Instead of playing club next year I might do track…seems like a good idea; hopefully I can handle it. I have to admit I’m a bit out of shape right now. Not sure how long it would take to regain my endurance back.
There’s an old adage that “it takes 6 weeks to get into shape and 2 weeks to get out of it.” Out here in CA, cross country is a fall sport and track is a spring sport. So, you have plenty of time. Or go with soccer. Or just focus on school.
Some “old guy” once said “Success occurs when opportunity meets preparation.” It’s really up to you.
A young person who puts in time on the treadmill, the track, doing interval training, can get back into shape very quickly.
Why don’t you go and try a practice or two with the team, see if it’s fun, if you get along with them, and if you do well?
You could continue soccer with the HS, for the love of the sport, and practice running seriously (conditioning, weight lifting, jogging/running, etc).
What about discus, javelin…?
Anyway, if you can get back into shape, you could have an athletic hook without having to play DA/Club soccer 
Two days ago I saw the interview with a young man who had been training for the 400M and switched one day to the 50m dash and broke a national record…
@MYOS1634 Lol discus or javelin…have you seen my arms? They’re probably skinnier than a javelin.
Ok probably not but I’d stick with running. 800m is my best event IMO.
Yup, but you still have time to test everything and figure out what your “best event” would be.
And you can be BOTH a recruited athlete (if good at track) AND a HS soccer player. One in the Fall (+ extra running) and one in the Spring.
I was thinking the same thing - those discus throwers are HUGE.
Track and field scholarships are sliced and diced fairly thinly and while you may only want the hook to get into a school, those aren’t always easy to get either.
Track is a great sport, and by all means you should run if you want to. However, I’d push back a bit against the notion that a 5 minute mile suggests a future recruitable track athlete. It’s possible but unlikely in my experience, especially for one who doesn’t enjoy running. 5 minute untrained freshman guys are fairly common and it’s tough to predict which ones will improve enough to make varsity, let alone be recruited. Do it if you want to. Don’t do it because you think you’ll be recruited.
@sushiritto the mile isn’t contested at many HS meets, which is why you’re finding few guys under 4:30. The 1600 is the relevant event to look at (except for a few states, which contest the 1500).
I’m very much in favor of freshmen trying things without college goals. So what if @squ1rrel won’t be winning anything throwing the discus or the javelin? If he has fun he can totally try every event before deciding on one.
OP is taking calculus as a freshman and is already thinking of taking way too many AP’s. He should have fun a little bit.
@sq1rrel seems to want the athletic edge to get into MIT. You can look at MIT’s recruited athletes and see whether that’s even an achievable goal. But to get into MIT, developing tech skills, applying them to help others, and being a stellar student, is more important than being a top athlete.
While I definitely think it’s a good idea and to look at where you want to be going in your life and what you need to do to get there, and hats off to the OP for being forward-thinking, it is generally a terrible idea to be who you are not because you think it’ll please someone else. Because it may not, and it won’t make you feel good either.
The OP has not said, “I love playing soccer so much and I really want to play in college. What do I do to make that happen?”
The OP is interested in getting into a super-selective STEM school and is trying to figure out what angle will give him an edge. For most athletes, especially in position sports, recruitment is challenging. You not only need to be a great player, you also need to fit into the holes the coach wants to fill in that year. Maybe it’s a GK. Maybe a left-footed back. And if you’re not that, it’s not your year. Most of us on the outside only see the matches that were made and how they glide into spots the rest of us covet. What we don’t see is all the places that said no before the match was made. So even being a terrific player might not make you a fit for your dream school in your year.
It seems, @squ1rrel , that your real passion is academics. I would devote the energy to endeavors on that front. If MIT turns you down, at least you’ll have spent your high school years being the person you are and perfecting that person. Keep playing high school soccer. It’s a great way to take care of your physical health and connect with classmates. And know that if you don’t get into MIT, you will be the best possible version of yourself wherever you go and that you won’t be regretting how you spent your high school years. Or your college ones.
@politeperson The OP gave us a mile time, not a 1,600 time, so I went with what I was given. But I do understand that 1,600 is what most run today.
For your consideration:
Using just the given elite example, the MIT Track Recruiting Standards:
800m = 1:56
1,600m = 4:22
https://scripts.mit.edu/~hwtaylor/recruiting/recruitingstandards.php
Really, OP, do whatever you makes you happiest. You’ve got potential. And with REAL coaching and training, it may take you some where. I’ve coached recruitable athletes, but they’ve all worked hard at their “trade.”
@sushiritto Is there a big difference between 1600 and the 1 mile?
@squ1rrel I don’t mean to state the obvious, but 1 mile is 1,609.34 meters. So, your time of 5:04 for a mile would be a couple/few seconds less for 1,600 meters, which is the standard for most track meets as mentioned above.
With proper track and strength coaching and hard work, you just never know. I don’t mean to push you into anything that you don’t want to do, but OTOH, soccer is a tough ladder to climb, especially with your size and weight.
@sushiritto Lol I think my time was for the 1600, but everyone I know refers to the 1600 as the mile so I said that. It shouldn’t make that big of a difference though…
Maybe you didn’t run with an all-out effort, maybe your shoes weren’t the best running shoes, maybe you didn’t run on a track, maybe your running form needs work, there are a lot of variables, which we don’t know here. And you’re just 14-15 years old. But you should decide on a path soon, so if you choose the path of soccer or track, you can start to get on the radar.
NESCAC Championship Qualifying Standards:
800m = 2:04
1,500m = 4:20
https://www.nescac.com/sports/track/2017-18/championship/qualifying_standard
@sushiritto Thanks! 2:04 seems very achievable. I’ll dwell on all of this for a bit. I’m just not sure I actually “like” running.
To avoid confusion: 2:04 isn’t going to get you recruited but would be good enough to walk on some D3 programs. Most programs are looking for well under 2 just to start discussions about recruiting. To give you an idea of what it takes in your state, which you said up thread was NH: to get recruiting interest after your junior year, you’d need to be among the top 5 or so 800 guys in your state across all grades, give or take depending on the year. Most of those top 5 probably could run 2:10 in 9th grade with minimal training. So by all means go for it, but understand that it is an enormous challenge.
@politeperson: are you talking D1 or D3 (MIT, Caltech)?
Assuming NH, the top 5 times were:
800: 1:58-2:01
1,600: 4:32-4:35