I have a son who’s a sophomore (15 yo, second year in HS) and this comment absolutely rings true. He fences competitively (2 HR training four times a week plus a few hrs with physical therapist) and his life pretty much consists of school, homework and sports.
He has to be at school at 7:45am so gets up around 6am, goes to bed around 11am usually, so much for the 8 hrs of sleep per night!
And he hasn’t even started the college death March yet.
1. Why does he have to fence competitively? Is it not merely a choice/preference?
2. Same question but for any sports.
As for college, what is he/you aspiring to? Is it some average university like Oklahoma State University or something like UCLA?
I've yet to see evidence that it is hard/competitive to get into the former. And while people who go to highly ranked schools do have a minor advantage, it is fairly slight. I've been to both types of schools, so I have an idea.
School, homework, and sports. But what is he missing? Are you saying there is zero time for
- hanging out with friends
- going on outings with the family (skiing or to the movies)
- self-directed activities - walking, photography, church groups, getting a job
?
If you're saying there's ZERO time for those things, I find it hard to believe. Weekends there is no school. The days are not consumed with training and homework, I guess.
When I was in HS, my mother strongly encouraged me to engage in competitive sports to keep me away from the neighborhood crew. Most days that meant a 530am alarm clock, 615am in the pool, and after-school workouts too. So more like 3.5 hrs daily. Then a nap before dinner, then homework. Keeping busy with structured activities kept me out of trouble. The control group, my brother, got in lots more trouble than I did.
I had time for friends and self-directed activities, especially off season.
Not OP, but I think I get what you mean - my own son, who just started college, went through the same grind and honestly had been on it since elementary school. So technically, no, nobody has to do this stuff, and in reality there's a low ROI for most of it. My son (chose to) do a lot of extracurriculars to fluff up his college application in the hopes of getting into an MIT or a Stanford... and still didn't get in. He could have gotten away with doing a lot less than he did and still would have ended up in the same (good) state school he ended up in. But kids in affluent areas are surrounded by suggestions that you do have to do this stuff to get into a "good" school, so they get caught up in it.
He has to be at school at 7:45am so gets up around 6am, goes to bed around 11am usually, so much for the 8 hrs of sleep per night!
And he hasn’t even started the college death March yet.