Four years of navigating through awkward relationships and piles of homework can be tricky and difficult. Without a solid group of friends, an extracurricular activity, and a source that helps you grow confidence, high school can be a regressing period rather than a developmental one.
This is why playing a sport is so important for students and thoroughly contributes to their growth, values, and mindset.
A Set Group of Friends
Having a good group of friends in high school is so important and is half of what makes the experience bearable. Playing sports is a great outlet for making friends and allows athletes to make friends that share similar goals and interests.
A sports team always works together to accomplish a goal. Whether that be to win games, crush a rival in a match, or make it all the way to the state championship, strong bonds are made through times of hard work and performing well together on the field or court. Adversity encourages reliability and trust between players on the team, and it fosters camaraderie. Growing companionship is easy because you learn to work with others and see them at their best and worst.
Morgan Gallant, a sophomore at Pentucket High School, is a three-sport athlete. Playing field hockey in the fall, running track in the winter, and working hard on the lacrosse field in the spring, Gallant says, “All of my best friends I’ve made through sports. All of my friends either play a sport with me or are athletes themselves.”
Athletes spend up to six days a week practicing and spending time with their teammates. Added up, that can be about 10-12 hours spent with their teammates every week. During the season, your teammates automatically become your friends. Ally Cacciapouti is a senior at Pentucket and another three-sport athlete. Cacciapouti successfully captained the 2023-2024 soccer, basketball and lacrosse teams. She commented in a podcast interview about her basketball season: “I spend almost every night of the week with them for 4 months. On and off the court my teammates are my best friends.”
Having a good group of friends in high school is not only important for your well-being, but being friends with other athletes is a good way to prevent peer pressure or making bad decisions. When you play a sport, it is expected that athletes do not violate any league rules. These rules usually regard academic performance, sportsmanlike conduct on and off the field, and avoiding the use of alcohol or drugs.
The risk-seeking brain of a high schooler is less likely to want to make poor choices if that could get them kicked off the team or cost their athletic career. Surrounding themselves with other kids that have similar mindsets also makes it easier to not get peer pressured into making wrong decisions.
Gain Confidence
High school can be a difficult time, especially when teenagers don’t feel good about themselves. While going through changes and development, it is easy to lose self confidence and start to feel poorly about yourself. Playing sports in high school is a great way to gain confidence.
As athletes visually see their skills improve and get better, their self-esteem grows. High school athletes feel good about themselves because they are a part of a team and are working towards a goal everyday.
Additionally, athletic accolades, awards, and features in the newspaper are all part of the sports experience. Athletes grow confidence off of their achievements. Gallant explains that “Playing sports has really grown my self esteem. After a great game or performance I feel amazing.”
Depression rates are high in the teenage years, and playing a sport is a fantastic way to reduce the risk of depression. Getting active, spending time with a team, and creating positive goals are all ways that playing sports can help manage depression and boost self esteem.
Learn Work Ethic
It is part of an athlete’s job to want to work to improve themselves constantly. Even though practice may be 5-6 times a week, it is usually expected that players work on their skills or endurance on their own. Because of this, athletes are forced to learn what it’s like to apply a consistent work ethic.
Whether that be competing against another teammate for a starting spot, proving themselves to a coach, or working to get better with hopes to play in college, athletes are always pushing themselves to achieve their next goal. Having the discipline to show up early, stretch before and after practice, and stay on top of everything requires hard work and will teach dedication.
Competitiveness, drive, and effort are all engraved into their minds. While hard work is not always easy and can be unforgiving, the work ethic that athletes have to apply is carried with them throughout their lives.
Hard work is a necessity in the adult world and is needed to help anyone excel in their career. Mental and physical commitment as well as the value of hard work are two things that high school athletes can translate to any aspect of their life.
Learning to Lose
Aside from learning the value of hard work, athletes also learn what it feels like to lose and fail. Through every missed goal and every lost game, a lesson of resilience is learned. Sports teach the value of resilience even when you’ve failed. It builds mental toughness when athletes have to accept feedback and come back stronger.
Injuries are another type of failure that all athletes endure. Whether that be a sprained ankle or a torn ligament, injuries require a strong will and perseverance to recover from.
Sydney Trout is a junior at Pentucket who tore her ACL in the 2023 soccer season. Trout is a multi-sport talented athlete who is committed to Duke to play Division 1 lacrosse. She explains, “Tearing my ACL definitely sucks, but I learned a lot from it. It takes a good amount of mental strength and perseverance to recover from.”
In regards to the mental aspect of her injury, Trout explains, “It was and still is super difficult to watch my teammates play and do what I should be doing. I want the best for them, but it’s so hard to not be out there too.”
“The first couple months of my injury were really discouraging and hard to get through. I didn’t think I would ever be able to even run again. Now that I’m well on my way to recovery, I realize that I did get through it and I’m stronger as a person and an athlete.”
Fitness and Better Grades
Overall, playing a sport helps with physical and mental well-being. Athletes have to stay on top of things physically but also in the school environment.
A benefit of playing a sport in high school is that it forces student athletes to keep good grades. In order to even stay on a sports team, athletes must perform well in school. If they have grades that don’t reach a certain requirement, they will be ineligible to play. Usually, A’s and B’s are required for athletes to keep playing with the team. Typically high school athletes are honor roll or high achieving students.
Secondly, student athletes need to stay in shape for their seasons. They are expected to work out and eat healthy on their own, but the typical conditioning and running are also integrated into almost every practice.
Regular exercise and good eating habits are two practices that will carry over into adulthood as well. If high schoolers can learn to consistently exercise and put nutritious foods into their bodies, they will be much better equipped for a long and healthy life.
Conclusion
Sports provide a strong backbone for any high schooler. Athletes feel good about themselves, are confident, and have groups of friends with similar interests. They are able to stay in shape and learn the value of hard work, all while getting through high school.
High school athletes are strong, capable individuals who are prepared for future jobs and more marketable to colleges. Overall, sports improve physical and mental health, which both benefit high schoolers in the short and long run.
So if you are in high school: next time you see a tryout flier or an opportunity to join a sports team, do it!
