Daughter Uninterested in other sports at HS level

[Eric F]

Well, she is only 14, so?????? Not really old enough to make decisions on her own, yet.

Bummer to hear you have that opinion. I would agree that some decisions need to be over-ruled, and some need parental guidance, but something like our DD's path in their own sports activities should be their decision (IMO). It's their journey, not ours.

 

[bmakj]

this brings to mind a idea I had, want to see what y'all think about it. . . . varsity athletes should have PE waived if they are in season, or doing offseason voluntary but organized workouts.

to me, especially once you get to HS, PE is about making certain teens get some physical activity (few rec oppportunities in sports at that age, etc.). a varsity athlete is getting plenty of activity, and you also then make the coaches take some time each week to focus on taking care of your body, nutrition, etc.. give the athletes a study hall rather than PE.

DD will be a three sport athlete this year (frosh), something in every season, plus in two of those sports she competes and trains outside of HS. this kid is plenty active, PE time could be better spent studying, etc.

good or bad idea?

 

[pyaeger98]

Exact same situation as yours. DD played both softball and basketball since about 4th or 5th grade. Softball was always top choice and she was a better player. Basketball she was good, but more of a 1st off the bench type on a very good team. 9th grade rolled around, she had started attending the HS summer workouts and scrimmages. Day before one of her games, she came up to us and said she didn't want to play basketball anymore. We insisted she give it a couple days and go to her games that evening. She was out on the court, about half way through the games, looked over at us and mouthed "I'm done". Never played again and hasn't regretted it for a second. She stayed away from the BB games for about a year, but after that went to all the HS games and cheered the rest of the team on (finished 2nd at state). I would have loved to see her play in HS, but she quite simply she just lost the joy in playing BB and she made the right decision. Focused on softball and is in her freshman year playing in college.

 

[sluggers]

We think it would be good for her and she would regret quitting. That being said, should we continue pushing?

No. It is her journey.

My DD#3 was an excellent softball player, but loved basketball. She quit playing softball her junior year of HS. I was very upset, but I knew it was her choice. Six years later, she is holding the NCAA D3 National Championship trophy for basketball.

So, let her do what she wants and support her.

 

[clarity]

Whose life is this?

at 14?

 

[Gambler Bob]

this brings to mind a idea I had, want to see what y'all think about it. . . . varsity athletes should have PE waived if they are in season, or doing offseason voluntary but organized workouts.

to me, especially once you get to HS, PE is about making certain teens get some physical activity (few rec oppportunities in sports at that age, etc.). a varsity athlete is getting plenty of activity, and you also then make the coaches take some time each week to focus on taking care of your body, nutrition, etc.. give the athletes a study hall rather than PE.

DD will be a three sport athlete this year (frosh), something in every season, plus in two of those sports she competes and trains outside of HS. this kid is plenty active, PE time could be better spent studying, etc.

good or bad idea?

Good idea.

There is very little time to get homework done on a week night after an away game. Basketball games end about 6:15 pm, normally get home about 7pm. Eat dinner, take a shower do some homework and go to bed. Very difficult to fit a pitching or hitting lesson in during the week when they play games or practice 5 days a week. The study hall class would be a very nice option to have instead of PE.

 

[clarity]

That being said, should we continue pushing?

That's not pushing. That's parenting. Obviously her input matters, but at that age she still needs guidance.

 

[MNDad]

DD played HS basketball through 10th grade. It helped improve her athleticism and did wonders for her foot speed. Helped teach her to be humble too and appreciate how import role players are. In the end though she was constantly stressed. She attended a large HS where every other varsity basketball member played AAU. That meant limited varsity minutes and mostly JV time.

It would be easy to say she just wasn’t that good. I’ll readily admit she wasn’t a great bball player. She was decent though and had all the tools. 6’3” and athletic enough to play college softball. It was just too much to be competitive at both softball and bball while also maintaining a high GPA.

Don’t be too hard on your DD or force her to continue playing multiple sports. If she wants to play in college, especially at a high level, she’ll need to dedicate more time to softball. In most cases that means forgoing other sports in HS. I know there’s plenty of memes going around about D1 coaches wanting multi sport athletes. That’s almost always in the context of parents making kids specialize too early and people latch on to it and try to apply it to HS kids. Most college softball players specialized in HS, especially at higher levels.

 

[efastball]

at 14?

We are talking about a sport, not whether to date a 30 year old drug dealer. Apologies to 30 year old drug dealers.

 

[MNDad]

Good idea.

There is very little time to get homework done on a week night after an away game. Basketball games end about 6:15 pm, normally get home about 7pm. Eat dinner, take a shower do some homework and go to bed. Very difficult to fit a pitching or hitting lesson in during the week when they play games or practice 5 days a week. The study hall class would be a very nice option to have instead of PE.

Especially when they’re on JV and suit for varsity games all on the same night.