Sports as an Extracurricular: Weighing the Benefits On and Off the Field

From enhancing your college applicant profile with skills like teamwork and leadership to navigating the recruitment process, sports can be a powerful tool for personal growth and in some cases for college admissions too. In this blog post, we explore the significant benefits and potential challenges of sports as extracurriculars along with tips for ensuring sports complement your academic and personal goals.

Sports can add impressive credentials to your extracurricular portfolio, offering unique experiences and skills that other activities might not provide, and standing boldly apart — at least in some essential aspects — from the academic activities that fill much of your days and weeks as a highschooler.

That’s right, even though sports don’t reflect a pursuit of academic achievement, as such, they still highlight lots of personal qualities that admissions officers look for — and probably more of these qualities than you realize.

In this post I’ll explain the many positive benefits of sports extracurriculars and tell you what to consider when deciding if you should include sports as a serious contender for your extracurricular list (or not).

I’ll also devote a couple of sections to how sports as extracurriculars can help your academic profile stand out, including a preview of what’s involved if you decide to take all this to the next level by pursuing athletic recruitment.

Why Choose Sports as an Extracurricular Activity?

Participation in sports extracurriculars will give you the benefit of physical, mental, and social wellbeing.

Whether you're on the field or the court, sports activities keep you physically fit, can help you academically with improved mental acumen and alertness, and they can help you develop mental discipline, sportsmanship, and time management skills too.

These features of sports mean that your sports extracurriculars, as part of your college applications, should help you demonstrate readiness for college life too!

Deciding If Sports Is Right for You

We’ve just seen that sports activities are more than just fun and recreational, helping you stay healthy and grow personally. But there are always opportunity costs when you decide to invest time in any kind of extracurricular.

Let's look at some important factors that I believe will help you decide if sports is an extracurricular that really suits you personally.

• Exercise/Rejuvenation: If you're often fidgety and restless after a day of desk work in your classes, you may benefit more than others from physical activity that rejuvenates your mind and body. In fact, many students need a robust physical outlet built into their week to feel energized and more focused academically. If this is you, then there’s no doubt that sports merits serious consideration for a place among your potential choices for extracurriculars.
• Above-Average Time Commitments: If you want every minute you invest in your top extracurriculars to count, think twice about sports. Many sports programs for high schoolers are disproportionately time intensive (regular workouts, practice competitions, and game days...). This can be true even if athletics isn’t a big centerpiece for you, so it's important to weigh the opportunity costs alongside the benefits.
• Accessibility: From badminton and water polo, to soccer and basketball, highschoolers often have many sports they can join right on campus using school facilities. This kind of accessibility can make sports activities highly convenient and appealing.
• Making Friends: High school sports activities are team-based and group-based activities, so if you’re looking for constructive extracurricular activities that make it easier to make new friends, sports programs can be an excellent way to do it!

• Costs: The cost to participate in sports can vary, often depending on which sport. Cross country, soccer, and basketball (athletic shoes aside) tend to be more economical. Sports such as ice hockey, skiing, or equestrianism — can be far more pricey (for equipment, travel, and practice venues). This means many sports programs are a great option for family budgets, but some sports or leagues may come with a hefty price tag.
• Just Do It? Last, but certainly not least, your own personal interests and passions should guide your decision. If you’re not driven by a meaningful personal interest, enjoyment, or passion when it comes to choosing sports as an extracurricular, why should you do it? After all, when there are so many intriguing and rewarding extracurriculars to consider, why do sports if you’re not really excited about it?

Another perspective that’s often important for college-bound highschoolers is thinking about the potential value that sports activities will have as extracurriculars for college admissions…

I’m sure it’s no surprise to you that students ask our strategists about this every day, so let’s take a look at how sports as an extracurricular might impact the admission process when you’re ready to apply to selective schools.

How Sports Extracurriculars Enhance Your Applicant Profile

Well-roundedness. Colleges appreciate students who demonstrate an ability to balance academics and extracurriculars. Sports as an extracurricular highlight your ability to manage multiple commitments.

Sportsmanship. Sports activities emphasize fairness and integrity — qualities that make for positive participation in your future campus community.

Teamwork. Being part of a team fosters collaboration and communication skills — from dorms and housing coops, to debate teams, clubs, and even group activities in your classes — teamwork skills and aptitudes contribute a great deal to helping campus communities thrive and cohere, something admissions officers and campus leaders are well aware of.

Leadership. While teamwork and sportsmanship may be most top-of-mind, sports can also help you grow your leadership skills and instincts. Among these, encouraging, listening to, and motivating others to achieve a larger goal are all aptitudes that will help you lead off the field too — in school, in business roles, and in many kinds of career and organizational settings.

Endurance, Stamina, and Perseverance. The physical and mental demands of sports build endurance and perseverance, traits you also need to thrive academically in college. Admissions officers know this and understand how training on the field prepares you to be resilient in college.

Growth Mindset. From failing to beat your personal record or losing a match, to having to work through and bounce back from an injury, sports extracurriculars help you develop healthy resilience and a growth mindset that will positively impact you and those around you — on the field, academically, and in community.

Social Skills. Engaging with teammates and coaches enhances your social skills within a dynamic, goal-oriented community.  In sports you’ll be expected to excel individually and in teams, cooperatively and competitively — preparing you for the dynamic social situations you’ll encounter every day on your future college campus.

Letters of Recommendation. Coaches can provide unique perspectives and insights on you as an individual and potential college student, offering you an opportunity to enhance the breadth and impact of the letters of recommendations you’re able to submit when you apply to college.

The Limits of Sports Extracurriculars for Admissions

As you can see, sports extracurriculars don’t need to be academic in order to be valued by admissions officers. Keep in mind though that participation in sports is hardly uncommon, so sports extracurriculars may not help you stand out in a prominent way in a selective admissions process.

For students who are pursuing sports primarily for recreation or camaraderie and who are not planning to pursue collegiate-level performance, a sports extracurricular may not give you much of an edge at highly selective schools.

This isn’t to negate the value of sports as an extracurricular — especially for any student who genuinely enjoys it and experiences the benefits. It is a reminder that when you’re looking at sports activities for college admissions, a holistic and personalized approach is really crucial.

If you're planning your extracurriculars roadmap right now, your decision making should be informed by many personal factors, like where you’re applying and your own personal circumstances and aspirations.

Sports in Your Admissions Strategy: Expert Insights

Obviously, a personalized approach is needed when you’re deciding how sports as an extracurricular may add value to your admissions efforts, and there’s no one-size-fits-all answer or prescription for what to do.

Here are some tips from Mariví Lerdo-de-Tejada, a Senior US Admissions Strategist with Crimson Education, for students planning ahead, and then for those students ready to work on their applications and activities list.

As you can see, there can be some limits to the value of sports as an extracurricular when you’re focused solely on college admissions.

Obviously, sports or no sports in high school, you’ll want to be sure your admissions planning and application materials highlight a consistent and compelling applicant profile, which is how an experienced admissions advisor can help you.

But… what if sports are truly a centerpiece of your high school career and you’re headed for collegiate-level competition, or even a recruiting track, then what?

In this scenario it’s a whole different ball game. If you're headed for collegiate competition, sports extracurriculars can really be a game changer for admissions…

Sports Extracurriculars as a Bridge to College Athletics

If athletic competition is a centerpiece of your high school achievements — and you're on a track for collegiate-level competition — your sports extracurriculars could give you a way bigger edge for admissions.

BUT, keep in mind that relatively few high schoolers will be in this group.

According to the NCAA, less than 7% of the 8 million students participating in high school athletics will compete as NCAA athletes — and far fewer will compete at the professional or Olympic levels.

If you do see yourself on this path, here are a few quick tips for your next steps:

• Recruitment Process: The recruitment process varies by sport and institution, so understanding recruiting practices and interests at the schools you’re excited about attending can give you an edge.
• Powerful Lever for Admissions: Recruitment can offer you an exceptional advantage for admissions at schools where you might otherwise have only narrow odds of getting an offer — serving as a virtual "back door" to a transformative educational opportunity.
• Role of the NCAA: The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) is the primary body governing, coordinating, and funding college athletics in the US. Familiarizing yourself with the NCAA's role in college sports recruitment is a great first step in learning how to navigate the recruitment process.

• Understanding Athletic Program Levels: Research the different collegiate divisions and their expectations to find the right fit for your skills and aspirations.
• Don't Put All Your Eggs in One Basket: While sports can be a powerful admissions tool and lever for exceptional growth and success — into college, through college, and beyond — it's crucial to maintain other goals and commitments. An injury or unexpected event can change your plans, so keep your options open and find balance!

Keeping a Healthy and Holistic Perspective — On & Off the Field!

• "Know Thyself": Whether you're in it for fun or aiming for recruitment, being honest with yourself about your goals and limits is crucial. There's no one-size-fits-all approach to sports and athletics, but authenticity in your choices will lead to more rewarding outcomes.
• Establish Healthy Routines and Habits: Passion and commitment are admirable, but they should not come at the cost of your well-being. Prioritize stretching, warm-ups, and a balanced diet to prevent injuries. If you ever feel overwhelmed, don't hesitate to seek guidance from a counselor or physician. Maintaining a holistic approach to your health will support your sports ambitions and overall happiness.

• Manage Stress and Mental Health: Sports can be intense, and it's important to manage stress effectively. Develop coping strategies and ensure you have a support system in place. Remember, mental health is just as important as physical health.
• Balance: It's easy to let sports consume your life, especially if you're passionate about it. However, don't neglect your academics, family commitments, or need for personal time. A well-rounded approach will help you persevere and thrive as opposed to burning out.

Final Thoughts

Sports can be a valuable part of your high school experience and college application, making sports a legitimate contender as you plan out your extracurriculars.

Sports offer unique opportunities for growth, learning, and enjoyment, allowing you to add value to your college admissions profile by demonstrating more ways you’re ready to thrive in a college community.

That said, we’ve also seen that sports may not distinguish you as a candidate in the context of a very competitive admissions process, unless your sports activity is truly a strong centerpiece of your profile and includes plans for collegiate-level competition as well.

This means there are lots of personal and admissions-related factors to consider when deciding if you want to pursue sports as an extracurricular and what the right reasons are for it, in your personal circumstances.

To get the most personalized advising possible, be sure to get input from your Crimson strategist or other specialized member of your team. If you’re not part of the Crimson network, you can still get input and ask questions about different levels of support we offer by scheduling a free feedback session.