This is crap. You’re either part of a team or you’re not. I’m so sorry for your son. Congrats on UTK though!
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Wow, that’s a low blow, replacing one senior from the relay. I would probably lose my stuph if faced with that Coach. Not cool, not cool at all.
Happy to hear the utk acceptance, but it has got to be taking backseat to the track news. So sorry tonight had to be such a mixed bag.
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My C20 was deferred from MIT EA and got in the regular round. It’s not over yet!
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I’m so sorry; that would be a huge blow to anyone. I hope he can mourn for however long he needs and then find joy at being wanted and valued by UTK.
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Ugh. This is really not sending the right message to the team. Starter should show up for rehearsal. Winning isn’t everything…etc. I’m really sorry. I’d be tempted to say something but my kid wouldn’t want me to. YMMV.
Nice to get merit and honors from UTK – I hope at some point he’s able to feel that he has things to look forward to.
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Oh this is so hard. I am sorry. S25 missed most of his junior seasons with injury as well, and he was really excited to try indoor for the first time this year - only to strain a ligament in one of his first workouts of the season… missing this weekend’s big invitational, plus the other meet for the “JV” squad at which he could have aimed to make times for other big invites later this winter. And who knows if the coach will keep him on the relay for two weeks from now, even if he’s cleared to race again. The mood is low, so I feel your pain. This is so tough for seniors who just want to close out their high school careers on a high note, especially if they’re coming back from injury and they’ve been so dedicated to the team like your son has despite not being able to race.
But congrats on the UTK acceptance - I hope he can find some silver lining in there.
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Thank you (and everyone else) for the commiseration. I think he’ll be in a better place today. It was such a shock to him to NOT see himself on the roster for the meet this weekend. I think a few things happened here - first, it’s a super small invitational. The school can only send 25 athletes - boys and girls, sprinters and distance and throwers and jumpers. Our team has over 100, probably closer to 125 athletes. I don’t know why they signed up for something that so few people could participate in. One spot that could’ve gone to him went to someone who hasn’t run in any meets yet - we suspect that probably happened because the coach wants to make sure everyone gets a chance to be in three meets (which is required to letter). And i get that, but it just goes back to why sign up for a meet that’s so small.
Anyway, he’s gotten more excited about the UTK acceptance as time has gone by. He just needed to get past that immediate bummer of a reaction.
It also helps that UTK offered him more merit money ($18k/yr) than his friend, also accepted there, was offered. Not that he should be comparing himself to anyone else, but it felt like a win and someone validating him last night.
And selfishly, it made ME really happy, because it now brings UTK down below the cost of our in-state option (Va Tech). VT doesn’t give much merit aid to anyone, and really not to in-state applicants, so I expect it will stay as slightly more expensive. I still wish he would consider VT more highly, because I think it’s actually a better program for him and a better fit overall, but he REALLY doesn’t want to be where “so many” of his HS colleagues are going (there are not so many students going there, and certainly not when compared to the total student population).
Anyway, thank you for the kind thoughts. It’s just hard watching him work so hard at rehabbing and be so committed to his team and not see that work and effort appreciated and reflected back to him.
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I was waiting to hear if your son got his UTK acceptance. So happy for him about that but really sad with you about the situation with track. I hope there is a better resolution or he can come to some peace with it. Really awful situation.
S25 had his last final today. He seems to be exempt from most of them. I say “seems” because I’m so worried his grades will come out and he will have missed an exam he should have taken. He also failed to turn in two assignments in his ethic class which has a 99 in right now. So that might tank. But I am trying SO HARD to let go and let this be on him. He has a 10 page short story due on Friday and shockingly he’s up to almost 8 pages. He asked me to read it last night, and I was pretty blown away. Very creepy and Stephen King-esque. Looking forward to reading the conclusion.
We leave on Saturday for everyone’s favorite Christmas destination…Las Vegas. It’s our third time to spend Christmas there. For some reason it just jives for the whole family and we plan to eat a lot of good food and see some shows. And I plan to lay in the hotel bed and read as much as I can.
Hope the semester ends well for everyone else!
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Congratulations. Trinity was S’s second choice if he hadn’t gotten into Grinnell! Are you in Texas?
Thankyou! Yes, we are in Texas. I LOVE Trinity. My daughter is currently a Junior there.
Son is waiting for some other options still (SMU, Tulane, UMiami Fl), but Trinity is a serious contender for him.
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Wow attendance should be mandatory for varsity. The only exceptions would be if they are in another sport or they have a family or work obligation. We have a few guys that work after school so they come in before school to get their workout done. Our track team constantly does time trials so anyone can take anyone spot up until the championships. That is a very frustrating policy.
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Another acceptance – this time CO School of Mines (MINES!), and it came with a little fellowship money. This feels good. Of course…kiddo has no idea where he wants to go. I foresee a couple of crazy February and spring break trips in my future. (Oregon State was possibly the one he could most visualize but now he knows that the friend he thought would be there isn’t going to be there and it feels a little less comfortable.)
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Woo Hoo! Congrats!
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Congratulations! Golden is a super cute town and their football team is so good!
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Congrats! Mines was really high on my S23’s list, and he has a friend that is going there.
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There were tears in the house last night as S25 was deferred from one of his preferred target schools, where he thought he had a real chance. They want to see senior first semester grades and a new “Why our school” essay. After rejections from their ED1 school and one safety in only a few days, they are distraught, especially since their boyfriend and best friend got into their dream schools. They already have some good safety acceptances with merit, but fingers crossed at least one of their target schools comes through in the coming weeks. Send strength.
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Depends on the cruise and where they are going–My kid loves them and there is a lot of freedom on the ship and easy to get drinks (and other stuff–not that I condone that) in the ports.
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Oh man. My heart goes out to him. It’s good he has an opportunity to write a why essay but I know that it can be tough to go that extra step when they are so burnt out . It sounds like they are still interested in him though, which is good. Sending lots of positive vibes your way.
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D25 just found out she got into the honors college at one of her top choices. It comes with more merit money so that’s good. She did not get into a cohort type thing at another college which pretty much eliminated them off the list (her essay was not very good, and she knew that going in) since it’s now out of price range for us.
She will hear about merit from another school today. And she’s still waiting to her about admittance to one last school (her other top choice). Waiting is hard.
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