At the end of the day, these are kids trying to find an activity that they like. If they're doing sports four days a week, they've likely been doing that for four days a week for a while now. Athletics doesn't admit sixth graders.
My kid takes dance lessons every Tuesday and Thursday and is in taekwondo on Monday Wednesday and Friday. Somewhere in there she takes piano lessons too. She's busy five days a week.
She also has homework, and, oh yeah, she needs to eat dinner AND have downtime. You're asking them to be as dedicated as music majors at the age of twelve years old. She's not going to stay up til 10:30 to get that extra practice time in when she gets home from school at 5, and turns around and goes to practice from 6 till 7 or 8 every night.
It costs nothing to consider the human. You can say "well they have to make a choice" - yes, she does. But right now her choice is to try to do everything.
What about those country kids who have to care for and show animals? They're busy till 8 or 9 at night every night too. Are they not to be in band because they don't play their clarinet for the heifer they're showing?
Stop making it about sports. Stop making it about competing with sports. Make it about the kid. Stop equivocating with "coaches" because it's a false equivalency and sour grapes.
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