Have you ever wanted to join a WIS sport and have not pursued it since there was something that prevented you from doing so? After interviewing students from the community and doing research, there isn’t really any reason you shouldn’t join.
Playing a sport and being active affects your mental and physical condition. It is important to be active during a school day since that releases stress and gives space for the brain to rest and release toxins. Many teenagers are overly occupied with academics and they don’t have enough time to get outside and stay active. Therefore, schools have included physical education into regular class schedule and added voluntary sports. This keeps teenagers active and engaged. But, still some students chose not to join sports.
WIS has three sport seasons – Fall, Winter and Spring. There is a large variety of sports so students with different interests can join a sport that suits them personally. It can be intimidating to join, especially if you are scared about playing or have never really had experience playing a sport. When you join a team, you find people with common interests and it can expand your overall circle of friends.
“You’ve got nothing to lose, you are always going to have a friend and you will definitely get along with someone” Ottilia Rossert, a senior at WIS, said. She was new in the 10th grade and she only played tennis outside of school. She joined the tennis team, then did basketball, track and softball. Ottilia has become the team captain for tennis and basketball, which she said “helped me step up as a leader and it got me more organized, it was also a great experience for team bonding.” Ottilia has become a leader not only for sports but for organizing different activities at school. Being on a team expanded her role in the school community which lead to her becoming more active in general.
A new freshman Sami Kattan joined the Junior Varsity (JV) soccer team. He ended up being an MVP for JV. After asking why he joined he said: “Being a new student, I saw it as an opportunity to make new friends and build a relationship, I really enjoy playing soccer and I thought that if I joined I would have a group of people to shared the same interests as me.” When joining a sport you are interested in, it gets you to meet people that can share the same interests. Sami then said: “Now I have a lot of friends from JV soccer and the 10th graders and the 9th graders are more close due to this”.
Another freshman, Fabrice Gray played as well for the soccer team and he discussed the difference of playing outside and inside of school. “In out of school sports there is more pressure but inside the school it’s more about representing your school and having a supporting audience.” Fabrice said that being able to work as a team to achieve the same goal brings everyone together. An article by Kent McGroarty explains that communication throughout the team is most important. It “promotes cooperation” and “everyone can learn to better cooperate.” A team works together to reach the same goal, and this brings everyone together
“You won’t ever regret representing the school” Fabrice said. Being able to share your accomplishments with the community and overall being able to celebrate victory with everyone is a remarkable experience. “It keeps you from going crazy and it keeps you staying relaxed.” With all the benefits of joining a team and playing a sport there isn’t anything stopping you to join. Always do what you are interested in!
By: Maya Rodic
