The Importance of High School Sports

As you enter your freshman year of high school, you are forced to make a decision that will have a significant impact on your high school career. The decision to continue playing sports or not is a difficult decision for a lot of kids. As a young child, sports was just about having fun and hanging out with your friends. But as you reach the high school level, it isn’t all fun and games anymore. It is a constant grind and you must be willing to give up a lot of your time in order to become successful. For some people that is too much for them, which is completely understandable. If you are lucky enough to have the time and are willing to work for it, then I believe playing high school sports is one the best decisions that you will make as a young adult. I write this addressing it to you young kids who have to make that decision eventually. All the fun and glory you receive is cool, but the friendships and lessons you learn from playing high school sports is something that you will forever cherish and take with you wherever you go in life.

Growing up in Westwood, a relatively small school, my friends and I would attend of ton of their sporting events. I would say that Westwood was and still to this day is recognized as having one of the best athletic programs around, especially for public schools. Going to the games and just envisioning yourself being a part of that someday was really special. Playing for a public school, the dream of making it professional or even getting the opportunity to play at the college level is not something you see very often. Sure, there have been special talents who went on to have remarkable athletic careers outside of high school, but for most high school kids, they play for the love of the game. The dream of winning league or state titles and accomplishing some of your personal achievements are what kids strive for. While those are very important, the best things that you get from playing high school sports are things you may not learn until you’re playing days are over.

You hear players and coaches say all the time that their team is like a family. While that may sound corny or cliche, it could not be more accurate. The amount of time and effort you put it with your teammates make you realize how much you are willing to do and give for one another. Everything is not always pretty, you go through a lot of tough times as a team, but that’s when your connection with your teammates and coaches really make it feel like a family. People will have that rough practice or a rough game, but your teammates are always there to pick you up. I personally went through a rough time where I was unable to play my senior season due to injury. As devastating and as painful as that time was, the love and care I received from my teammates and coaches made me put into perspective how much this sport actually means to me. I’ve been out of high school for 5 years now and to this day the teammates that I had are still some of my best friends. The reminiscing and jokes we make about our playing days might have you think we graduated just last year. Was I good friends with most of my teammates before we started playing together? For some yes, but for a lot of the others I didn’t really know much about them up until we started playing together. And that is what is so fascinating about sports. You learn some much about one another that you may have never had the chance to do if you weren’t part of a team (family).

One major lesson that I learned from playing high school sports was the ability to communicate. In most team sports, you must be able to have strong communication in order for things to go smoothly. The ability to adapt on the fly and learn things about one another come through communication. If you are able to develop this at an early age and make it a strength, it will go a long way. Whether you are in a group in college or are assigned a group with a bunch of your co-workers, you must have to be able to communicate and understand one another. Life moves fast and one way to fall behind quick is hesitating and being scared to ask questions or share your ideas. High school teaches you a lot of things, but I believe they lack putting emphasis on the importance of communicating and being able to work together. People learn it in different ways, but I for one recognize that sports played a huge part in that learning process for me.

Along with communication, I believe that time management is another valuable lesson you learn from sports. Most young kids these days have a bunch of free time but always wait till last minute to get things done. I'd admit, I was one of those kids too. But there are always those times you wait too long where your computer shuts down or the printer doesn't work and you were not able to hand in that assignment. Getting ahead and making the most use of time is something that I adapted later on in my high school career. Playing sports, you have a busy schedule. Between going to school from 7-3, either having practice or having a road game and not getting home till 10pm, you don't have much time to get your work done. Finding the time and making use of it is critical. Whether that's during your lunch break or during study hall, getting your work done and not waiting till later in the night pays off. Not only will it be done properly but it will take all the stress away. I know for a fact that most kids don't want to come home from a sporting event and do school work. You’re tired, you just want to relax and go to sleep. And that time management will come in hand later on in life. As you get older, the work piles up, the less free time you have, so instead of maybe watching TV or taking a nap, make it a priority to get your things done. Rushing it and doing in later in the night not only will make it less effective but it will always effect your next day if you’re up all night.

I am one of those kids who is very grateful and appreciative for all the things that high school offered to me. High school prepares you for your next step in life whether that be going to college or joining the workforce. Everybody has a different objective or goal they set out to accomplish when they enter high school. For myself, sports offered to the opportunity to pursue my goals and dreams that I thought about as a little kid. The relationships and lessons that are learned from playing sports are so valuable and have been a big part of my life. And let me leave you with one piece of advice. Cherish those moments, be grateful for the opportunity that your school provides you. High school is a wonderful experience and whatever your passion is, go do it. It will be a great decision, I promise.