We have been through the high school/extracurricular conflict experience twice (one D in college now, one a sophomore in high school). Here are some thoughts:
- There is no real way to "have it all" with too many extracurriculars. Painful decisions will need to be made. Better to make the decisions before their grades slip than in the middle of a crisis... we have been through a mid-semester meltdown in high school, and our older D had to drop a sport mid-season. She left another sport after her sophomore year, after being elected team captain for the next year. Just too much on her plate to keep up her grades. Almost every activity requires a higher and higher level of commitment as the years go on.
- A smaller school (our Ds go to a small private) offers some benefits in this area. WIth fewer kids, those running the clubs and extracurriculars have to accept that most of the kids do multiple activities. They generally don't have as much leverage as coaches at bigger schools where there is always another kid waiting for a spot to open up.
- So few kids get athletic scholarships... and it seems to me that the families usually pay almost the amount of the scholarships in costs for the sport. Of course, there are many other benefits in sports participation.
- Our younger D ended up dropping her main "school" sport this year and switching to fencing. We have gone from daily practices and weekend tournaments to twice a week lessons/practice sessions (that can be missed if there is a conflict with some other activity). Probably will go to 3 times a week next year, and maybe add some tournaments. She will probably not fence in college, but it has given her a more flexible sport schedule that she enjoys and that keeps her in shape.
Just some thoughts... good luck!
