According to U.S. News, 55.5 percent of high school students participate in sports. Sports are a great activity for all students because it allows athletes to become a bigger part of the school. There are countless other benefits to playing high school sports, and here are the top five:

Options for everyone

There are many different sports that are offered in high school. Most high schools have a selection of sports their students can participate in. While choosing these sports, you can choose either an individual or team sport. Team sports are good options for students who want to get to know more people and make lifelong friendships. They can also lift up others and be there for their teammates. They have to focus on the things they’re doing, but also have to be able to work with their teammates to better themselves and the team. Individual sports allow students to focus on themselves. They can train with themselves and not have to worry about how others are training and practicing.  Everything they do is on them and they don’t have to worry so much about what their teammates do.

Responsibility

Being a student athlete can be stressful. You have to be able to balance practice, games and homework. Being a student athlete requires you to prioritize, which will help you become more successful in the future. There will be days when you have practice,  go home, shower, and still do homework. It can be a lot, especially if you have a lot of homework. Sometimes it means you will have to spend some extra time awake to complete your homework. You also need to be responsible with your grades. Coaches have high expectations, and if your grades are down, it could result in no playing time or even being dismissed from the team. They do this not to be mean, but out of love. They are trying to make sure your first priority is your school work rather than sports. You also have to be responsible on and off the court. During practice and games, you need to be there on time and ready to work which will help you in the future when you have a job. Off the court, you need to be responsible because you are representing your team, teammates, coaches and school.

Teamwork and bonds

Sports almost always force people to be a team. Even in most individual sports, your score gets combined with others to make an overall team score. This means you still always need to do your best. You also end up forming bonds with your coaches. Coaches can become your best friends in a way. Good coaches will be there for your good days and for your bad days. On the days when it’s been tough, they talk to you by yourself and try to lift you up in any way possible, trying to make you a better you. In team sports, you have to be able to work with the other people who are on the court or field with you. There’s no I in team, so you always need to make sure you’re doing your best so that the team does not fail. When it comes to bonds, you can have the bonds with your coaches, but the bonds with your teammates can last a lifetime. You get to know someone really close to your you, and you end up spending a lot of time with them on and off of the court. You end up always warming up with them, cracking jokes and helping push each other to your limits. Off the court, you spend quality time together and you go out to eat after games and always do anything for them. These are very true and reliable friendships that everyone should get to be a part off. 

Emotions

Sports allow people to let out their emotions. After a hard day at school, being able to go to practice and see a bunch of people who have the same goal as you and want to help you is the best feeling. You get to let out your frustration in the way you work. Channeling that frustration can drive you to do your best and further your abilities. That frustration might come from what you may be doing wrong in practice, but it just makes you want to push yourself and fix it right there on the spot. If you are feeling down, there will be people there to make you smile. Coaches will mess with you and teammates will check on you, always making sure you’re okay and making you the best you possible.

Activity and having something to do

Having something to do to get physical exercise is good. You don’t have to take P.E. every year, so being able to get your hour of physical activity is good for your health. It also allows you to have something to do. You have practice almost every day of the week, so you’ll always have something to do. It will cure your boredom, and can also keep you out of trouble. In school you need to have good behavior in order to play. More importantly, it can keep you out of bad habits at home. Some students will go home and smoke, drink or engage in other illicit activities, but having that sport to play after school can keep students away from being in those situations. 

In conclusion, there’s a reason for everyone to participate in sports. Whether you just need something to do, someone to be there for you or to work on responsibility, there’s always an option for you and people who want to help.