When does it become about the education?

[CoogansBluff]

I didn't realize I wrote so poorly...DD is in 8th grade. She has the grades and test scores to attend a very exclusive public school that specializes in Math and Science. You must be invited to attend. They have no sports at this school. OR she can attend a very good Private school that I will pay for that does have SB for 4 years.

DD wants to play SB in college. She does not need an athletic scholarship to go to college. She plays club/tournament ball now and would continue. The question is...would your kid lose to much by not playing 4 years of HS ball. Could you make up for that on your own. Would going to the math and science school pretty much end your chances of playing college ball. Should you care that your kid might not play in college. I hear it's about the education when referring to what college to choose. Would you put your kid in one HS because they average 150 pts more on the SAT? 1950 vs 2100?

I wouldn't worry much about the SAT difference. The more important thing is the quality of the teachers, not the students. It's not always easy to measure that, though. ...

As far as sports in high school, it depends on your daughter. Mine likes school ball more than travel ball. She sees TB as something she needs to do to play quickly on a very good high school team some day. But other kids don't like school ball, especially if the school team is mediocre or worse. I'd think your daughter's personality would determine much of this.

 

[David Carter]

If she really enjoys academics and excels go for the math and science school, she can still enjoy the high school experience even if it is more geared towards math bowls, robotics competitions, etc. Then for her athletic outlet she can just continue travel ball, I am not really seeing a conflict here, is high school really just about the sports?

 

[softballphreak]

Go to the school with sports. Not only will she be able to play softball, she might want to participate in other sports, also. And the atmosphere of HS games in football (especially Friday nights), basketball. baseball, softball is hard to beat.

LOTS of great memories to last a lifetime!

 

[Greenmonsters]

Academics will take her a lot further in life than SB ever will and she can play TB regardless if there's school SB or not.

 

[Coach-n-Dad]

I didn't realize I wrote so poorly...DD is in 8th grade. She has the grades and test scores to attend a very exclusive public school that specializes in Math and Science. You must be invited to attend. They have no sports at this school. OR she can attend a very good Private school that I will pay for that does have SB for 4 years.

DD wants to play SB in college. She does not need an athletic scholarship to go to college. She plays club/tournament ball now and would continue. The question is...would your kid lose to much by not playing 4 years of HS ball. Could you make up for that on your own. Would going to the math and science school pretty much end your chances of playing college ball. Should you care that your kid might not play in college. I hear it's about the education when referring to what college to choose. Would you put your kid in one HS because they average 150 pts more on the SAT? 1950 vs 2100?

Thank you for the clarification.

HS softball is not necessary in order to play in college, TB is where softball players get recruited. That being said; HS sports are fun and IMO an important part of growing into a well rounded adult (either playing or cheering for your HS).

Most importantly, what does your DD want to do for HS?

 

[sluggers]

Would going to the math and science school pretty much end your chances of playing college ball?

No, not with softball. With other sports such as basketball, yes....but not softball.

Should you care that your kid might not play in college.

No. First, she could quit playing softball in HS. When kids hit HS, they develop other interests...drama, choir, band, chess club, whatever. She might come in one day and say, "I love to play the TUBA!!"

Second, she might quit after HS. The best athlete in my DD's HS (4000+ students) didn't play in college. She was a great soccer player and swimmer, but didn't want to practice any more. (Practice gets progressively more difficult and more boring as the skill level of the athlete increases).

Finally, I had two kids who played in college. It ain't what you think it is. It is not a world filled with intelligent coaches, perfect facilities, and hard working student athletes. It is just more of the same that you get in travel ball. Most likely, your team will lose its last game of the season, a non-deserving player will start in CF, and your DD won't get enough playing time. People (including you) don't change because she throws a softball around and wears a college uniform.

 

[Indiana]

IP, I understand your situation. I grew up in a small town in MA; our high school was very academically and achievement oriented. If you didn't play 3 varsity sports and get all A's in all the hardest classes you may as well buy yourself a pair of board shorts and move to Fiji because your life was pretty much over. Oh, and if you didn't get into Harvard you needed to go to school as far away as possible so the other moms wouldn't see you in the grocery store and comment on how you went to "gasp" a state school.

I think living in CO has mellowed me. I read the "tiger mom" book and I saw it as a mom's very public apology to her daughters. I've met people who have taken all pathways in life and pretty much everyone I meet is a generally happy person. I understand the highly competitive environment of the Northeast, but I now understand and appreciate that a good education can be had anywhere. It is up to the student to make of it what she will. If your daughter's true passion lies with math and science - if she is constantly doing problem sets for fun and has her own chemistry set, then by all means, go for the math and science school. Otherwise, do what will allow her to be happy, well rounded, and able to follow her passion. In saying this, I absolutely do not mean that she should be OK with achieving below her best - quite the opposite. A well rounded school may give her more opportunities to find out what her best is, and to reach for it with everything she's got.

In looking at the SAT scores, I attibute the delta more to the students themselves. The one school most likely has more students who are studying for the SAT on their own, getting outside tutoring, etc. You could argue that kids from the public satellite school are more motivated to do well on their SATs because they may have a greater need for scholarship money. Take a look at college admissions from each school. The Harvards of the world typically have quotas for satellite schools; for example, they will take exactly two students from that school each year. Now your daughter would be in a position where she has to compete for two slots. Going to a more well rounded school may actually give her a BETTER chance of getting into the school of her choice.

Others here know much more than I do about college recruiting for sports; I'll just say that playing school sports gives you one more coach in your corner. Playing TB only, you are depending on one team for exposure - two teams gives you two shots at finding a coach who will advocate on your DD's behalf.

 

[InsidePitch]

We decided to let DD make the final decision and she's going to the Private school so she can take Latin, learn the flute, go to Europe, learn Field Hockey and play BB.

 

[Indiana]

That's great - sounds like she made the best decision for her. I didn't mean to knock satellite schools in my last post, my cousin went to a satellite school in Virginia; it was the perfect choice for him; he went on to Cornell and MIT and is now a theoretical physicist, married to a theoretical physicist, with a genius baby

Good luck to your DD, my freshman daughter has grown more in the past 6 months or so than she has in the past 5 years; it's an exciting time (and yep, I just checked my daughter's online grades - I still have some tiger mother in me!)

 

[InsidePitch]

Thanks Indiana. We are looking at the softball camp at Cornell for this summer and maybe UVA and A&M. Not all 3, the tourney season has one off weekend this summer.