Hi. My son is a junior and earned a spot on JV lacrosse. This will be his 3rd year playing JV. All but two juniors made Varsity. My son is bummed he didn’t make the team. He was a starter in JV last year. He has a very heavy academic schedule, volunteers at a hospital and has a job playing jazz guitar at a retirement facility. He also just earned his Eagle rank. He wants to stop playing lacrosse since he didn’t make varsity and he wants to focus on getting a high GPA. Will it look bad to colleges if he stops playing?
No, it will be fine if he stops. However, if he stays on JV he will probably get a lot of playing time. That’s the benefit of being the best on a lower team.
This happened to my nephew and my sister threw a fit and got him moved up. He played very little.
If he doesn’t enjoy LAX anymore, then stop playing. As long as he doesn’t need it to satisfy a PE requirement.
I just read something about this the other day…I believe the takeaway was that quitting because you realize you aren’t ‘good enough’ isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It shows a level of maturity/acceptance. As you said, he has other things he wants to focus on. Sticking with lacrosse to check off another box on a college application seems silly in his case.
He will be fine if he doesn’t play lax any longer. Kids are growing and realizing their true passions and interest at this age. Sometimes, something goes. Not a problem. Could even turn into his essay.
Having the Eagle award is huge. Nothing shows greater commitment to something. This is what colleges really like to see. It also shows his character. Congratulations.
Agree, it is no issue for him to stop lacrosse. Academics should always come first and it sounds like he has other valuable ECs. Admissions officer understand that HS is a time where people try different things – it is perfectly fine to play two years of JV lacrosse and then stop.