<p>My son has played high school basketball on the J.V. level for 3 years. He's starting his senior year, and he knows he will sit on the varsity bench this year, if he continues with basketball. He will have 4 AP classes, as well as a commitment to his club, and he's working on his college applications. Basketball practices and gym workouts last 3 hours in the preseason and as much as 5 hours in season. He would like to drop basketball to concentrate on maintaining high grades. His counselor, however, thinks he should stay in basketball. Advice?</p>
<p>IMHO
Let your son do as he wishes, to drop bball and focus on his academics and applications.</p>
<p>I’d encourage him to drop it unless he really enjoys the camaraderie and being part of the team. Certainly to hang on – just so his EC list looks like this:</p>
<p>JV BBall 9-11
V BBall 12</p>
<p>rather than:
JV BBall 9-11</p>
<p>is foolish. Most colleges DO NOT EVALUATE extracurriculars to any degree. So toughing it out for colleges’ sake is not a good idea. Maintain the high grades. They’ll assist getting into college and also prep him once he enters as a freshman.</p>
<p>I’d let him do what he wants, but be sure he understands he might miss his team. </p>
<p>I had a kid who made V based on longevity who did stay with it because he liked his teammates. Yes, it was a lot to juggle senior year, but he valued hanging out with the team one more year.</p>
<p>Great feedback. I hadn’t thought to talk with him about valuing the camaraderie of his team. Thanks for the input on staying for college sake. We are likely to let him do as he pleases. It’s just hard making decisions right now - I’m tense about this college thing!</p>