In regards to school, for young students, it is critical, early on, for the student and family to put forth a committed effort toward academics.  Identify academic weaknesses as early as possible, and parents must be willing to get involved and work with the teacher to best help the child. This can be as simple as just making sure the student attempts to do the assigned homework, and making sure that the teacher feels the student is applying him/herself in class. It is great to get the kids involved in organized sports, and even get special training and go to camps when appropriate, but down the road, when it comes time to select a college, the choices are severely limited if the athlete is not a good student, since there are academic standards for admission into colleges.  Not to mention, that there is a lot of academic scholarship money out there for colleges and even for attendance to private high schools.  Every kid can't be the Valedictorian, but all can work hard at the process needed to develop into the best student possible, ie; learn to put forth a committed effort to; pay attention and behave in class, ask questions and seek help when needed, study, do homework, etc... Ideally, these good habits are ingrained early on, so academic success can be firmly established prior to high school. Though college may be far off, the process that helps put a kid in position to be a successful student/athlete should begin very early, and should be ongoing. Getting tutoring may be very beneficial.

 

For upper elementary students, it is very important to be ready for the transition to middle school.  The academic demands at the middle school level are greater. If a kid is allowed to get away with not attempting to do homework at the elementary school level, then there will be an uphill battle at the middle school level where more is asked of the student.  Middle school students that are playing organized sports really need to prioritize and manage time well to be able to give both the sports and academics their due attention. Not to mention, getting enough sleep. Young and growing kids definitely need their sleep and to eat well. Time spent on social media, video games, and the phone, really needs to be watched.  See Raising a Successful Student/Athlete for more details.

 

The transition from middle school to high school is big for the same reasons as the transition from elementary to middle school.  Getting enough sleep can be a problem for high school student/athletes; especially those with challenging classes that require a lot of homework. Along with organization, prioritization, and time management, allowing the kid to sleep later on weekends, and take naps when possible can be beneficial.  At some point the student will be taking the PSAT, ACT, and SAT tests. For the PSAT test the student is given an opportunity to opt to give colleges permission to send leaflets and other materials to the home, so if you are interested in your kid going to college, then you want those materials sent to your home. It is important to keep track of what is sent to you so you can refer to it when deciding what schools to consider. I suggest that the student take advantage of SAT test prep opportunities. Our son did a prep class and it helped immensely, as he did great the second time he took the SAT, and really put him in line for a lot more academic money, as well as allowing some prestigious academic institutions to be able to consider him, ie; Ivy League schools.  See Raising a Successful Student/Athlete for more details.