Hi all, please help with suggestions. My son just started 9th grade, and is good enough to get into USTA junior national tournaments, but not good enough to come close to winning them (he’s not one of the homeschooled/academy tennis wunderkinds). It’s still a time consuming sport, and with high school academics, he doesn’t have the time (or interest) to devote to other ECs like robotics, debate, journalism, etc. I am trying to suggest other ECs for him to explore, which might work with his training schedule. It doesn’t have to be a school club, but anything that might pique and sustain his interest for the next few years and is not necessarily time intensive. He does love all sports (fantasy leagues) and has a little interest in computers.
He could do something like Habitat for Humanities which could include a weekend (or Saturday) build, so concentrated time and not every week. Something at your church which is also just one day per week? Tutoring a younger kid with a flexible schedule? Teaching tennis or working with a group like Special Olympics to teach tennis?
Boys Club/Girls Club tennis coach? (nice volunteer work with an activity he already loves). Volunteering at a local nursing home or assisted living facility helping residents use email, learn how to facetime with family members, get their hometown newspapers online? Interning at your local newspaper or local access cable TV station on the sports desk? (gopher, compiling sports statistics, fact checking for scripts for the on-air talent). These are in the “two hours a week” category. Do you need summer suggestions?
If it does not exist in his school he could try to start a school club for athletes who pledge to be chemical and alcohol free scholar athletes. We have one at our school and admission is by nomination from the coaches. There is a faculty advisor. The organization focuses on community service and mentoring young athletes to adopt a healthy lifestyle. It would give him leadership and community involvement on his ECs, plus set a positive example at the school.
I might look to add volunteering with a community service group – it doesn’t matter if the volunteering is done through a school club, within you community, as part of a religious group, etc. It also doesn’t have to be every week but hopefully it can be something he can fit in regularly – such as Habitat for Humanity builds, volunteering at a soup kitchen or something along those lines. I love the idea above of coaching special needs kids in tennis but that may be too time consuming.
I also recommend that he use his summers wisely – doing anything constructive (including a job) is fine.
OP - you mentioned your son has no interest in other extracurriculars. Is he experiencing burnout from tennis? Is he also playing high school tennis? We stopped club sports with our smart, athletic child in 9th grade (had multiple state championships). He played varsity in high school (one sport) and found other high school activities to join (he worked his way up to leadership positions by junior and senior years). One of his volunteer activities was teaching his sport to kids in a Title 1 school whose families couldn’t afford club sports.
Set up a fantasy league with the school - get is as an official club. My kid and his friends did a fantasy football thing. It wasn’t “affiliated” with the school. But they did make up Tshirts with the “school name football league.” You could add the other sports too. It ended up pretty cool and they are still doing it online in college.
My daughter is in the same boat. She’s started volunteering at a local animal shelter every other Sunday afternoon. They’re flexible, so during winter months when we travel a bit for her sport, they don’t mind her missing. And she’s obsessed with dogs and cats so it’s a great fit! She also may try a lifeguarding course or work at a summer camp this summer since the commitment is only during the summer and won’t interfere with her sport.
- helping handicapped athletes work out? Achilles International may have a chapter near you. Their hours are flexible and all levels are appreciated.
Does he like chess? Great for teaching strategic thinking, doesn’t have to take much time, and competitions are usually optional so he doesn’t have to be on another competitive circuit.
I think “yourmomma” is on the right track. Set up his own informal student group. It could be devoted to fantasy sports. And it could be a way to encourage the use of computers and statistical analysis. Go with the seasons: baseball and football (could be basketball and hockey).
My son was a journalist and debater in high school. Both were very time-consuming, and he won state-level awards in both, as well as in math competitions. But his main recreation was fantasy baseball. That led to his learning to use spreadsheets and also gathering stats for his league(s). Kids can help one another on this. At the time he was engaged in Scoresheet Baseball. This activity can be ad hoc or based on one of the other tools out there.
These days – unlike when my son was doing this – there is a ton of data online about major sports, including soccer, baseball, American football, hockey, and basketball. This is information that can easily be downloaded. (There is also a huge amount of political data for those who might want to follow that “sport.” Data on all of these can be found on FiveThirtyEight.com as well as many other websites.)
But to make sure this isn’t only recreational, give it an applied statistics focus, perhaps even be a “club” that the school might or might not approve. Maybe even a teacher in statistics (if the course is offered) would be willing to work with the group. Emphasize the mastering of analytic tools and skills, not just winning the fantasy competition.
I would look for service opportunities…do you go to a house of worship?
You all are AMAZING! Thank you! We have discussed volunteer activities already, and he is aware that his school requires it for the IB diploma, but I was concerned that his school’s clubs introduction event already occurred, and he didn’t really sign up for anything. Chercheur, I don’t think he’s burned out, I think it’s the opposite - an all-consuming passion for all things sports. I WISH he would be like your son and be able to join something that would allow him to have a leadership position later on! He doesn’t get online to play video games, or Snapchat; he gets online to read ESPN articles and plan for his fantasy football league. I LOVE the idea of bringing stats into it. I love the cc community - YOU ALL ARE THE BEST!
Yeah, the kids would go nuts with the stats, trades, etc. I used to joke to them that fantasy sports was Dungeons and Dragons for jocks. 
My kid thought about becoming a referee for a sport he liked. He could have done recreational sport referee on weekends…and gotten paid well.
My swim team kid worked as a life guard. Also on weekends…and in summers.
Could your kid work at camps for younger kids starting his sport?
I would suggest some form of volunteer work over spending time on fantasy sports. Fantasy sports does not really give you any sort of consideration in the college app process, where many schools do like to see if the kid is a nice kid and has helped others in his/her community. Fantasy Sports is more related to " gambling". so even if there is no gambling going on, I’m not convinced Admission Officers are going to the thrilled to read about in an application.
I also like the idea of getting licensed to be a referee for town sports as a part time job, both of my kids did this. Its shows further involvement in something the kid already likes, and it shows they are responsible too.
And adding…one of my kids was a musician. He started his own small music instruction studio.
It’s more about starting and managing a new organization than the fantasy sports aspect of it.
I still think it would be seen as pretty frivolous by colleges. But it depends on what kind of college he wants to attend. Not a very good choice firctop colleges. Probably fine for state flagship.
I kind of agree about fantasy sports serving frivolous unless it is spun right.
However, my advice is to have him do something he enjoys. If he ends up playing his sport in college, they won’t care what it was. I made sure S who was planning on college athletics had a few things outside of participating in his sport just in case athletics didn’t work out. I also thought it was good for his mental health to have at least a couple things in his life that didn’t revolve around his sport or academics.
He also coaches his sport on the side. D who probably won’t play on college is a referee and has been an assistant coach for a young developmental team. She also had a couple things she is very active in.