Hit the Books…and Then the Ball

Rich Kammerer from Parents "R" Talking discusses helping students balance their time between keeping their grades up at school, participating in extracurricular activities, and making friends along the way.

"My son is starting high school in a couple of weeks and he wants to play soccer for the school team. I want him to enjoy himself and meet friends, but I'm concerned about the toll all those hours of practice might have on his grades. He hasn't given me any reasons to be worried and says he understands the commitment to both grades and sports, but I'm having a hard time." 
- Martin

Martin, thanks for sending this particularly topical question as the entire Parents 'R' Talking family will be in school this fall and one of my recent reads is on this subject (hint: First-year students will require one wand, one cauldron).

I'll skip the studies that correlate higher levels of education to higher income, happiness, reduced drug-use, and reduced teen-pregnancy. But it's clear that learning is a critical aspect of maturing into happy and responsible adults. 

Just as there are different types of intelligence, learning has many aspects. That being said, high school is an important time for schooling to be the highest priority. As young people mature, solid grades help keep future options available.