Question for parents of athletes (grandpa, travelling, student, college)
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I have issues with those who say concussions are not a serious issue. There has been a lot of research about concussions lately. This website has some good information about concussions.
According to this article: Concussions in High School Sports: Study Sheds New Light On Causes, Symptoms and Management | MomsTeam
**A new study confirms that football is still responsible for the majority of concussions at the high school level and that the symptoms of concussion clear in most cases within one week, but also shows for the first time the important role computerized neuropsychological testing is playing in concussion assessment and return to play decisions.
Football still accounts for more than half (56.8%) of all concussions, with girl's soccer (11.9%), wrestling (7.4%), girls' basketball (7.0%) and boys' soccer (6.6%) rounding out the top five (note: an even more recent 2011 study, which includes three new sports (boys and girls lacrosse and cheerleading) lists the top five as football: 53.1%, boys lacrosse (9.2%), girls soccer (7.4 %), cheerleading (4.9%), and wrestling (4.6%);
A student is more likely to get a concussion playing sports than walking down the street and getting into an accident. That doesn't mean kids shouldn't play sports, but it does mean parents need to have a realistic idea of the risk.
But someone does get scholarships. They do exist and the people who get them are real people. Additionally, for the top academic schools being an athletic recruit can help get a student into a school with a low admit rate.
I know that someone gets the scholarship. My point was that it it very unlikely that your kid will get a scholarship, much less a full ride. The overall number of kids actually getting scholarships compared to the number of kids trying for them makes it unlikely. Like I said in my first post, let them play because they enjoy it. Don't count on a scholarship.
To me it is kind of like playing the lottery as my retirement plan. I could spend thousands of dollars every year to increase my chances of winning, but it still comes down to luck. Luck that my numbers will be called, or luck that my child gets recruited and does not get injured along the way. I play for fun.
**Disclaimer: I don't spend thousands on the lottery. My point is that I could put that money into savings, or I can play with it and hope it pays off. Same as kids with sports. As long as you are having fun and not going into debt over the dream, why does it matter?
I'm really glad to read of so many parents whose child is playing for the love of the sport. At the school where I work soo many parents seem to be secretly competing with each OTHER over how many extras their child is involved in. A typical athlete may play for 2 teams, or even three during their season. One rec, one school and one travel. I see way to many kids who could use a little down time. The parents seem to think they are giving their child a better start by involving them so fully outside of school. I'm not sure that I agree.
My son (a swimmer) wasn't involved in competitive swim at age 10 . He learned to swim when he was around 5, chose not to join a swim team when his ability was appropriate for a team, quit swimming, and was involved in other sports. A year before entering high school, he thought about applying to a high school out of our district and thought if he got in it would be good to join a team to meet others, and decided to go back to swimming. During the past 3+ years he advanced to state level. He enjoy's swimming, however as far as I'm concerned can stop any time he wants, it's all his choice. BTW, he never got into the other high school! Funny how things turn out.
My son is a swimmer too! He started summer swim when he was young and he really just loved it. At 7 years old - he was getting up at the crack of dawn to swim in the summer.
No thought of scholarship ever entered my mind at that time. He was just summer swimming - and we learned the hard way - the real competition is in winter swim.
Starting last year (his junior year) I began to contemplate the fact that he might swim in college. What he lacked in natural talent - he compensated for in drive. While many young men had quit - he was still going strong.
Long story short - he will definitely swim D2 or D2 in college - IF he so chooses.
Bottom line - all the swim meet hours logged; all the travel; all the expense - I would do it again scholarship or no. He found his focus and a purpose in high school. He was part of a large team that valued early morning and late night practices. He learned to persevere; to manage his time; to be part of a team.
But someone does get scholarships. They do exist and the people who get them are real people. Additionally, for the top academic schools being an athletic recruit can help get a student into a school with a low admit rate.
And people win the lotto and they do exist and are real people. If you read my earlier post about basketball in the Pittsburgh area, there will be one D-1 recruit out of the 700 to 800 boys basketball players in this year's graduating class.
I have heard of a few instances where an athletic recruit was accepted into an Ivy League or other elite school because of his or her athletic ability. Keep in mind that these students were good enough to get a scholarship at another D-1 school and had above a 4.0 gpa with extremely high SAT or ACT scores.
I have been around these discussions about sports scholarships for about 15 years. I am still amazed of how many people tell me their child is getting a scholarship for some sport at a D-III school. D-III schools are not allowed to provide athletic scholarships regardless of what anyone has heard.
I have been around these discussions about sports scholarships for about 15 years. I am still amazed of how many people tell me their child is getting a scholarship for some sport at a D-III school. D-III schools are not allowed to provide athletic scholarships regardless of what anyone has heard.
This is true...to an extent. DIII schools cannot give athletic scholarships, but if they really want you on the team, they will find some way for you to get there, usually under the guise of financial aid or an academic scholarship.
This is true...to an extent. DIII schools cannot give athletic scholarships, but if they really want you on the team, they will find some way for you to get there, usually under the guise of financial aid or an academic scholarship.
Exactly. Although I do agree, a lot of people say their kid is on a full ride at a DIII because of sports--that is not very likely.
I had one parent at an athletic contest tell me that her then sophomore aged daughter had already been offered a 1/2 athletic, 1/2 academic scholarship for Harvard. Three things wrong with that, 1. NCAA prohibits official offers of scholarships before senior year, 2. Harvard does't give athletic scholarships 3. Harvard doesn't give academic scholarships. The look on her face was priceless when I called her out on this. She has an interesting outlook on her daughter's athletic talent to start, this was just icing on the cake.
This is true...to an extent. DIII schools cannot give athletic scholarships, but if they really want you on the team, they will find some way for you to get there, usually under the guise of financial aid or an academic scholarship.
In some ways the academic scholarships at D3 schools are better than athletic scholarships. My son has an academic scholarship at a D3 school. If he gets tired of playing football he can leave the team and keep his scholarship. Of course, there are academic standards he needs to meet to keep his scholarship but those are the same for all scholarship students at the school (not just football players).
I have issues with those who say concussions are not a serious issue. There has been a lot of research about concussions lately. This website has some good information about concussions.
According to this article: Concussions in High School Sports: Study Sheds New Light On Causes, Symptoms and Management | MomsTeam
**A new study confirms that football is still responsible for the majority of concussions at the high school level and that the symptoms of concussion clear in most cases within one week, but also shows for the first time the important role computerized neuropsychological testing is playing in concussion assessment and return to play decisions.
Football still accounts for more than half (56.8%) of all concussions, with girl's soccer (11.9%), wrestling (7.4%), girls' basketball (7.0%) and boys' soccer (6.6%) rounding out the top five (note: an even more recent 2011 study, which includes three new sports (boys and girls lacrosse and cheerleading) lists the top five as football: 53.1%, boys lacrosse (9.2%), girls soccer (7.4 %), cheerleading (4.9%), and wrestling (4.6%);
A student is more likely to get a concussion playing sports than walking down the street and getting into an accident. That doesn't mean kids shouldn't play sports, but it does mean parents need to have a realistic idea of the risk.
My last two happened belaying a child at an old job, gave the child a boost past a hard spot and stood up under a metal bar a foot off the wall and sitting on bleachers....
My last two happened belaying a child at an old job, gave the child a boost past a hard spot and stood up under a metal bar a foot off the wall and sitting on bleachers....
Shall we all never sit on bleachers?
No one is saying that concussions can't happen in "daily life"
But maybe people should know what they are talking about before making random comments like "concussions don't happen very frequently in soccer and lacrosse"
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. He learned to swim when he was around 5, chose not to join a swim team when his ability was appropriate for a team, quit swimming, and was involved in other sports. A year before entering high school, he thought about applying to a high school out of our district and thought if he got in it would be good to join a team to meet others, and decided to go back to swimming. During the past 3+ years he advanced to state level. He enjoy's swimming, however as far as I'm concerned can stop any time he wants, it's all his choice. BTW, he never got into the other high school! Funny how things turn out.
