I agree with all of this, but since our kids will be applying to the same colleges as the hyper-groomed kids of the PMC, I still feel that pressure. On a similar note, I've avoided the massive pay-to-play sports world, while my sons' peers and competitors are working with private trainers and driving/flying to tournaments etc. And, my so…
I agree with all of this, but since our kids will be applying to the same colleges as the hyper-groomed kids of the PMC, I still feel that pressure. On a similar note, I've avoided the massive pay-to-play sports world, while my sons' peers and competitors are working with private trainers and driving/flying to tournaments etc. And, my son just got cut from the freshman basketball team. I suspect that the networking and polish from the private team influenced the school tryouts. As you said, it made me feel TERRIBLE and I'm not sure if I would handle things differently if I had the chance to go back and change my approach.
A really good player will make the team regardless. I think it gets trickier for the 11th and 12th spots on the bench. Some kids play basketball year-round on various private teams. Those kids look the part and are playing at the peak of their (often limited) abilities at the time of the tryout. Also, high school coaches make money in the off-season coaching on travel teams, often getting to know the kids who later wish to join the school team. Plus, expensive gear looks good. Which is a long way of saying that if my son performed better, he would have made the team, but, when there are 25+ freshman trying out for 12 spots, I think there are a lot of factors at play.
(And, "Really?" followed by "I'm not doubting you..." is definitely expressing doubt.)
Just because coaches tell their teenagers that "only the best players will make the team" and the other inspirational egalitarian stuff doesn't mean they're immune to the outside pressures that influence the reality of those decisions.
Oh, the sports thing is so bad. I’m watching my friends’ kids, with no especial athletic ability, demanding and expecting to play on these club competition travel teams in addition to normal extracurricular teams because that’s what everyone else does. And that applies to rural towns too. (OMG, the hockey racket in northern Minnesota is THE WORST.)
I've said it before: travel sports is a pyramid scheme.
I played college baseball and I believe sports/competition is really good for kids, especially boys. I just balk every time I consider the travel sports option, since I know it is a scam. But there is no denying it can have short term benefits, which is hard to swallow.
I agree with all of this, but since our kids will be applying to the same colleges as the hyper-groomed kids of the PMC, I still feel that pressure. On a similar note, I've avoided the massive pay-to-play sports world, while my sons' peers and competitors are working with private trainers and driving/flying to tournaments etc. And, my son just got cut from the freshman basketball team. I suspect that the networking and polish from the private team influenced the school tryouts. As you said, it made me feel TERRIBLE and I'm not sure if I would handle things differently if I had the chance to go back and change my approach.
A really good player will make the team regardless. I think it gets trickier for the 11th and 12th spots on the bench. Some kids play basketball year-round on various private teams. Those kids look the part and are playing at the peak of their (often limited) abilities at the time of the tryout. Also, high school coaches make money in the off-season coaching on travel teams, often getting to know the kids who later wish to join the school team. Plus, expensive gear looks good. Which is a long way of saying that if my son performed better, he would have made the team, but, when there are 25+ freshman trying out for 12 spots, I think there are a lot of factors at play.
(And, "Really?" followed by "I'm not doubting you..." is definitely expressing doubt.)
Just because coaches tell their teenagers that "only the best players will make the team" and the other inspirational egalitarian stuff doesn't mean they're immune to the outside pressures that influence the reality of those decisions.
Oh, the sports thing is so bad. I’m watching my friends’ kids, with no especial athletic ability, demanding and expecting to play on these club competition travel teams in addition to normal extracurricular teams because that’s what everyone else does. And that applies to rural towns too. (OMG, the hockey racket in northern Minnesota is THE WORST.)
I've said it before: travel sports is a pyramid scheme.
I played college baseball and I believe sports/competition is really good for kids, especially boys. I just balk every time I consider the travel sports option, since I know it is a scam. But there is no denying it can have short term benefits, which is hard to swallow.