Hi, I am currently a junior in high school. I was not good enough to make the starting lineup for the varsity tennis team, so I am now on the bench, meaning that I do not get to play varsity games. There is only frosh-soph and varsity for tennis at my team, so I cannot drop down to jv. I do enjoy tennis, but I have not been practicing in the past few months due to my rigorous class schedule at a top 5 performing public school in California. Should I just quit varsity if my chances of beating my way back to the starting lineup are below 0.1% to pursue my other passions, such as getting an internship in computer science or biology or getting a job? I feel that attending practice every day does not do much for me because I cannot play any official matches, meaning that I will not receive a varsity letter. What would you guys do in this situation. Also, if I choose to stay in varsity but am on bench for the rest of the season, can I still put varsity tennis on common apps even if I did not receive a varsity letter? Do varsity letters matter or does my commitment to the team matter more? I am worried that not receiving a varsity letter shows that I am not committed and not good enough to exceed in tennis. Thank you!
Your choice. If you feel you will get more out of another EC, drop tennis.
Yes, if you are on the team, you can list it.
No. Unless you are a recruited athlete, varsity athletics is no better and no worse than any other EC.
Agree, unless you are a recruited athlete (which I assume you are not) then tennis is viewed as a nice EC but nothing more. If you can fill your time with things that you prefer and can make more of an impact doing then go for it.
And agree that if you were on the team, you can put varsity tennis for the two years.