<p>So I notice that just about everyone on this site plays some Tennis or Golf or some individual sport, but very few people here actually play a major team sport such as baseball, basketball, or football. I've played varsity basketball all four years of highschool, usually practicing 3 hours a day, five days a week, 40 weeks a year, and my other EC's aren't as strong as they could be because of it (still ok, have debate awards, chess team, cum laude, nhs, spanish club, mu alpha theta). Anyway, the truth is that I know many people who play tennis and golf for my school, and those sports are nowhere close to as time consuming as basketball, so many of them have time for ec's that i don't have. Now I'm not good enough to play college, but I'm not bad (I'll probably start this year), and I was just wondering are colleges going to be more impressed with team varsity sports than the generic, athletically inferior sports that seem to pop up around here (crew, cc, tennis, golf, etc.).</p>
<p>YOUNG...........Now I'm not good enough to play college, but I'm not bad (I'll probably start this year), and I was just wondering are colleges going to be more impressed with team varsity sports than the generic, athletically inferior sports that seem to pop up around here (crew, cc, tennis, golf, etc.)...........</p>
<p>Me thinks you boast just a bit too much - go with what you got and don't demean anyone who does it differently than you do. OOO and BTW - your ''impressive'' varsity sport really won't make a difference - cuz they all have their own value - which are by no means ''inferior'' as you may think.</p>
<p>What do you mean by individual sports? Are you saying that golf, tennis, etc. lack in sportsmanship in the team aspect? </p>
<p>First of all, each school looks at sports differently because each school is...different. It sounds like you're basing your opinions on the views of Big Ten schools which don't even want you. How do I know? Are D3 schools even scouting you? </p>
<p>And since when are baseball, football, and basketball superior sports. Aren't those three sports the "generic" ones? I'm a wrestler, and I know plenty of football starters that would never try my sport. I know wrestling is respected when people don't even want to try it. Don't bash tennis, golf, and crew either. It's not like because you play basketball, you can do all of those sports.</p>
<p>come on....please do not begin to compare cross country with a real team sport, nor crew nor golf. The fact is that team sports require a significantly greater commitment than the sports you see listed around here. I'm just wondering if colleges understand which sports require greater commitments than others.</p>
<p>cross country is the ultimate dork sport. Look at who they "compete" against. Pretty much just other dorks. Any sport that doesn't cut/tryout those who wish to compete is basically a joke.</p>
<p>if you have true talent and excel at a very high level (ie state or national level), of course that is significant, even if it is x-country or tennis or golf. Just saying that in general the sports where anyone can participate without a baseline level of talent are pretty much worthless. Like joining the math club, etc.. Who cares? The major team sports that have tryouts and cuts require a lot more.</p>
<p>YOUNG - I would put 'your' sport up against competative swimming any day of the week - and you would loose - it is the kind of sport that is team and individual as well. OO and when was the last time you got up at 5am to practice your sport?? - like many crew teams in college do.</p>
<p>You really DON"T have a clue do you - you are really speaking from a high school perspective - which really does have a limited amount of time to participate in. </p>
<p>Colleges really don't look at the sports you mention as inferior - they are much more cultured than that. If you can't cut the mustard in 'your' sport - you won't be playing in college anyways.</p>
<p>YOUNG I guess my question to you would be - how do you know that any sport is inferior to 'your' sport - what is your explanation of what that inferior sport is and why is it so??</p>
<p>Not all sports are 'team' sports - and all will have their own value at every school that has that particular sport. All sports take an enormous amount of time and committment - which is recognized by colleges for those who really shine in their particular sport.</p>
<p>at most schools (i don't know what kind of joke school you go to), the commitment is the same at the varsity level for all sports (practice from 2:45 to 5:30 here). some sports, like xc, require even more time commitment (they have saturday practices, and load the bus oftentimes at 6 AM for meets, not returning home until 3 PM or later).</p>
<p>sports that do not "cut" at the jv level do so not because of the calibur of competition, but because of the nature of the coaching and space available. all of these sports "cut" at the varsity level. an XC team, for example, has only seven varsity runners. our school golf team has only four varsity golfers.</p>
<p>finally, the sports you listed are not athletically subpar to basketball. in fact, i would argue that cross country is the most physically demanding sport at the highschool level, speaking on terms of sheer willpower needed to overcome the extreme physical exhaustion a runner faces at the competitive level. the team often jokes about how it would be nice to play a "fun" sport like basketball. most runners on the xc team at my school are not "dorks" - they are varsity basketball players, varsity baseball players, track stars and all running addicts. on more than one occassion a varisty basketball player has been carried away in an ambulance after vomitting and then passing out. when was the last time that happened to you at a basketball game? </p>
<p>yes, it is true that tennis, golf are common sports asians gravitate towards. colleges may prefer a basketball player simply because he or she looks a little different in that stack of apps, but they will not see basketball as "harder" and they will NOT take a dumb jock over a smart golfer. sadly, it seems that you fall into the "dumb jock" category many football and basketball players do (though certainly not all of them). unfortunately, you're not going to help the representation of your sport at a top school, i don't think, because you probably won't be there. so you shouldn't worry so much about those "dorks" who have more time for ECs than you. they'll be going to schools on a different tier than you, i imagine.</p>
<p>Doesn't matter what it is, matters how good you are at it. Colleges could careless if you're a varsity athlete on some reject football team. They will take notice if you're a nationally ranked athlete in an "inferior sport" such as gymnastics or so.</p>
<p>I have nothing else to add besides...</p>
<p>Most sports are played with one ball. Wrestling requires two.</p>
<p>um... so it seems like you can run up and down 3 miles of hills in less than 15 minutes. or we'll make that 14 if you're as good at sports as you say you are. if not, well, you're slower than a dork.</p>