Full Send or No Send Soccer?
squ1rrel
352 replies24 postsRegistered User Member
Truly the largest conundrum of my life...
As an Asian American, I know that getting into top colleges is quite impossible. This is why my dad has pushed me to train soccer since I was very young and I became stellar. In fourth grade, I was one of seven on the east coast selected for the 6th grade division to compete at nationals for futsal in Kansas City. However, in the beginning of sixth grade I had an arm injury and was out for a few months. It was at this time I also developed growth plate issues and they would persist with me all the way until now, as a high school freshman. They have hindered my ability to play so much, and my skill declined. I was once at the top of my game; but slowly, I saw people catching up to me. One of my teammates has moved from the east to the west coast to play for a top club and is on the national team for our age group. My other teammates play for other top clubs in the area. The difference between me and them is this—they have little academic merit. Academics have always been side by side in my life, and I'm on track to finish over 10 APs in high school. But the difference between me and other Asians is that a lot of them are a bit better.
Without sports, I have a chance to get into many top colleges; however, if I pursue soccer, this will take up so much time from academics and it might end up backfiring in the end if I can't get recruited. Money isn't a huge issue; it's more about the level of the school. With sports, Ivies are attainable, maybe if I work hard enough and somehow manage to balance everything out. If I seriously want to play soccer, I'll probably end up spending 20-30 hours a week which doesn't seem manageable with my course load and ECs. If I don't focus on soccer, my most likely bet is to get into one of the top state schools for CS such as UIUC.
Thus I need advice on what I should do. Although my soccer isn't at the level that it used to be, I'm still one of the top players in the region and if I set my mind to it, I could get a lot of what I lost back. But is it worth it to sacrifice my grades and ECs? Otherwise, I will just play for my school team and use it as an EC when applying.
Soccer was always the dream, and the harsh reality has hit me too fast.
My dad seems to avoid the topic of soccer, and is just helping me focus on the academics portion of the college admissions process. The question constantly lingers in the air. I could play academy, the top level of soccer for my age group, but the academy team closest to me is one of the worst in the country.
187 replies As an Asian American, I know that getting into top colleges is quite impossible. This is why my dad has pushed me to train soccer since I was very young and I became stellar. In fourth grade, I was one of seven on the east coast selected for the 6th grade division to compete at nationals for futsal in Kansas City. However, in the beginning of sixth grade I had an arm injury and was out for a few months. It was at this time I also developed growth plate issues and they would persist with me all the way until now, as a high school freshman. They have hindered my ability to play so much, and my skill declined. I was once at the top of my game; but slowly, I saw people catching up to me. One of my teammates has moved from the east to the west coast to play for a top club and is on the national team for our age group. My other teammates play for other top clubs in the area. The difference between me and them is this—they have little academic merit. Academics have always been side by side in my life, and I'm on track to finish over 10 APs in high school. But the difference between me and other Asians is that a lot of them are a bit better.
Without sports, I have a chance to get into many top colleges; however, if I pursue soccer, this will take up so much time from academics and it might end up backfiring in the end if I can't get recruited. Money isn't a huge issue; it's more about the level of the school. With sports, Ivies are attainable, maybe if I work hard enough and somehow manage to balance everything out. If I seriously want to play soccer, I'll probably end up spending 20-30 hours a week which doesn't seem manageable with my course load and ECs. If I don't focus on soccer, my most likely bet is to get into one of the top state schools for CS such as UIUC.
Thus I need advice on what I should do. Although my soccer isn't at the level that it used to be, I'm still one of the top players in the region and if I set my mind to it, I could get a lot of what I lost back. But is it worth it to sacrifice my grades and ECs? Otherwise, I will just play for my school team and use it as an EC when applying.
Soccer was always the dream, and the harsh reality has hit me too fast.
My dad seems to avoid the topic of soccer, and is just helping me focus on the academics portion of the college admissions process. The question constantly lingers in the air. I could play academy, the top level of soccer for my age group, but the academy team closest to me is one of the worst in the country.
Replies to: Full Send or No Send Soccer?
If you said you didn't like soccer any more, I'd tell you to just work on academics, but really, sports do help with admissions if you are good at the sport.
So, I'm reading between the lines. Committment and dedication are crucial to be a recruited athlete. I may be wrong here, but I don't feel "it" from you. Focus on grades, test scores and EC's. Also, there's no way of knowing if your growth plate issues may or may not continue. And then what?
If you can star or be one of the stars on that local academy team, and you're willing to dedicate the time and comitment to getting better every day, then I'd play.
If you give up soccer and only concentrate on academics, then your chances of an Ivy or other elite go down. It's a fact that athletics really helps with admissions.
I, personally, don't think your academics will improve when you give up athletics. Athletics keeps you organized and focused. If you had 20 extra hours per week, would you take 4 more AP classes or get an A+ in a class you otherwise would only get an A? And would it matter? The advice usually given on CC is if a student drops an EC, another EC should be added - band, art, working on the school paper.
@sushiritto you are quite right that I lack the "it." Throughout my entire life I've genuinely had a passion for the sport, but I was never the one who would push myself long, hard hours to improve. All my skills were handed down from my father who taught me well. Perhaps my lack of inner drive has to do with this, or it's a somewhat innate characteristic.
What do you mean by "to know your tracki to a number of AP classes and be young enough to still get on recruiters radar"
I wouldn't take that bet. UIUC accepts only about 10% of computer science applicants. Michigan, U Washington, and Purdue's CS departments are similarly competitive. The acceptance rates you see publicized are for the university as a whole (all majors and undecided candidates). In fact, these "public ivies" rank higher for CS than most of the ivy league and a fair number of the T30 schools.
Soccer may help you get into a great school, but you'll need very, very strong academics to get into a highly-ranked CS department.
It sounds like your level of play has declined (not staying on varsity is a red flag) so you will want to practice, hitting a ball against a wall, finding YouTube videos on soccer skills and then doing the drills, finding pick up games on your own time, in addition to playing club. To make up lost ground you would practice every day, ideally.
I would guess this would take 8-15 hours a week, at least.
The biggest predictor of success is not talent, but drive. If you don't have that drive (and nothing wrong with that!) I would not try for soccer to help with college.
As an aside you have to be a strong D1 level player to be recruited to the Ivy League, it is not easy to achieve that level, and 99% of soccer players out there don't.
Also PS your Dad is right about those camps. Although, you could pick one that is known to give evaluations and this would tell you where you stand regarding recruitment, so that probably would be a valuable first step.