Parent wants talented runner to quit - need arguments to convince her otherwise

Paragraphs wrote:

Drum and bss wrote:

But yeah, a 3.3 is seriously bad in almost any program even at the university level. Especially bad at the high school level.

3.3 is not bad. It is certainly not "seriously bad". You might have a perspective problem.

For high school it is awful. Can you even get into competitive programs with that kind of gpa?

For university I'd say it's decent/kind of good if you're in physics, engineering, math or similar disciplines. Otherwise it's still bad.

If I were her parent and my daughter had a 3.3 in HIGH SCHOOL, I'd be quite concerned for her future.

Since when is "B" not generally bad?

Drum and bss wrote:

[quote]Paragraphs wrote:

For high school it is awful. Can you even get into competitive programs with that kind of gpa?

For university I'd say it's decent/kind of good if you're in physics, engineering, math or similar disciplines. Otherwise it's still bad.

If I were her parent and my daughter had a 3.3 in HIGH SCHOOL, I'd be quite concerned for her future.

Since when is "B" not generally bad?

A "B" is not generally bad. Like I said before, your problem is perspective. You seem to think that valedictorians are the only successful students. A "B" is good enough to accomplish just about everything. Seriously, you need to take a step back and reevaluate your perspective.

What can a B accomplish?

Can you get into a chemical engineering program that has a very high employment rate for specific degree required work?

If you get a humanities degree, I don't see how you're going to get into any good professional or graduate programs.

If your goal is a humanities degree from a community college, then it will work.

How is a B high enough to accomplish "just about everything"? You don't need to be a valedictorian to achieve an A- and above average.

Let's remember too, that this girl has a 3.3 in HIGH SCHOOL. Her university grades will likely be worse.

I think the young lass sounds like a well rounded gal. Let her enjoy herself. I see no wrong.

It's unfortunate the parent doesn't see the good of having just a great and wonderful kid that is striving. She has good grades, she runs well. What's wrong with that?

I betcha the young lass is a just joy to have on the team,

Paragraphs wrote:

Drum and bss wrote:

But yeah, a 3.3 is seriously bad in almost any program even at the university level. Especially bad at the high school level.

3.3 is not bad. It is certainly not "seriously bad". You might have a perspective problem.

Everyone on LR has/had a 4.0 gpa and 14:00 5k. Both of which are average at best.

Non-runners lack perspective sometimes.

I think it would help if you explain what typical training consists of for runners in your program, and in your league. For instance, 6 days a week, one hour a day, whatever. If she goes above a certain amount you would consider that to be a problem.

Then compare that to other sports like football, soccer, etc., where they often practice for hours a day.

Regarding school work, it sounds like she needs to spend more time doing it and managing her time better overall. Separate issue from whether she's "addicted" to running.

Alan Bennet wrote:

So the girl is "addicted"? That could mean a lot of things, from wearing running clothes all the time

But they're the most comfortable. I am NOT addicted!!!

First thought is what does the kid want to do, but then I am guessing the mom really does not care.

There is legitimate data on correlations between HS sports and things like drinking/drug abuse, weight gain, etc (all negative correlations).

Check Changing the Game Project for some blogs with links to surveys and such. Also Aspen Institute Project Play has some data on it.

Where we are, 3.3 GPA is in the bottom 25% of the class but that may not be the case at other places

Still, it would be in the bottom 50%

4M graduates nationally so we are looking to fall behind roughly 2M students in college admissions

Can you say Top100 is out of range for us?

Right, lets look for a U with a Furious Ferret mascot and campuses at the (any) strip mall near you.

Track practice is in the Big Lots parking lot.

But, lets push on that 800M at all costs and forget about the rest. This kid goes to school to run, not learn.

One word - Scholarship

First, agree with the mom that her concerns are important.

Then ask her if she can think of any other ways her daughters grades could improve without her daughter quitting track -- because sports participation has been shown as a benefit on college applications.

And with two hears improvement her daughter might earn a scholarship!

So the OP wants her to be a mediocre student and mediocre runner?

Sorry bud, but academics come first. Sure many runners get good grades but don't confuse correlation with causation. If she can only handle one activity then school must be it.

3.3 is not a good high school GPA. The earlier you address that the better. Based on her current running performance she's not going to earn a living that way. So back off.

Cal W. wrote:

Running increases self esteem. She'll be out partying bangin' dudes instead of running.

The counselor surprised me. Now days the message it to quit sports and focus all on school.

But let's be honest... This girl will likely marry & have kids and be a stay at home mom. So does it matter?

I'm guessing Asian family. 3.3 is failing. Nothing you can do if this is the case. She's not going to run next year unless her GPA hits 4.0. So if I were you I'd tell her to study more.

Really? Do you have evidence or link? No need to be racist. With that said, I'm definitely confident the OP is a troll and for some remote reason he/she is not then...you need to be a better coach. Like others have commented...talk with the mom and see what's going on or at least figure out why the sudden change. Think bigger than your coaching skills.

Precious little good advice here. Coach, your job is to develop responsible young adults first and foremost. You should applaud the mother for her stance and tell her that you'll back her up 100%. Encourage her to set a reasonable target for her daughter to earn her way back onto the team.

One option is for her mother to let her work out with the team but not compete until/unless she meets the target. I might try to make the case that it will increase the pressure on her to get her grades up, because she'll want to race with the friends she sees every day.

Furious Ferret awaits wrote:

Where we are, 3.3 GPA is in the bottom 25% of the class but that may not be the case at other places

Still, it would be in the bottom 50%

4M graduates nationally so we are looking to fall behind roughly 2M students in college admissions

Can you say Top100 is out of range for us?

Right, lets look for a U with a Furious Ferret mascot and campuses at the (any) strip mall near you.

Track practice is in the Big Lots parking lot.

But, lets push on that 800M at all costs and forget about the rest. This kid goes to school to run, not learn.

As a guidance counselor, your post is crap. If 3.3 is in the bottom 25%, then your school must be trying to pump out as many resume-inflated students as possible.

Even if this student had 2 millions students ahead of her, she'd likely have only a few hundred in front of her in the 800 by the time she graduates. That's what gets you accepted (and free rides) to universities - not cookie cutter good student with no background or story. Once you're in, nothing else matters.

Sounds like a helicopter parent to me.

The 800 requires less time and energy for a young person to train than any event in any other sport. I coached a post-collegiate to 2:10 on two runs a week and 10-15 miles total (granted she was experienced). Her PR on a full-time, six-days/week collegiate scholarship was only 2:08 after four years (and four years as a prep)

Just have her run three days a week.

You can show her the studies that show that athletics leads to increased grades. There are many, and Howell Wechsler found in a review of over 50 studies that there are no virtually no negative impacts, and that "Participation in sports teams and physical activity clubs, often organized by the school and run outside of the regular day, can improve grade point average, school attachment, educational aspirations and the likelihood of graduation."

https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-04-14-letsmoveinschool15_st_N.htm

bridgeto wrote:

How about you assume that she knows her daughter better than you do and her interest is what is best for her daughter rather than a bullet item on a coach's CV?

You want to succeed?

Show her a path forward that meets her criteria?

1) improved GPA - refocus competitive spirit

2) awareness towards obsessive behavior

3) better understanding of how to deal with plateaus or losses

4) sincere apologies for not realizing these shortcomings earlier and appropriately dealing with them

pop-pop ... I will assume that you banged your head on the kitchen sink hard

Yeah, right - manipulate the parent advice. Best thing you could do.

Wrong. Stop trolling please.