Would you put your dc in a different h.s. because it had better sports program?

[barkley]

That is different for our school of choice. The granting school doesn't have to give bus transportation to the school of choice kids out of district. I have never had a problem though, they do pick the kids up even though we a soc. I will have to check that district to see if its a michigan law or goes by each school.

try looking it up in the education code first.

when i found out about the law regarding the bus passing another school i immediatly called the district and was surprised that they had never heard of it. apparantly very few people at all know about it-the superintendant of our district had to talk to 3 different people with the state department of education before he found one that knew about it let alone had ever heard of anyone acting on it (apparantly we were the first family on our side of the state to ever inquire about it-and one of very few families that has ever taken advantage of it in the entire state, though it's apparantly been in the education code for quite awhile).

 

[clovergirl5]

Yeah, in our district it's pretty hard to get dispensation for a child to go to any school but their "home" school. Sometimes they will do a hardship transfer, such as when a family moves to a different school zone and there's only 3 months of school left. Or if the "home" school is not meeting NCLB standards for improvement. It would be nigh impossible to get a principal to approve a transfter just because a kid wants to play ball.

If your daughter is that good, I'd keep her in the travel team. College recruiters scout travel teams at least as much, or more, than they do public school.

I didn't realize that...Another thing is I guess when they play on a h.s. team, they can't play for a travel team. They can only practice with the travel team. The only time they can play in a game for a travel team is when it isn't softball season. I beleive I was told March starts the h.s. practices. Once h.s. softball season is done, girls can start up travel again. Don't know how well thats gonna work out.

 

[clovergirl5]

I would do it, as long as I was happy with these issues:
-academics are comparable or better
-she will be eligible to play as a "transfer" student. (Here she'd have to sit out a year.)
-once you transfer it's good for all 4 years and you don't have to reapply every year
-the softball coaching staff is both kind and competent

I do agree that college coaches are more likely to scout at travel tournaments as opposed to high school games, so I don't think she necessarily has to transfer for that reason alone. But having a child who's very competitive athletically I understand the desire to play on a team that will be challenging and fun! I don't think that making this choice says you're putting sports above academics.

Definitely would not be doing travel sb or any other extraccuricular if she was not a good student. She played m.s. volleyball and travel sb at the same time this fall and she had to have a certain grade to stay on the vb "A" team. She does know what #1 thing on her priority list needs to be.

 

[clovergirl5]

try looking it up in the education code first.
when i found out about the law regarding the bus passing another school i immediatly called the district and was surprised that they had never heard of it. apparantly very few people at all know about it-the superintendant of our district had to talk to 3 different people with the state department of education before he found one that knew about it let alone had ever heard of anyone acting on it (apparantly we were the first family on our side of the state to ever inquire about it-and one of very few families that has ever taken advantage of it in the entire state, though it's apparantly been in the education code for quite awhile).

Where do I find that?

 

[barkley]

Where do I find that?

just google search 'state department of education' followed by your state's name. most states have pretty good sites where there's a link to the full text of the code (you can probably find out the rules for sports eligibility as well).

 

[clovergirl5]

Thanks everyone for all the info I had not thought about. I will mention these things to dh later. It gives me some knowledge and ?s to arm myself with when/if we do this and I need to start talking to the other school district. Thank you....off to take dd to softball practice

 

[MK2thcleaner]

My son is a great baseball player, traveling teams, world series champions- all that. We had high expectations for him, and always talked about "once you hit high school....". He was injured last summer. Had to have knee surgery. Will he even get to a place where he can play high school ball? We're just not sure right now. The benefit is, he never considered himself playing professional ball or even college ball as important. We just thought, maybe scholarships could help in college. What I've learned since, from people whose kids have gone on to play college ball on scholarships, many of them don't get fully funded sports scholarships at Division I, they just get a portion funded. Or they can get full rides at community colleges. Is that what you want for your daughter? You seem awfully proud that she is so smart, do you want her to go to community college for a few years then maybe get recruited to a Division I? There's nothing wrong at all with community college, that's just not what my son wants.

Consider an injury, because it's possible. Would it be worth the drive every day for 4 years if she can't play? Also consider is it worth all the extra money when she may not even get any scholarships. If she's doing it because it's fun and she loves it and you want her to have the experiences, then that's fine, but don't do it for the money 'cuz it's just not likely.

*There was a study done a while back by our local newspaper that included how much money parents spent on kids to play competitive sports including tourneys and equipment and registrations fees and everything that goes along with it. Parents overwhelmingly said they did it for the opportunity for their child to get scholarships. If the folks had just put the money in an account and let it grow, they could have more than paid for the Division I colleges they were dying for their kids to play at.

 

[monkey68]

I don't think it's a terrible thing. In NYC, kids have the chance to go to any high school in the city that accepts you, and you're guaranteed a spot at your zoned school. Some schools are stronger academically, some are better with sports, some are better in the arts, etc. I got into one of the more academically inclined high schools, and one that had a strong focus on education, but also had a strong music program. I got so many more opportunities music-wise from going to that school, I know the other school couldn't have done that. BTW, I didn't end up a professional musician, but I sure had the time of my life in high school.

 

[golfgal]

That is different for our school of choice. The granting school doesn't have to give bus transportation to the school of choice kids out of district. I have never had a problem though, they do pick the kids up even though we a soc. I will have to check that district to see if its a michigan law or goes by each school.

This is one thing that is spelled out in our states' program, transportation is provided by the family, not the school.

My son is a great baseball player, traveling teams, world series champions- all that. We had high expectations for him, and always talked about "once you hit high school....". He was injured last summer. Had to have knee surgery. Will he even get to a place where he can play high school ball? We're just not sure right now. The benefit is, he never considered himself playing professional ball or even college ball as important. We just thought, maybe scholarships could help in college. What I've learned since, from people whose kids have gone on to play college ball on scholarships, many of them don't get fully funded sports scholarships at Division I, they just get a portion funded. Or they can get full rides at community colleges. Is that what you want for your daughter? You seem awfully proud that she is so smart, do you want her to go to community college for a few years then maybe get recruited to a Division I? There's nothing wrong at all with community college, that's just not what my son wants.

Consider an injury, because it's possible. Would it be worth the drive every day for 4 years if she can't play? Also consider is it worth all the extra money when she may not even get any scholarships. If she's doing it because it's fun and she loves it and you want her to have the experiences, then that's fine, but don't do it for the money 'cuz it's just not likely.

*There was a study done a while back by our local newspaper that included how much money parents spent on kids to play competitive sports including tourneys and equipment and registrations fees and everything that goes along with it. Parents overwhelmingly said they did it for the opportunity for their child to get scholarships. If the folks had just put the money in an account and let it grow, they could have more than paid for the Division I colleges they were dying for their kids to play at.

This is the part that people don't get--they spend MORE on these programs then college will cost. We have some friends that have a DD in an elite soccer program. It costs them about $10,000 year for fees, travel costs, etc. This is the 4th year AT LEAST that she has done this program. Had they invested that money she would have enough to pay for college easily. She still could have played with a "lesser" program costing a few hundred a year and still have the same opportunities for a scholarship as she will get now.

DD14 already has some colleges looking at her for golf. She will most likely get some kind of a golf scholarship barring injury but it is RARE to get 100% scholarship for ANY sport, let along women's golf. She will end up going to whatever school give her the best financial package and if that happens to include a golf scholarship-great--but she is also a great student and will probably qualify for more in academic scholarships then a golf scholarship will get her. We spend about $300/year on her golf tournaments and equipment--we would get our golf membership regardless so we don't consider that an 'expense' for her-and it is not even $2000/year for that.

 

[jsmith]

Having been down this road-i would say yes-move her to the other district-since she is an incoming fresh man you shouldnt hit transfer eligiblity rules and if the school academics are equal you wont hurt anything. But let me caveat that-lots of parents think athletics are their childs ticket to a college education-the reality is the only Mens sport where there are an abundance of full rides is football. the top five basketball players at a division I school might get rides-its very rare for anyone else. Thanks to title nine there are way more full rides in other sports for women-but its still very competitive. Realistically kids need to play sports for fun -the chances of getting a ride for acedemic preformance are much much higher.

 

[dis-happy]

My son is a great baseball player, traveling teams, world series champions- all that. We had high expectations for him, and always talked about "once you hit high school....". He was injured last summer. Had to have knee surgery. Will he even get to a place where he can play high school ball? We're just not sure right now. The benefit is, he never considered himself playing professional ball or even college ball as important. We just thought, maybe scholarships could help in college. What I've learned since, from people whose kids have gone on to play college ball on scholarships, many of them don't get fully funded sports scholarships at Division I, they just get a portion funded. Or they can get full rides at community colleges. Is that what you want for your daughter? You seem awfully proud that she is so smart, do you want her to go to community college for a few years then maybe get recruited to a Division I? There's nothing wrong at all with community college, that's just not what my son wants.

Consider an injury, because it's possible. Would it be worth the drive every day for 4 years if she can't play? Also consider is it worth all the extra money when she may not even get any scholarships. If she's doing it because it's fun and she loves it and you want her to have the experiences, then that's fine, but don't do it for the money 'cuz it's just not likely.

*There was a study done a while back by our local newspaper that included how much money parents spent on kids to play competitive sports including tourneys and equipment and registrations fees and everything that goes along with it. Parents overwhelmingly said they did it for the opportunity for their child to get scholarships. If the folks had just put the money in an account and let it grow, they could have more than paid for the Division I colleges they were dying for their kids to play at.

I agree with this, and more. My ds is a ranked tennis player and we are surrounded by kids that are very good and better. It's not all it seems, to be putting everything into athletics.

First: more college scholarships that you realize go to players out of the country

Second: unless you have a coach that is experienced in placements and well connected with college coaches your chances are even less

Third: what is your goal regarding the sport? A lifetime career? Probably not. Then your focus needs to change to academics and what's best for the student. One of the very best is the freedom to drop the sport if desired. To keep up the level of play for potential college teams you'd have to be playing year round and almost to the exclusion of everything else. Leaves less time for academics or even the chance to try out for something else of interest, like being in a play.

Fourth: limits where you apply to college. Then, if on a varsity team in college, scholarship or not, practice time is extensive and again applies limits to other things you can do and try in college.

My advice: keep it fun, but don't make it so it's the only thing she can and does in high school. Chances are it's not going to be the decisive factor 4 years later. If she stays at your local school, she'll be one of the stars with her skills, but won't have all the pressure if she wants to ramp it down (ie. not play year round). When she gets to college she can continue to play as a club sport as she wishes (my dd does this with her horse riding, something she competed in all during high school). JMHO as a parent who has seen more from the other side (crazy parents pinning their college hopes on athletic skills) than you'd want for your child, trust me.

 

[tr-ray]

Everytime I hear about these situations, I wonder to myself who is this really for - the parents or the kids?
I'm sure your kids love playing sports, but alot of things change in high school.

My brother played baseball from age 3 on. Come high school, he wasn't TOTALLY AWESOME, but he was a pretty good pitcher, and played well defensively at 2nd or short. My dad invested alot of time & money for him to go to camps, one on one training, etc. Even put up a batting cage in the yard in hopes of him bringing up his offense.

By the time my brother hit 10th grade, he was starting to get more interested in things like skateboarding & snowboarding... Well, two years in a row my brother hurt himself doing just that - snowboarding off a roof or something -- and was ineligible to play in both 10th & 11th grade... By the time senior year came around, he was just not interested in baseball anymore after not playing for nearly 2 years.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Ok then.....my dd gets excellent grades and is also good at a sport that she has 3 established teams that want her and 1 team thats being put together and that is only being asked personally by the coaches to be a part of it as a pitcher.

But you still haven't answered (at least as of this post, I'm not done reading ) how the other school is academically. Not your daughter, we get that she's smart - but what kind/quality education will she be getting in the other school?

Are the two school systems on identical vacation/holiday/school year schedules? If not, it's going to make any vacation plans difficult.

And have you considered that if her current school had better players - i.e. your daughter and the other four-five girls you mention - that the team would have a better record?

 

[HOGFAN]

I would if my child

1. wanted to
2. excelled in a particular sport which could lead to a scholarship.
3. could also obtain a good education.

 

[padams]

Would your dd prefer being a good player on a better team or the star of a lesser team? Peer recognition is another factor to consider.

 

[JamieW]

My son is a great baseball player, traveling teams, world series champions- all that. We had high expectations for him, and always talked about "once you hit high school....". He was injured last summer. Had to have knee surgery. Will he even get to a place where he can play high school ball? We're just not sure right now. The benefit is, he never considered himself playing professional ball or even college ball as important. We just thought, maybe scholarships could help in college. What I've learned since, from people whose kids have gone on to play college ball on scholarships, many of them don't get fully funded sports scholarships at Division I, they just get a portion funded. Or they can get full rides at community colleges. Is that what you want for your daughter? You seem awfully proud that she is so smart, do you want her to go to community college for a few years then maybe get recruited to a Division I? There's nothing wrong at all with community college, that's just not what my son wants.

Consider an injury, because it's possible. Would it be worth the drive every day for 4 years if she can't play? Also consider is it worth all the extra money when she may not even get any scholarships. If she's doing it because it's fun and she loves it and you want her to have the experiences, then that's fine, but don't do it for the money 'cuz it's just not likely.

*There was a study done a while back by our local newspaper that included how much money parents spent on kids to play competitive sports including tourneys and equipment and registrations fees and everything that goes along with it. Parents overwhelmingly said they did it for the opportunity for their child to get scholarships. If the folks had just put the money in an account and let it grow, they could have more than paid for the Division I colleges they were dying for their kids to play at.

This is one thing that is spelled out in our states' program, transportation is provided by the family, not the school.



This is the part that people don't get--they spend MORE on these programs then college will cost. We have some friends that have a DD in an elite soccer program. It costs them about $10,000 year for fees, travel costs, etc. This is the 4th year AT LEAST that she has done this program. Had they invested that money she would have enough to pay for college easily. She still could have played with a "lesser" program costing a few hundred a year and still have the same opportunities for a scholarship as she will get now.

DD14 already has some colleges looking at her for golf. She will most likely get some kind of a golf scholarship barring injury but it is RARE to get 100% scholarship for ANY sport, let along women's golf. She will end up going to whatever school give her the best financial package and if that happens to include a golf scholarship-great--but she is also a great student and will probably qualify for more in academic scholarships then a golf scholarship will get her. We spend about $300/year on her golf tournaments and equipment--we would get our golf membership regardless so we don't consider that an 'expense' for her-and it is not even $2000/year for that.

What they said.

Parents should NEVER rely on a college scholarship to pay for their kid's education. Scholarships are not plentiful. Full scholarships are even rarer. For instance, a school may have 5 full scholarships for a softball team. The school can then divide those scholarships however they want, so a full could become two quarters and one half, which means the parents still have to pay.

Also, scholarships are only good for one year and have to be renewed each year. If your kid doesn't want to play after freshman year, wave bye bye to the scholarship.

 

[barkley]

What they said.

Parents should NEVER rely on a college scholarship to pay for their kid's education. Scholarships are not plentiful. Full scholarships are even rarer. For instance, a school may have 5 full scholarships for a softball team. The school can then divide those scholarships however they want, so a full could become two quarters and one half, which means the parents still have to pay.

Also, scholarships are only good for one year and have to be renewed each year. If your kid doesn't want to play after freshman year, wave bye bye to the scholarship.

or if your kid's not picked to play or picked to get the scholarship to play.

we live near 2 universities with high profile sports programs-if you watch the different sports from season to season it's the exception vs the rule that a player goes for 4 straight years on the team. the ones that do are generaly either the scholarship receiving elite of the elite (but not so elite they've been picked up professionaly), or the ones who got initial scholarships but when they were'nt selected to receive one (or as much) subsequently had private funds (or are piling up massive student loans) to pay their own way.

we have a neighbor that works at one of these university's and he's said it's very sad to see how many students think they've got it made financialy by virtue of those enticing first year scholarships the school offers them, only to find out that even if they get a scholarship the second year it's scaled way back so the university can use the funds to entice a new crop of freshman athletes (apparantly the schools figure that once a student does their freshman year it's unlikely they can pick up a scholarship that would entice them to another school so those that can come up with the money do and just stick it out).

 

[clovergirl5]

Thanks everyone...alot of great points to think about and weigh. We are hoping for any amount of money for a scholarship. Its not a huge deal, just any little bit helps kwim? If she has the talent and ambition why not. We just want her to be able to play at a competitive level and not want to quit because the other teammates aren't up to par with her because they aren't doing it year round like dd.

 

[clovergirl5]

But you still haven't answered (at least as of this post, I'm not done reading ) how the other school is academically. Not your daughter, we get that she's smart - but what kind/quality education will she be getting in the other school?

Are the two school systems on identical vacation/holiday/school year schedules? If not, it's going to make any vacation plans difficult.And have you considered that if her current school had better players - i.e. your daughter and the other four-five girls you mention - that the team would have a better record?

To tell you the truth, I have not talked to the other school about their academic program. I haven't talked to her coaches or her teammates from that school so Im not sure about it. I would imagine that its pretty similar to the school she is in. I mean these aren't private schools. Just your normal run of the mill country schools. But that is definitely something I will inquire about if/when we do this, thanks.

 

[phragmipedium]

If everyone's on board and everything works logistically, I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. But if it were me, I would *definitely* take the opportunity to talk to my daughter about a few things if she does get to do it - for example, that sometimes you are on a "losing team" in life and you don't have an opportunity to walk away from it but you just have to make the best. Sometimes you have to look at a bigger picture than a win/loss record and think about why you enjoy playing anyway. Sometimes you work as hard as you can and still don't have a "dream team" - at school, in a sport, at work, in a relationship, etc. It's not always so easy to just jump ship for greener pastures.

If I allowed my daughter to make the move, I'd make sure she understood she was able to do it because the academics were just as good, that her grades need to stay as good or better, that I not hear complaints if her new team doesn't do as well as she expects or things don't work out quite like she's expecting, that she continue to help around the house and be a team player at home especially since the family is willing to make sacrifices for her to go to a new school with teammates she works well with. And that there are no guarantees about scholarships or state championships, but that she's expected to continue to do her part to be a great student and enjoy playing sports as well as other activities she's involved in.

So, I guess I don't think it's a terrible idea and could end up being good for her, but there are so many unknowns about how life goes that you can't plan for and you never know if she really will have a better time moving to a new school just for softball or not - so I'd make sure she's really committed even if you offer up scenarios that she might not be expecting. Maybe she doesn't get as much play time at the new school as she would at the old, what if she (heaven forbid) gets an injury that prevents her from playing at all, what if she hates her new teachers, etc. Will she be allowed to transfer back if things don't go as she expects? I would discuss all of those things and be sure everyone's on the same page. Good luck!