<p>doubleplay, that endless cycle is a killer. The whole college helicoptering thing reminds me of the commercialization of youth sports. My son is a baseball player, but we’ve never paid one red cent for private batting or pitching lessons. We had a very competitive rec program so we never felt compelled to put him on select teams. It was difficult in the early years when all these other kids were starting infield and my kid subbed in the outfield and maybe got an inning at second base, but we just weren’t going to spend thousands of dollars on what was supposed to be fun. We knew he was never going to win a sports scholarship. But he hung in there and last year played HS varsity as a freshman, as his skills improved with maturity. Meanwhile some former teammates had elbow surgery at 12 from overuse!</p>
<p>Bottom line: When you see “everyone else” doing it, it’s hard not to buy into the whole game. But that’s why I come on CC, to get my college anxieties out here and not let my son know I even have any!!! I want to be informed so I can help him know the questions that need to be asked. I was first-generation college and had no help whatsoever.</p>