![This photo, believed to be from 1902, depicts high school players at Chicago’s Hyde Park Preparatory School. [Library of Congress]](http://www.jstudentboard.com/reporter/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/JSR_Feb28_Sports.jpg)
“Joining a team not only teaches you how to play a certain game but it can also teach you things like communication, patience, and quick thinking,” said Jason Lee, a Fairfax High School sophomore, when asked about the potential advantages of taking a sport.
While there are benefits to taking sports, they also require students to give up free time.
“I currently don’t take a sport,” Lee told JSR, “because of the time restraints and the effort it takes to balance being on a team and focusing on schoolwork.”
“Sports do take a lot of time out of your day,” said Van Nuys High School varsity baseball player Jay Gerg to JSR, “but they teach you how to manage your time. Coming home at 6:00 or 7:00 pm with a pile of homework every day teaches you to get a lot of work done efficiently in a short amount of time because joining a team does take a lot of your free time.”
While some players wish to pursue careers in sports, others have different motives.
“Playing in a sport gives you a sense of pride that you are part of something and also looks great on a college application,” Garg told JSR.
He continued, “Taking baseball helps me relieve a lot of stress at school. Whenever I go on the field it always clears my head no matter what. There are always going to be days that you come home barely awake, but it will always be worth it from the memories you make.”
Whether students are trying to make a career on the field or just want to try something new, joining a sport can teach them many things they wouldn’t normally be able to learn in the classroom.
