I’m interested in taking a recreational class at my college for the fall semester. Specifically, a soccer class. For those who have taken these types of sports classes, can you tell me what your experience was in these classes? Is it not recommended to enroll if you are not skilled at the sport? Also, how do they determine your grade for the class?
Usually these classes are designed for beginners / intermediates, although some schools offer more advanced options for some sports. Bit in general, the more advanced user will obtain more benefits from club / intramural sports.
Just like every other course, the instructor will have a grading rubric. Showing up is half the battle. A weekend warrior (or a total non-athlete) can get an A and a skilled athlete can get a D. But really, unless you out no effort into it, it’s hard to not get an A-level grade.
@skieurope Thank you. I was interested in taking one but I was uncertain whether it would ruin my GPA or not and how extreme it would be. So, is it like a high school PE class where they give an A based more on effort rather than skill?
Some grade on skills. Do not think of it as an easy A.
Even my high school PE classes were graded and had a written test on the rules of the sport.
I found written tests to be easy and I’m fairly skilled in the sport but I haven’t played it in a while. Would it be easy if I’m fairly skilled and put in the effort?
How would we know? We don’t know the teacher, the sport, the grading policies of your school. You may pick the one sport/instructor who expects you to have professional level skills to get an A.
It is compared to quantum mechanics. 
As I said, the instructor will provide a grading rubric. It’s very possible that there will be tests (which are probably not hard) and percent based on skills. So it’s not 100% based on showing up.
If it’s not a graduation requirement, take it P/F. If it is a graduation requirement, then everybody is in the same boat. I highly doubt they’re curving to a B-.Just put in the effort.
Anyway, since the question is really specific to the college you are attending, current students would have more specifics. There may also be an official/unofficial course guide with ratings.
I just wanted to ask in general what it was like. That’s why I also asked for people’s experiences taking a sport’s class so I could know what it was like for them.
Often, college PE courses are leveled (beginner, intermediate, etc.). Is this not the case at your college?
@ucbalumnus I believe it is a beginner course but it doesn’t state it so I wouldn’t be too sure. It also says there is a final exam. What were your final exams like the college PE courses that you took if you took any?
I took an ice skating class. We were expected to master some skills including jumps. The test was a skills test so edges, tracing figures, jumps. It was very difficult. It was also at 8 am so attendance wasn’t a ‘gimme’ either.
@twoinanddone That sounds pretty difficult. Was this ice skating class a beginners class? Also, how many times a week did you guys meet and how long was your class on the day you met?
This is going to vary by college. IME, classes that run for the full semester are 2 hours per week. So either 2 times a week for an hour or once a week for 2 hours. Some courses would only meet for half a semester but meet 4 hours per week.
Usually people are taking a course to expose them to something new, like archery or SCUBA, rather than to enhance a skill they already have. But it really all depends.
Thanks @skieurope
For those who signed up for a recreational sports class, were there a lot of experienced people in the class or were most of the people beginners?
Here’s my opinion. I’d say it’ll be almost entirely beginners, if not all of them will be new to the sport. And they may meet 2-3 times per week for an hour. If you show up and pay attention, then you’ll get an A. Experienced soccer players do not take classes. They play intramural or club.
I think it was a beginner class although I’d been skating since I was 6 or 7 and could certainly skate back and forth. Jumps were new to me. I think it was twice a week for an hour probably for 2 credits.
My daughter took tennis her last semester. She’d played before but was no Steffi Graf. I do think it was more a ‘show up and you’ll pass’ class. Her biggest issue was she had the flu twice that semester (both types A and B) so several times had to drag herself to class. She also took Spanish 1 even though she’d taken Spanish since 6th grade, through AP Spanish in hs, and taking it in college was probably harder than it should have been.
College is a time to expand your experiences. Try the new sport. Don’t worry about the grade or take it pass/fail as has been suggested or take it as non-credit.
@twoinanddone I’m not sure if I have the option of taking it as non-credit. I just don’t want to enroll where it ends up that everyone else is super experienced in the sport. I also want it to be fun and not overly stressful that I’ll be wondering whether I will get an A or not. Were the other people in your daughter’s tennis class experienced players? Was there a final and what was it?
I took a golf class when I was in college. I wanted to learn how to play and it was far less expensive than lessons at a course would have been. There was a book and some assignments relating to the rules of golf. The final exam was part written and a putting course similar to miniature golf. In my opinion, it would have been difficult not to pass as long as you came to the class.
@my2sonsfromca Do you remember if a lot of other people in the golf class were beginners? Also, this might be a dumb question but was it a co-ed class?
Yes most of us were beginners, I believe it was a beginning golf class. Yes, it was co-ed.