Student Athlete
Jake is a smart kid. I’m quite grateful. It’s also something we’ve worked at, prioritizing reading, writing, and education, in general, from the youngest age. We’ve never had to put rules in place that he needed a certain GPA to be able to participate in sports or other extra curricular activities. He is naturally motivated to get the grades.
But it wasn’t until 8th grade, when the time to start selecting courses for high school, that we realized just how motivated he was.
The three high schools in our district came to the middle school to present their approach to education, campus offerings, and the overall experience. Kids get to select which school they want to attend. Jake was pretty determined to have a “traditional” public school education. It worked for my husband and I. We purposefully moved into our neighborhood because of the schools. So we were fine with it. I thought he might entertain a magnet school, but he didn’t even want to tour.
He came home from that meeting with the high school counselors with his class schedule all-but-selected. Apparently, in California, they tell you which classes put you on a University of California track, Cal State track, or “other” track, being it junior college, trade school, or work. Jake selected all UC schools. When I asked him why, he simply answered “because it gives me the most options.” He wasn’t wrong. The UC track is also ideal for private schools. If he were to struggle on that path, he could pivot to a Cal State track, which would provide a wonderful education just the same. Given the state of higher education, it might just be easier to get into those private universities than the Cal State options, so Cal State is definitely not settling.
More than the UC path, the kid went and signed up for all honors and AP courses, as a freshman. The counselors did such a good job of explaining the high school credit system that he thought he needed to take a 0 period class “just to get ahead.” Thankfully, we talked him out of that. With a heavy course load like that, including a 10th grade honors math course as a freshman, plus football (for the first time) in the fall and baseball with his club team on the weekends, there just won’t be time.
It does make me realize two really wonderful things.
The kid truly cares and puts in the effort. Why else would he challenge himself so much as a freshman, when college is 4 years away and so much is unknown about what high school life is like? He values the “student” in student athlete.
We just might need to think about that minimum GPA to participate discussion we’ve avoided until now. Jake knows he’s a student first. The CIF or school mandated minimum isn’t an issue. We’ll need to find the balance between not letting schoolwork slide for sports and him pushing himself so hard that he’s a walking ball of stress.
I guess we’ll be facing new challenges as a family. Either way, we want him to enjoy his high school experience, set the habits that will lead to success, and set himself up to go where he wants in his future. Those are challenges we want to face, and there’s no one else I’d rather put my money on than this kid!
