<p>fish: it’s lonely at the top. we’ve found that the parents who have been supportive are the ones who also have recruited athletes, recruited to any school, not just elites. I actually think most of the parents in our community were jealous as well as many of my daughters classmates. It was a common refrain for my D to hear from her “smart” classmates “you took my spot” when she was signed last November to an elite school. And it’s true that every parent in the community with seniors knew…including many neighboring high schools, parents. It was wild. I think there would have been less of a rumor mill had it been a murder.</p>
<p>and i heard most of these parents I know (and some I had just met) say some version of, “oh she got in because of her sport”. </p>
<p>Tier 1, brand name colleges is the new status symbol, it’s not your car or your country club or your big house, it’s where your kid got in to college…and that is one of the reasons why parents are so competitive and jealous towards our talented, smart, hardworking athletes.</p>
<p>The jealous parents just can’t accept that our kids are more talented, smart, and hardworking then their little johnny:)</p>
<p>I do believe title 9 is the reason women’s sports are now so big and well funded. We have Richard Nixon to thank for that legislation, he had a daughter and supported equal rights…but title 9 is not “why” my daughter got recruited by stanford, columbia, duke, ucla, cal, usc, princeton and michigan. title 9 is why 100,000’s of girls have opportunity but it’s not why my D or any female athlete represented on this board got in.</p>
<p>The got in because they are talented, smart, and hardworking…and in most cases harder-working than the other kids in their community and in their sport.</p>