I Don't Get It (High School Sports)

[southernbohemian]

My stepson really got into golfing this past summer. It's a sport that his father loves and has always encouraged them to do, but he really only got interested lately. He's a freshman this year and was very excited about signing up to take golf as a class.

He goes to a fairly large high school. At the beginning of the school year they had try-outs for the golf team. He tried out but didn't make it. So the next time he visited, we were asking him about his classes and he mentioned he had to switch from golf to track since he didn't make the team. I didn't understand, so he explained that you are only allowed to take the golf class if you make the team.

I guess I don't understand why this is okay? When I was in school (not so very long ago) extracurricular activities were just that. We had a P.E. class that all of the basketball players took, but that P.E. teacher also taught that class to other students the rest of the day. There was never the case of "Sorry, you're not on the basketball team so you can't play basketball during P.E." It seems wrong to me that a school would allocate an entire period of one teacher's day to teach a class to students who are on a certain team and no one else. Basically the coach is getting paid twice to coach a team (once during school and once after school) and getting out of teaching regular students.

Am I totally crazy? Can someone explain why this is okay?

I asked him how he was supposed to improve his golf if they won't let him take the class, and he explained that they expect you to take the class during middle school. Well, he didn't go to their middle school. And even if he was interested, I don't think the one he went to offered golf as a class. I guess I was off to think that you sent your kids to school to learn.

 

[powellrj]

I don't see it as any different than you have to make the band or choir to be in those classes.

 

[tvguy]

Well, I can't speak to your situation other than to saw that I am shocked that they offer classes in individual sports. We have kids that can't read and write and they're teaching golf has a full time class?
Actually, that would disqualify a team from competition around here because the CIF regulates when students can be involved in their extracurricular sport. It can only be before or after regular school hours.
Which, when my son played high school baseball meant, he could NOT take part in the Baseball unit in PE.

We used to rotate through different sports in PE, a month of soccer, then football, then swimming, then badminton, tennis, baseball, handball, raquetball, and finally track and field.

 

[southernbohemian]

I don't see it as any different than you have to make the band or choir to be in those classes.

Maybe I just went to really good schools that didn't have such a demand on their resources? Because at both of the high schools that I went to there was always a starter class you could take. For example, I wasn't good enough to make it into the private lessons for flute, so I was put in the orchestra. But I guess this is the exception?

 

[Hannathy]

Possibly there is a set number allowed in the class say 20 and those slots go to the team first.

 

[Hannathy]

Well, I can't speak to your situation other than to saw that I am shocked that they offer classes in individual sports. We have kids that can't read and write and they're teaching golf has a full time class?

The push in PE (as far as I"ve been told) is teaching kids things that they can do all their lives and stay active as adults so there are a lot of classes with activities like cycling, golfing, tennis, outdoor activities like hiking, kayaking, aerobic activities you would find in a gym like using the elliptical.

They have to have so many PE credits to graduate and I would rather they learn golf or tennis than running laps and doing other never again used Gym activities.

 

[castleview]

Sounds extremely stupid. I'd question that with the administration.

 

[powellrj]

Maybe I just went to really good schools that didn't have such a demand on their resources? Because at both of the high schools that I went to there was always a starter class you could take. For example, I wasn't good enough to make it into the private lessons for flute, so I was put in the orchestra. But I guess this is the exception?

You took the starter classes in middle school, but once you were in HS, you had to "make" the band or choir to be in them. They didn't offer starter classes.

 

[penn19]

North Texas here. At my son's school, pretty much the same thing. Although, in his school if you wanted to play golf, you were "on" the golf team. Now you may never actually get to play a round of golf unless you were in the top 10 of the class. I think there were 40 boys in his golf class, so only 10 or so of them ever got to play. But you had to pay $50 a month, for 3 practices a week at the local driving range. I basically paid $50 a month for him to get an A for the year. But anyway, he never did play all year.

I know for baseball at his school, you try out for the class the first week of school. If you make the class you still have to try out for the team in January. Just because you were in the class doesn't guarantee you a spot. They were not allowed, according to UIL regulations to actually be coached by the coach in class. They worked out etc......But he had tried out for the team, after making the class, and didn't make the team. The next week he had to go find another class. Can't be in baseball class if you are not on the team.

I get that the hs teams have to win. Totally get that. I just feel bad for the kids that are still interested in a sport but because they aren't "good enough" they can't do it anymore. Or at least can't do it for their school. No wonder our kids have a weight problem! We tell these kids to hang it up by 14 or 15 because the schools around here do not offer any kind of intramural type program at school.

 

[Aneille]

Sounds strange to me too. I would expect leveled PE class in high school. starter, intermediate and advanced, something along those lines.

I thought that PE class was to teach physical education not teach kids already good at golf, to play better. And what about the kids that may be good at golf(and could have made the team) but choose not too. Maybe they would prefer to take PE golf instead of basketball.

Seems strange they don't off a "starter" golf PE class thru the high school too.

A freshman may get good enough to make the team in the next 2 years as a JR.

 

[Aneille]

North Texas here. At my son's school, pretty much the same thing. Although, in his school if you wanted to play golf, you were "on" the golf team. Now you may never actually get to play a round of golf unless you were in the top 10 of the class. I think there were 40 boys in his golf class, so only 10 or so of them ever got to play. But you had to pay $50 a month, for 3 practices a week at the local driving range. I basically paid $50 a month for him to get an A for the year. But anyway, he never did play all year.

I know for baseball at his school, you try out for the class the first week of school. If you make the class you still have to try out for the team in January. Just because you were in the class doesn't guarantee you a spot. They were not allowed, according to UIL regulations to actually be coached by the coach in class. They worked out etc......But he had tried out for the team, after making the class, and didn't make the team. The next week he had to go find another class. Can't be in baseball class if you are not on the team.

I get that the hs teams have to win. Totally get that. I just feel bad for the kids that are still interested in a sport but because they aren't "good enough" they can't do it anymore. Or at least can't do it for their school. No wonder our kids have a weight problem! We tell these kids to hang it up by 14 or 15 because the schools around here do not offer any kind of intramural type program at school.

This is something I have truly never heard of.

As you point out I knew alot of kids that enjoyed certain sports and they weren't very good at. Doesn't mean they did not get anything out of it.

Doesn't seem right to me.

And it does just seem like a way for high schools to skirt around practice rules put in place by their governing body.

 

[Magic Mom]

On one hand it sounds stupid to offer a class that you have to make a team to take. But is it really that much different than honors or AP classes? You have to meet minimum requirements to take those classes too.

 

[Kirby]

I'm thinking that those classes are called "Athletics" and the rest of the gym classes are called "P.E.". My kids were both in band so I don't have any personal experience with the physical education classes.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

The whole thing seems weird to me.

Here, you have PE and you have EXTRA curricular sports, and they never met. PE was just that, physical education, no one was excluded from any class (well, except that you had to be a sophomore to take sophomore PE or you have to take weight training 1 to take weight training 2) and you didn't have to be a part of any team to be in a PE class.

Furthermore, there weren't any sport-specific PE classes. One week there was volleyball, the next badminton, the next basketball. And you didn't have to take any classes as a requirement to be in a sport.

But, from what I understand, you have to be on the golf team to be in a golf class? Why do you need a golf class if you're on the golf team? And why are they spending school hours with a golf class? Isn't that something that should be after hours, either via the school team or via as a recreation sport? But... if there is a requirement, I understand.

Like many things, you have to be of a certain level to do them. Without the level, you can either slow down the others, limit the progress of the class as a whole, or you won't know what's going on. I'd be annoyed as a 4-year varsity lacrosse player in a class for lacrosse players only but there was some random person in there who has hardly ever played. They'd slow us down and we'd have to spend time teaching the person stuff we've known for many years.

 

[southern_redhead]

My stepson really got into golfing this past summer. It's a sport that his father loves and has always encouraged them to do, but he really only got interested lately. He's a freshman this year and was very excited about signing up to take golf as a class.

He goes to a fairly large high school. At the beginning of the school year they had try-outs for the golf team. He tried out but didn't make it. So the next time he visited, we were asking him about his classes and he mentioned he had to switch from golf to track since he didn't make the team. I didn't understand, so he explained that you are only allowed to take the golf class if you make the team.

I guess I don't understand why this is okay? When I was in school (not so very long ago) extracurricular activities were just that. We had a P.E. class that all of the basketball players took, but that P.E. teacher also taught that class to other students the rest of the day. There was never the case of "Sorry, you're not on the basketball team so you can't play basketball during P.E." It seems wrong to me that a school would allocate an entire period of one teacher's day to teach a class to students who are on a certain team and no one else. Basically the coach is getting paid twice to coach a team (once during school and once after school) and getting out of teaching regular students.

Am I totally crazy? Can someone explain why this is okay?

I asked him how he was supposed to improve his golf if they won't let him take the class, and he explained that they expect you to take the class during middle school. Well, he didn't go to their middle school. And even if he was interested, I don't think the one he went to offered golf as a class. I guess I was off to think that you sent your kids to school to learn.

Hmmm. Well, here it varies. Sports like golf, tennis, etc.. are all "extracurricular" but Football (and I want to think Basketball, high school was a while ago for me) are classes and have been for some time. My stepson is on the football team and his last TWO periods of the day are "football". I think he is done with regular school at 1:30 or 1:45 and goes to lift weights, run, do whatever it is they do until 3. You have to be on the team to take those classes.

 

[southernbohemian]

Hmmm. Well, here it varies. Sports like golf, tennis, etc.. are all "extracurricular" but Football (and I want to think Basketball, high school was a while ago for me) are classes and have been for some time. My stepson is on the football team and his last TWO periods of the day are "football". I think he is done with regular school at 1:30 or 1:45 and goes to lift weights, run, do whatever it is they do until 3. You have to be on the team to take those classes.

That really astounds me! How many kids on that football team get offered football scholarships to go to college? How many get drafted into the NFL? That seems like an astounding waste of school time. You can either workout (which you can do after school and at home), or be taught a meaningful subject such as science, math, foreign language, etc, by a certified teacher. WTH? Maybe we've found the reason why Americans are getting progressively dumber with each generation while other countries pass us by.

Does your son have a choice about this? Like, if he only wanted to take one football class?

ETA: I don't want anyone to think that I'm attacking southern_redhead's son for his choices - I'm more in shock about the joke our schools are becoming. And this is coming from someone taking classes to become a high school teacher.

 

[luvsJack]

Around here the try outs for all sports, cheer, choir, drama, show choir etc. are in the spring. If you make the team, squad, whatever then you are in the class the next year.

In junior high, show choir, band and those type of activities are all a class (dd has show choir first period each day). Football, basketball and cheer are all after school but they have PE together and with their coach. In high school, all activities are the last period of the day and for most sports they then stay an extra hour in the afternoon for practice. DS played multiple sports, so his schedule changed each season and if one sport overlapped the other he may have gone to one sport for class and the other after school. The only sports that were not a "class" were golf, soccer and tennis and that was because the coaches actually came from another school to coach these sports.

 

[Becky2005]

And it does just seem like a way for high schools to skirt around practice rules put in place by their governing body.

My guess is this is more the true answer than anything else. I know around here you can't start practices before a certain timeframe but gee...look at those summer camps offered for the winter sports that are "optional" to take (that aren't TRULY optional -- if you intend to be on the team, you better be at the camp! My DD was on gymnastics one and they gave out important team information that you needed to know at those camps!).

Our PE doesn't have specific sports except a few things such as dance (but you don't have to be on the dance team -- you just have to be a Jr. or Sr. to take it).

Our music program does have a choir that anyone can be in. I don't think that's quite true about the instruments.

 

[Momvic5]

That really astounds me! How many kids on that football team get offered football scholarships to go to college? How many get drafted into the NFL? That seems like an astounding waste of school time. You can either workout (which you can do after school and at home), or be taught a meaningful subject such as science, math, foreign language, etc, by a certified teacher. WTH? Maybe we've found the reason why Americans are getting progressively dumber with each generation while other countries pass us by.

Does your son have a choice about this? Like, if he only wanted to take one football class?

ETA: I don't want anyone to think that I'm attacking southern_redhead's son for his choices - I'm more in shock about the joke our schools are becoming. And this is coming from someone taking classes to become a high school teacher.

My son has a similiar schedule....but football does not take up two full periods...I am not sure how that is possible. Anyways, my son has 8th period football which starts at 1:40 and ends at 2:30, but since school gets out at 2:30, they continue with practice after school. The football class counts as his PE. I am curious as to how they can have two whole periods of PE/football?

 

[Kirby]

Hmmm, it might not be any different than a band student having a band class and then taking jazz band. Depending on their schedule, they could have back to back band classes.