Opportunity vs. Obligation

High school sports: opportunity or obligation? In 2014, high school sports participation nationwide increased in number for the 25th year in a row. Based on data collected during the same year, 55.5% of students enrolled in high school participate in one or more sports season. Statistics released from the same study suggest that athletes are less likely to engage in criminal activity, succumb to substance abuse, and drop out of school than their "couch potato" counterparts. Such data helps support the message that high school coaches and athletic directors have been preaching for years; participation in sports is beneficial to overall student health. From an outsider’s perspective, this assertion seems completely viable. What parent wouldn't want their child to enroll in academic extracurriculars, given their shining record? By the same token, what motivated child wouldn't want to participate themselves, increasing their chances for high school success? Unfortunately, enrollment and GED success statistics don't tell the full story of the 21st century student athlete, especially at RMHS. Student complaints across social media and in conversation, combined with personal experience, has proven beyond reasonable doubt that athletics are not a routinely positive experience for high school teens. The amount of times students express desire to quit a sport that they feel obligated to continue is worrying. A survey of RMHS athletes revealed that out of 38 students, 42% would quit their sport immediately, were there no negative repercussions. This supports the scary number of student athletes feel bound to their sport, which at the high school level should be no more than friendly, voluntary competition.

If high school sports are voluntary, why do so many feel pressure to start or continue them even if they're not interested? Playing miserable sports is not the same as attending miserable classes- there are no benefits to sticking with lacrosse or hockey that cannot be obtained through other means. The answer is a broad range of pressures, stemming from peers, coaches, parents, and society in general. Most athletes that contemplate quitting fear letting someone down... a team, coach, or parent. If an athlete plays well, their teammates and coaches will be sad to see them go, and their disappearance will have a negative impact on the team’s success. Their parent will no longer be able to celebrate their athlete’s successes, a prospect that many kids feel will hurt their feelings. Varsity athletes are encouraged to unofficially pledge participation for their entire four years of high school. The end of a season is met with a confident "see you next year,” and a presumption that the kids will all show up to preseason captain’s practices.

Another contributor to the pressure to keep competing is the stigma that revolves around quitting. In our hypercompetitive modern society, quitting an activity is typically viewed as synonymous with giving up. From a young age, American kids are taught the values of determination and grit, with the promise that their perseverance will eventually result in success. To quit a sport is to declare defeat, to declare that one isn't good or determined enough to continue.

In reality, quitting a sport has almost nothing to do with not being strong or determined enough; most ex-athletes just don't enjoy their sport as much as they used to and are making the decision to seek happiness elsewhere. The problem is not that these kids aren't good enough, it's that they simply don't value the sport as much as they used to, usually in favor of other interests.

Despite how ridiculous it seems when examined, quitting a high school sport is still heavily advised against by parents, peers, and coaches, even when a student is obviously upset. American society puts too much pressure on its children in every aspect of their lives, even those that were originally deemed “play”. In order to raise a generation of emotionally stable, successful, and independent adults, the stigma against quitting or not participating in sports must end.

If almost half of the student athletes that we revere and refer to as “All-Americans” are living such a life reluctantly, what does that say about our country as a whole?