it.</p>
<p>A very very small number of athletes get recruited for college sports and receive scholarships. However, colleges are always looking for people with passion and interests. If all you do is for the sake of getting into a specific college, chances are you won’t get in.<br>
I was always advised to follow my passion rather than doing what I thought others (this includes college admission officers) would want me to do.</p>
<p>Most selective college admissions people recognize that participating in a sport that involves a large time commitment will require the applicant to develop great time managment skills, which are essential for success in college. Now if participating 15 hrs per week means that the student’s GPA is a 3.0 rather than a 3.8, then it might be wise to focus on academics and give up the sport. But if you are talking about the difference between a 3.75 and a 3.80 GPA, then I think participation in a sport requiring significant investment of time will be a positive in college admissions.</p>
<p>Two out of 3 of our kids participated in sports in high school - cross country and soccer. Neither were good enough to play a major role in their sport at a D3 college, but they both got in to top 5 LACs.</p>
<p>Don’t spend your entire time in high school doing what you think will look good to colleges. If you enjoy this sport, then do it.</p>
<p>This is an individual not a team sport, outside of HS. So no leadership credits can be taking. It was a part of our life for so many years that it is very painful to cut it out. So far the GPA and rigor are not impacted, but with few years left in HS we have to make a strategic decision.</p>
<p>Youth/high school sports are so much more than being recruited. Somewhere along the line it has become a job instead of what it’s supposed to be which is an outlet to have fun, socialize, exercise, be a part of something that’s bigger than you. There should still be pride in wearing your school colors and representing your school. It sounds so cliche but learning to deal with all personalities working toward a common goal is irreplaceable experience. That’s what sports are for. Yes the exceptional will probably be recruited but that doesn’t mean everyone else should hang it up. If it’s still enjoyable then play!! But if there’s no joy, then stop.</p>
<p>Ah, I see you posted it’s an individual sport. My comment still stands, if it’s enjoyable then continue to do it. Life is too short and bodies break down when you least expect it so play while you still can.</p>
<p>The big mistake is worrying about what colleges will think. That’s a decision that will inevitably lead to regret. </p>
<p>This sport has been a huge part of the individual’s life and they are passionate about it. If that’s the case, it’s an essential component of their true self. Why destroy something that brings such great joy because it might impact college admissions. That’s so sad. </p>
<p>That really puts the cart before the horse. </p>
<p>My D stuck with her sport even though her HS didn’t have it, got seriously injured - we got that phone call - had it seriously impact her academics, and came to the conclusion that it didn’t matter. It all worked out just fine. She’s a freshman in a terrific college that she carefully chose to apply to ED and she’s very happy and looking forward to a brilliant career. She still participates in the sport, though not competitively. She’s better for having followed her passions.</p>
<p>If you spend your life trying to figure out how you will look good to other people, you may never find out who you really are.</p>
<p>My d. was a competitive gymnast, but a serious injury (and unbelievably poor medical care) kept her from being recruited. She still did it.</p>
<p>Today, she leads a 6:30 a.m. outdoor “bootcamp” in a park in Washington, DC, and gets paid very well to do it.</p>
<p>
This is two questions, not one. I think what others in the thread are saying is that if the sport is your passion, you should continue doing it whatever colleges may think. I’m going to give a slightly different answer. I think it is pretty clearly the case that the most selective colleges are looking for students who have been highly successful in the classroom and in their ECs. While it is nice to say that these schools will recognize commitment and time management, even if it doesn’t translate into success, I’m not convinced. So I think you really do have a strategic choice–so to me, the question is this: is this activity important enough to me that I want to keep doing it, even if I don’t think my level of achievement will improve, and even if it means some sacrifice in my competitiveness for selective colleges? This is not a no-brainer–it involves balancing of interests.</p>
<p>Having a passion and having a sport you love is worth a lot whether or not it “pays off” in college admits. Just the stress relief of doing it. If school suffers it may be that there needs to be a scaling back. </p>
<p>My (young) daughter does an individual sport that doesn’t parlay to HS etc but there are leadership roles like training others or working at the location/camps if she wanted to go that way…</p>
<p>My oldest participated in a time consuming individual club sport (20+ hrs a week of practice), and she loved it. She’d go back in a heartbeat. However, she was not a typical cc kid for whom doing it all was par for the course. She would not have been able to keep up the level of competition (and this isn’t a sport one can do recreationally–too dangerous) and maintain the academic goals she set for herself. BTW, I’d have been totally FINE with her stepping back academically. </p>
<p>If your concerns are that your child cannot manage both the sport and the academics, I’d suggest having a talk with him or her about which is more important. CC is a lot of talk about ranked colleges and class rank and stellar test scores, but lots of people live happy, financially stable, and personally fulfilling lives without any of those. If your child is perfectly happy to attend non-flagship state u, by all means, let said child continue to follow the sports passion, even if the academics slide. If the child is the one who wants the ranked school and top of the class honors, then you talk about letting go of the sport as school work becomes more time consuming.</p>
<p>I can’t imagine giving up something I love to look good for colleges. Ever. </p>
<p>Besides, I think it could look “bad” to colleges to all of a sudden give up something in your junior or senior year.</p>
<p>It boils down to: how much do you love it, and how much are you willing to sacrifice to keep doing it? It’s also my observation that with some sports there can be diminishing returns as you get older and are in the middle or bottom of the pack–I think this may be more true with team sports, though.</p>
<p>I will add, just as an aside, that I don’t think many parents would give you the advice given above if the passion was for video games.</p>
<p>If it really is her passion, I don’t see why she shouldn’t keep on doing it. The only concern would be if the time commitment gets in the way of other things she does, in which case, she may want to back off on the volume.</p>
<p>As far as the college admissions thing goes, it would show commitment to a nice extracurricular, which would be more favorable than just being a joiner, but less than if she had a high level of achievement or recognition. But academics generally come first in college admissions, so if the time commitment becomes an issue, she needs to make the appropriate tradeoff.</p>
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<p>There are video game competitions with prize money, so it is not a completely useless hobby.</p>
<p>Someone talked about non flagship state universities, etc. </p>
<p>I think it’s worth talking to guidance about what kind of colleges your HS’s graduates attain with a more moderate academic achievement. You’d be surprised at the level of colleges that don’t expect 10 APs, and varsity letters in 3 sports, even from HS’s that offer all of those APs. </p>
<p>People from our school with moderate achievement but still strong academics go to Haverford, Brandeis, Tufts, Rochester, Bates, Lehigh, WUSTL, Reed, all of the women’s colleges, Occidental, Emory, NYU, Michigan, Oberlin, Vassar, CMU, Tulane, Harvey Mudd, etc. Many just took a few APs that really spoke to them and went about their lives with honors classes in the rest, and EC that they wanted to do. Many took a lot of APs but couldn’t must the As without impacting the rest of their lives. </p>
<p>These people are generally happy.</p>
<p>A passion for something is so important. I would be loathe having my child give up something they love for a result that is not guaranteed. This sport may help make your child unique, and give them something to write an essay about or mention in an interview. This process needs the child to stay true to themselves. The results of participating in this sport probably goes far beyond how they finish.</p>