In today’s society, the field of sports has expanded drastically, offering an even larger variety of combative options for both male and female students athletes. While many students get involved in high school athletics for pure love of the game, there are remarkable benefits from these extracurricular activities including strong social relationships, improving academics, understanding of the 3 P’s, and a healthy fitness level.

Students involved in sports construct strong relationships that are crucial for emotional, physical, and mental health. Students link together over a common love, and with all the time spent together, they assemble a friendship that most of the time remains strong after high school. Brady Bormann, senior, stated, “I have made a lot of friends I can call family from sports.”

Sports help relieve the mind from stress. Sports including soccer, football, baseball and even golf allow students to perform 10 percent better in their core classes. According to a report from the National Federation of State High School Associations stated, “the average GPA of a high school athlete was 2.84, while a student who was not involved in athletics had an average GPA of 2.68.”

When participating in a sport you should follow the 3 P’s which include practice, patience, and persistence. Students realize the more effort put into what they’re doing, the better they perform. They discover that practice makes perfect. They also learn to follow your dreams and never give up because anything is possible. “While I was in track, I realized the harder I trained and worked at improving myself, the better I did when it actually mattered,” stated McClain Acri.

Students who participate in sports are healthier than those who don’t. Playing a sport makes a student watch their weight and makes them eat healthier to maintain a good fitness level to apply themselves to the best of their abilities. Researchers at the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports at Michigan State University report, “Kids who participate in organized sports do better in school, have better interpersonal skills, are more team oriented, and are generally healthier.”

Students who partake in sports during high school gain many friends who they can call family, enhance their academics, have a quality understanding of the 3 P’s and remain in good shape. High school sports are available for all students. They should take advantage of that opportunity.