'Why I'm raising my son to be a nerd'

It's not either/or, but I'm not betting on my son getting an athletic scholarship. He is more than capable of earning an academic scholarship.

 

This link references a bunch of them:

http://www.iahsaa.org/resource_center/Character_Sportsmanship_Safety/Benefit_of_Activities_Handout.pdf

 

That's a strong case for being involved in an activity, and sports do represent the bulk of high school activities. But I think that's just an indicator that someone is a more involved and active student and not necessarily a commentary on the inherent greatness of sports. But my question was more about the word "excel."

Maybe the easiest way to explain is this: My son absolutely falls into the "geek" classification if we're doing labels. When he gets to high school, I'd love for him to do swimming or cross-country or some other sport where he can participate without being great, and he can train on something he can do for the rest of his life. But that doesn't mean he "excels" in it or is a jock.

The high school baseball star, on the other hand? At least in our area, most of those guys have been making sacrifices on the academic and social side since they were 12 years old.

 

When I hit my 30th class reunion the best jocks appeared to be doing well. Lots of apparently successful salesmen. I think that they developed a self-confidence that carried over into sales. But I would choose nerd.

 

I recently went to my wife's nephew's high school graduation. More than 300 kids, and in the pamphlet they handed out that showed who got which scholarship, I saw maybe a half dozen who got more than a couple grand for academics. Just as many got full-ride athletic scholarships.

 

I've been fighting this since I was a kid. I knew my town's priorities were out of whack when as the outstanding 9th grade student (Junior High 7th-9th) I got a trophy 5 inches tall and the QB got front page expose and a 4 foot tall trophy, really.

I'm right in the thick of it now with my 4th and 6th graders and its appalling that some people in our community celebrate the youth sports over academics, especially Little League. (Now my oldest is not a star but he did make all-stars when he was 9 but will be hardpressed to do it when he's 12.) Luckily, we live in a place where the arts, music and academics do not get pushed to the backburner and the community as a whole is more concerned with how many Ivy Leaguers we produce than D-1 players.

We as a nation have to say that enough with the sports, let's spend for education first.

 

When my son was born two years ago I gave him a soccer ball and said, 'See you in 18 years.' He hasn't called or anything, so I assume everything is going well.

 

Point your child toward whatever target you want ... rest assured he or she will find some other direction. 'Twill ever thus be ...

 

12? Try 8.

 

Yeah, we have some of those too -- including the one 8-year-old whom the other coaches call "The $30,000 Kid" based on the supposed cost of training him to this point. All told, I'm OK with my 8-year-old being half as good for one-twentieth the price.

 

I was talking to an assistant college baseball coach while he was on a scouting trip. When I told him I was having a daughter and planned to put a lacrosse stick in her hands, he told me to scrap that and get her to golf because half of the scholarships available go unused.

 

My sister's best friend blew a golf scholarship to Michigan. Burned out before her freshman year was over with. Dropped out and got knocked up.