More sports options will unlock hidden passions

Sports are a vital component of the high school experience for many students with dutiful practice and the meaningful bonds formed between teammates. Participation in sports has numerous benefits such as enhancing athleticism, learning teamwork, and being a relief from schoolwork. This experience, however, may not appeal to students for various reasons. Students may not want to pursue sports because they think that they need to possess exceptional athletic ability and that the sports that are available are not enticing to them. All this can be solved by diversifying the number and types of sports available so that more students can find a sport they feel passionate about.

Some students may be put off from participating in a sport because they are under the impression that they need athleticism to be successful in it. That is because many of the common high school sports like wrestling, football, and track do require a lot of effort. However, there are other sports that emphasize strategy and mental agility over physical ability. For instance, table tennis requires athletes to have quick reaction times in addition to strength. By providing a variety of sports that are not as physically demanding, more students would be enticed to join sports, improving themselves in more ways.

Introducing students to unfamiliar sports may unlock hidden passions students otherwise would not have pursued. A common demand of sports in students’ eyes is that none of the conventional sports nourish the skills that they are interested in. A lack of interest in a sport will ultimately bore a student and make them either quit it or become indifferent toward it. Providing students with a wide variety of sports increases the chances that students will find a sport that interests them and encourages them to stay committed to their sport.

It may be argued that integrating new sports into the school’s current roster will be too costly because of the new equipment and coaches needed. However, some sports do not need much equipment, and certain sports share the same equipment. For instance, free running is a sport that uses no equipment whatsoever. Free running is the intersection of athleticism, agility, and creativity, skills that are important in a good sport. Additionally, the need for more coaches will increase job opportunities.

To make sports an activity more people want to participate in, a greater variety should be offered. These new sports do not necessarily have to be anything that requires a large amount of new equipment and facilities. As long as these new sports help motivate students to participate, the goal of nurturing the physical and mental skill sets of students will be achieved.