Sports

<p>hi guys! I'm in a real tight situation right now and may have to drop playing soccer because of issues. Now one question I had was how much importance does USNA place on sports? If I drop soccer, then I'll only be playing high school baseball and swim team. Is that competitive enough? I really need support because soccer is really demanding, time consuming, money consuming, and plus im not that great at it.</p>

<p>I would say that USNA is looking for solid, high-achieving WELL ROUNDED individuals. If dropping soccer is right for you, then do it. Playing varsity sports is one piece of the puzzle that is YOU. You have other sports, and if this is what you need to do, rationally, based on your time and talent, then do what you need to do.</p>

<p>You know yourself better than anyone, one would think. Make good decisions and be well-rounded and high-achieving in all aspects of your life.</p>

<p>Would you be a starter? Will your presence be missed? Are your teammates counting on you?</p>

<p>If the answer to any of these three questions is 'yes', probably this is not the place to seek answers.</p>

<p>As I understand it, there are at least three things that participation in sports can demonstrate about you. One is that you are an active, physically fit person. Two is whether you work well as a member of a team. Three is whether you have demonstrated leadership capabilities.</p>

<p>The following are some rhetorical questions for your consideration (i.e. I am NOT expecting an answer):
In soccer, are you the team leader, a starter, or someone who contributes by practicing so fiercely, the starters get better? By dropping soccer, as USNA69 said, will you be leaving your team in a lurch? That's not thinking from a team perspective. </p>

<p>You mentioned swimming and high school baseball. How would dropping soccer impact those teams? Are you dropping soccer to take on a leadership role in one or both of your other sports? Do you need to increase your swim training time to possibly be able to compete at the collegiate level? Is your family's financial situation such that you need to cut back to two sports? Or, are you just tired of being the backup who doesn't get to play much?</p>

<p>In other words, there can be good reasons or bad reasons for changing your participation in sports or ECAs. What I would suggest is that you think about how you would feel if you needed to explain your reasons to someone else. Would you be able to explain so that an outsider would feel that your decision was made for well thought-out, mature reasons? If so, I would recommend that you go ahead and drop soccer.</p>