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This is all very new to me but my Freshman daughter is highly competitive in her sport (Running and track and field) She currently attends a 2A private school but she is highly motivated to run for a 6A school. If we find a school that is good both academically and in her sport, should we move? Her times are comparable to other runners in the 6A school. We are flexible and could make a move without disrupting the family life too much. Has anyone else switched schools primarily for sports? Thanks, Pam
Usually, many athletes are able to socialize well with their peers more easily. So, I suspect the size of the school won't really matter to your daughter. Ask her and make sure that would be the case. Financial factor doesn't seem to be a factor for you in this case. Doesn't sound like you need to move. If you do, are there other children you have to consider as well?
Do you mean actually pack up the whole family, sell the house, move to a different location, buy another house all so a kid can play for a bigger school?
No. Sit her down right now and explain sports are fun, but college is about learning and preparation for her adult career. Unless she's another Flo Jo life after school won't be track but a career in something. She should focus on getting into the college that best prepares her for her career, not an imaginary track scholarship.
We had this same talk with ours. She was an excellent soccer player and recruited by several small D3 colleges. She choose instead to go to an R1 and focus on academics and now has an excellent career. Several of her peers accepted the soccer scholarships and gave them up after a couple of years to switch to an academic school. They found playing sports for college was their job and academics were secondary.
Has anyone else switched schools primarily for sports? Thanks, Pam
In Pennsylvania if you get caught switching schools "for sports" then your kid may be barred from scholastic competition.
It happened at the small Catholic school my kids went to. A student-athlete at one of the giant public schools in our area was unhappy with some aspects of his basketball team (coaching style, playing time, whatever) so he transferred to our school where he would be a big fish in a small pond. Then his Mom wrote a letter gloating about it, to his old coach. The coach could have thrown the letter away but he went to the PIAA and had the kid banned. (Disclaimer: I was told this by my son who was on the basketball team, at least 5 years ago. I have no direct knowledge of what happened)
So don't go around telling people you are switching schools "for sports"!
This is all very new to me but my Freshman daughter is highly competitive in her sport (Running and track and field) She currently attends a 2A private school but she is highly motivated to run for a 6A school. If we find a school that is good both academically and in her sport, should we move? Her times are comparable to other runners in the 6A school. We are flexible and could make a move without disrupting the family life too much. Has anyone else switched schools primarily for sports? Thanks, Pam
If her times are comparable it means there are lots of kids as fast as she is, not just in that school but many others.
Maybe a partial college scholarship at a Division 2 or 3 school would be possible.
If this would not a big sacrifice for your family you might give it a thought, especially if your daughter is highly motivated to do well both academically and athletically. Especially, if she is a legit D1 prospect with good grades and running means so much to her. If her times are closer to average then you probably might want to see a very specific reason why this move will help her in a long run.
In Pennsylvania if you get caught switching schools "for sports" then your kid may be barred from scholastic competition.
It happened at the small Catholic school my kids went to. A student-athlete at one of the giant public schools in our area was unhappy with some aspects of his basketball team (coaching style, playing time, whatever) so he transferred to our school where he would be a big fish in a small pond. Then his Mom wrote a letter gloating about it, to his old coach. The coach could have thrown the letter away but he went to the PIAA and had the kid banned. (Disclaimer: I was told this by my son who was on the basketball team, at least 5 years ago. I have no direct knowledge of what happened)
So don't go around telling people you are switching schools "for sports"!
Yep. Many state athletic organizations take a very dim view of switching schools for sports and impose sanctions on both the athlete and the school.
It got so bad where I taught in Maryland that coaches had to verify the address of every team member. One school was sanctioned by the state organization for its abuse on the track team.
Do you mean actually pack up the whole family, sell the house, move to a different location, buy another house all so a kid can play for a bigger school?
No. Sit her down right now and explain sports are fun, but college is about learning and preparation for her adult career. Unless she's another Flo Jo life after school won't be track but a career in something. She should focus on getting into the college that best prepares her for her career, not an imaginary track scholarship.
We had this same talk with ours. She was an excellent soccer player and recruited by several small D3 colleges. She choose instead to go to an R1 and focus on academics and now has an excellent career. Several of her peers accepted the soccer scholarships and gave them up after a couple of years to switch to an academic school. They found playing sports for college was their job and academics were secondary.
I agree. Why the hell do people disrupt their lives for kids' sports? That makes as much sense as people who spend tens of thousands over the years for traveling sports in the hope their kids get scholarships. Put it into a damn savings account and the kid can graduate debt free (or close to it).
I agree. Why the hell do people disrupt their lives for kids' sports? That makes as much sense as people who spend tens of thousands over the years for traveling sports in the hope their kids get scholarships. Put it into a damn savings account and the kid can graduate debt free (or close to it).
The situation is often much more nuanced.
Sometimes kids fall in love with a sport and it starts playing a big role in kids' lives. Sometimes it even helps academics and also keeps kids out of trouble. If kids dream of playing post high school and have enough talent (so this is not just a pipe dream), they know very well that they need a decent GPA to play in college
(OK, money making sports like football and basketball is a different story perhaps). It is almost impossible to get admitted say to UC San Diego even if a coach say of some niche sport supports your admission unless you have at least 3.7 GPA and decent test scores. I know a kid who was on a US national junior team and was heavily recruited by a coach but was denied an admission to that Ivy school because his GPA was just 4.0.
I also know a couple of kids who worked their tails off in practice week in and week out (about 15 hours per week) for many years and then got admitted to UCLA and UCSD on their own merits (without coaches support) and did not want to play sport in college.
Sport nurtures a lot of friendships that sometimes last many years. As long as academics is in good shape, it is great if kids are serious about sports...
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