Hi,
I’m a freshman in high school and have been playing basketball my whole life. I made the frosh soph team and was very excited.
However basketball is extremely time consuming. Even at a lower level, we have early practices, fundraisers and games.
My parents think I should quit to focus on my academics. I have all As in advance classes but I plan to take more APs. However, I’m not that tall and definitely don’t have a high chance at varsity, and no way at a collegiate level.
If I quit, I’ll be able to study more and do more volunteer activies, clubs, etc. I haven’t done much of any of that because of basketball. However, basketball has motivated and made my many of my best friends. I don’t want to miss out on high school sports, but being successful in college is more important. I have heard stories of the stand out basketball players at my school, just end up going to some community college. Any thoughts?
Thanks
Playing on the high school team after this year doesn’t sound like a great plan. Are there any recreational/club teams you could play on that only practice a couple of times a week? That might be a good compromise.
Do you really enjoy basketball overall? Think about the other ECs you’d participate in if you didn’t play basketball. Between playing basketball vs. not playing, which one would give you less stress and more enjoyment? You don’t have to quit just because you can’t see yourself playing basketball in college. If you enjoy playing basketball, then stick with it.
Personally I believe that more rigorous academics, volunteer activities, and club involvement would be better than another year of time-consuming basketball, considering that you do not plan to getting into varsity. You can still use your free time to play with your friends or community, but I don’t think that it’s worth it to give up other parts of your application to play a sport that you do not plan on pursuing in the future. That’s just my opinion though.