"When it comes to sports, ANY sport, the kids who make the team normally have been playing in organized leagues from age 7 or 8. For baseball and hockey, the choices are more pronounced: elite players sometimes have to choose between their HS team, or their (elite) traveling league. "
Very few kids have this sort of talent; however, parents still tend to over-schedule them. Many of my peers had notebooks full of the gazillion lessons that they took. It was mainly for the parents' benefits not theirs. Kids didn't like going to any of the activities but did so to please their moms.
I was only involved in perhaps one activity when I was growing up (girl scouts when I was younger and band when I was in junior high) and perhaps a few lessons during the summer. I wasn't really good in dance, sports, or band, so I didn't keep any of these up for more than a few years.
"Add to that the parents who cheer their sons and daughters on, and the younger kids who aspire to be part of the fun on Friday nights. It's a positive kind of peer pressure that propels these young men and women, instead of merely doing it to please Mom & Dad."
I read "Friday Night Lights" which dispels the notion that high school football in Texas is just a "fun Friday night activity."
http://www.amazon.com/Friday-Night-Lights-Town-Dream/dp/0306809907/sr=8-2/qid=1164670345/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-8411897-4737423?ie=UTF8&s=booksFriday night football in Texas is a very fun activity!
I was in the band in Dallas when I grew up, and it was tons of fun. You didn't have to be great to participate, but I wanted to be great. I worked hard to get on the Color Guard for marching season, and then I worked hard to get into the first band.
My parents were not into any of it. They are not musically inclined. They are into sports, and I'm not a sports person.
I did all of it for myself, and I loved it!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish I could do it for fun now.
You are putting waaaaay too much emphasis on MBA programs. You seem consumed by the prospect of getting into an elite b-school.
I bet you still live at home and the parents are footing the bill for your school (am I right?). Before you start throwing fast food employees, soldiers, and mechanics under the bus, take a walk in their shoes.
This thread is turning into a bizzaro counseling session to help you to get an MBA and a rich date.