Hi, I’m a sophomore in high school for Michigan, and this is my first post so I’m not really sure how this site works. Basically, I’m a REALLY skinny kid who plans on joining the Track and Field team in my high school because I will be on varsity by default, which yea, I’m doing just for college apps (please don’t comment on the ethics of this). At the same time, I’m going to be competing in shot put and discus, so I was wondering, if I worked really hard during the season and hit the gym during the year as well, what are the odds I could end up getting a scholarship? I have a little experience in both events from middle school. In terms of academics, I don’t want to sound arrogant, but my qualifications are likely to be Ivy League-caliber by the time I’m a senior. If I am unlikely to have any chance at a scholarship, how much will just being a varsity athlete help me?
It depends on your skill and how much you are desirable at the school. You’ll have rough competition. Ivy competition will be rough anyways. These other kids will have done this all their lives, since an early age, and actually have a passion for the sport. Just being a varsity athlete would give you no more of a chance than if you found your own club and was a leader in any other EC. It’s an EC and they judge you by your passion, not your quantity/position/status.
What are your other EC’s and passions in life?
@TheDidactic I’m a varsity debater (should be captain or at least on the Exec Board by senior year), I’m a peer tutor (should be on Exec Board by senior year), I’m part of the Medical Explorers Club (should be on Exec Board by senior year), I’m a varsity Scholastic Bowl member, I’m the president (and founder) of my school’s UNICEF chapter, the president of my school’s HOSA chapter, and I’m a member of Physics Club (should be on Exec Board by senior year).
Then there’s no need for you to be a varsity athlete. Besides what are your essays going to be about? If you mention your EC’s in any interview or essay, or they are mentioned in one of your letters of recommendation, I think colleges will not only know athletics aren’t your passion but also they’ll know you’re just doing it for college apps. It’s a waste of time and they won’t even consider it.
Why don’t you get a season of competitive Track & Field under your belt before you make plans that are too extensive?
You would have to be the very top in your state on your track and field events to even get a small bit of attention from college recruiters.
@TheDidactic I’m not doing it solely for college apps. I’m doing it because I was going to start going to the gym because I’m so skinny, and I figured it would be better if I had the team to help me start out since I know the throwers spend a lot of time lifting. So I’m going to join the sport regardless, I was just curious.
Well sorry, you didn’t make it seem like that in your post at all. You said you wanted to get a scholarship and you even said that since it would be automatic varsity at your school, you were doing it solely for the college apps.
I was just being honest and I hope I still helped you out.
Your chances of getting an athletic scholarship from an Ivy are zero, since the Ivy league doesn’t award them. Your chances of an athletic scholarship at another school will depend on your skill, but even if you get a track and field scholarship, it may not be for much money. Most t&f teams have 50-60 students dividing a dozen scholarships. If a superstar gets a full scholarship, others may get only $1000 or so, or only books.
You describe yourself as a skinny kid doing power field events, shot and discuss. Really? You are going to be competitive at a college level?
D1 discus and shot put athletes are NOT skinny guys. They are generally honking big guys. Don’t think this plan to get a scholarship is very workable… but if you think you will enjoy the sport, then go ahead and do it.
My then 100 pound daughter was on the track team.,she did shot put (which barely made it out of the circle) and discus (which barely went anywhere either). But she loved begin on the track team…did it for 2 years in HS…soph and senior.
why don’t you look at it as an opportunity to do something you’re not naturally gifted or talented in? while it might not be an avenue to an athletic scholarship, perhaps you will learn something about yourself that might help you write effective essays.
most elite athletes are genetically gifted in a way that makes them naturally bigger, faster, and stronger than others - and have worked for thousands of hours perfecting their sport. if you truly are in the top 1% of students your age nationwide, think about how many hours you’ve spent reading. could an average student score as well on the SAT if he decided to study a few extra hours each week?
If you’re not getting recruited, then varsity athletics has essentially the same value as any other serious extracurricular commitment. Like any other EC, if there’s no passion, there’s no value.
Also you first wrote
but then wrote
Why don’t you start running and join the X-C team?
That would probably be healthier than hitting the gym and bulking up.
@iwannabe_Brown Yea I didn’t think it was necessary to explain my personal reasons for wanting to participate but later realized how that came off so I chose to explain.
This site works just like most any other discussion board–people discuss, debate, give answers you can think about and take or ignore. But you don’t get to dictate if we discuss your ethics or not. You open yourself up to it when you post. It isn’t that doing something like that is unethical, that doesn’t fall in the realm of unethical. It is just something you may not be doing for ‘the right reasons’ but that is okay, you never know when you might get something out of it or give something if you don’t try it out and it doesn’t hurt to give it a good shot and have aspirations. ^^But what everyone else said. Main points are that the colleges you mention don’t give athletic scholarships. And for other recruitment, see how competitive you are before you start counting your money, you haven’t even started yet.
Yea you guys are right, this was a stupid post - kinda wishing I could delete it haha
Well, a moderator could, I think. Maybe post another thread with a link to this one and ask in the title for a moderator to delete this thread?
I don’t think it is a bad post. There are sports that can be started in high school (including track and field as I don’t think many 8th graders have locked up the spots on the decathalon team) which do lead to college scholarships. Rowing is an example. Many teams still take the best athlete for the teams because not many high school students haven’t had a chance to try it out. There are some sports where it really isn’t possible (unless you are some kind of super athlete) to just pick up - baseball takes years of just playing catch, lacrosse requires bouncing that ball off a wall. There are some sports where you can use skills picked up in other sports and convert them, like running for football and running for track.
You asked the question whether you can develop enough skills in 3 years of high school to get an athletic scholarship. You learned that yes, you can, but that the scholarship will probably not be a full scholarship, probably will only be a little bit of money, and that athletic scholarships aren’t available for Ivy league schools or D3.
Moderators don’t just delete threads, particularly after there has been good discussion.