- Jun 19, 2019
- 60
- 8
Well said!!!My first 3 kids are either in college or have graduated.
DS was a so-so rower on a very good rowing club. Some of the guys he rowed with in HS went to college on top-notch teams. One of his HS teammates was MVP on the world championship USA U23 world record holding team. My DS was a mid level rower and rowed with one of the best D3 teams in the country. He went to the D1 college national championships twice, beating some good D1 teams in the process. One summer he got to row with a top D1 team.
His secret? Two hours of team practice every day plus 2 more hours alone in the gym. Every day for 4 years of college.
Does that sound like fun? It was for him. He still rows competitively after college. Because it is fun for him.
People told me my DD 1 was an exceptionally talented softball player and a possible D-1 prospect. She quit softball after 3 years. She played for fun, and when she went from 12u Rec to 16u. TB in one year, she was burned out. Instead, she got an academic scholarship to her first choice college.
Similarly her boyfriend is the son of a pro athlete. He could’ve gotten a basketball scholarship, but he got an academic scholarship to his first choice college (the same one my DD 1 attends). OTOH his younger brother really wanted to play college ball, and got a D-1 scholarship.
The moral of the story?
All 4 of them, the 2 siblings who did college sports and the 2 siblings who didn’t, made the choice that made them happy. All 4 were winners in different ways. Two of them loved the idea of spending hours every day practicing a sport they loved. Two of them did not.