School sports have always been a source of fun, fitness, and growth for teenagers. As of recently more teenagers are becoming burnt out, quitting, or feeling unhappy in their sports. Do Manual students believe that the rigor of school sports is what is driving them to quit or feel unhappy? Or is it the mental aspect of their sports that is negative for student-athletes?
Jasmine Smith came to Manual playing both soccer and basketball. Last fall, she made her debut on the varsity soccer team as a freshman, and in the winter, she played on the junior varsity girls basketball team.
“The program was really intense and I just wasn’t used to that,” Smith (HSU, 10) said. After her freshman year, she decided to stop playing basketball and decided to stick to soccer.
“It felt like we were being treated like a college team instead of a JV high school team,” Smith (HSU,10) said.
On the basketball team, Smith felt that the environment was much more strict, sometimes feeling like she was afraid to make mistakes. While on the soccer team she felt the coaches were much more relaxed and lenient, and the team overall was much more calm. Smith also felt that basketball was much more physically demanding. Another challenging aspect of basketball for Smith was how busy her schedule became. Staying after school until 6:30 for basketball then heading to club soccer practice at 7:30. On top of that, finding time for homework and other responsibilities was very stressful.
A similar situation with a different perspective is junior David Bohn’s experience with football. Bohn played both football and lacrosse during his freshman and sophomore year, but soon after his junior year began, so did the football season, he made the decision to quit. Unlike Smith, Bohn didn’t feel like the practices were too rigorous or the sport was too demanding. He felt that the social environment of the team was negative for him, which made him not want to continue to play the sport.
“Most teams emphasize that the football team is a family or we always have each other’s backs, but nobody on the football team ever had a good word to say about each other,” Bohn (HSU, 11) said.
When asked if there was anything he would like to add, Bohn reiterated that leaving the football team was a personal decision and what was best for him, and that he has no bad blood with the players or coaches.
The contrasting perspectives of Jasmine Smith and David Bohn show that while school sports can be rigorous not only physically but mentally as well. School sports also shape the mental health and social lives of students, whether their challenges were high intensity like Smith, or negative social environments, like Bohn.
