School Board New Rule: Every Student to Play One Competitive Sport to Graduate

I do think the school board should adopt a new rule that requires every student to play at least one competitive sport in order to graduate from high school. There are many kids who dedicate themselves to a team sport who would not be able to “live” without it. I love swimming and synchronized swimming.

I train 6 days a week and 2 Sundays a month. I know that it sounds like a lot but it is something I enjoy, so I have no problem in doing it. What happens to the other kids though? I mean, the kids who don’t think playing and participating in a sport is important.

A sport is an athletic activity that requires skill or physical prowess and is often of competitive nature. A sport could also be used for diversion and as a pleasant pastime.

With this, sports offer physical AND mental benefits. To begin with, making the participation of a competitive sport an obligation is a good idea because it is fun, makes us busy and gives us a group to belong to. This group shares the same certain goal and interests. Mentally, kids who play sports feel much better of themselves because of this. They feel as if they are important and a part of something.

Their view on their body image changes as they start feeling healthier and trimming down also.

Adolescents are less likely to fall into peer pressure because they become aware of how it can affect their performance. Sports are a good way to relieve stress and reduce depression. In my first full year studying in Spain, I didn’t know anyone. I wanted to feel a part of something and that is when I decided to join the swim team. As soon I got to know my team members I was feeling happier because I was making friends, I was more energized and I looked better.

Who wouldn’t want to feel this way?

Even for the most stubborn, setting this as an obligation for these reasons will make them realize that they really do like it. Competitive sports, provide discipline, cope with losses/winnings, and develop motor skills and increase strategic thinking and even math skills. I don’t think there is no other fun way to teach these other than with a sport. While forming discipline, teenagers learn to set goals and achieve those goals. They learn that working hard is the ‘key to success”. Kid who play sports, learn that winning isn’t always going to be the outcome and that they will lose one day or another.

Students develop strategic thinking as they figure out the best way to defeat the opponent or score. Math is used when calculating scores and statistics. With this knowledge, students will be able to include this impressive information as part of their application to universities and colleges because it shows leadership skills and responsibilities. Lastly, participating in a competitive sport should be and obligation because it gives the average person who would normally not work out a chance to adapt a healthy lifestyle.

Even if he/she is not the best of the sport, he/she will stay active and eventually do it continuously in adulthood.

I love exercise and sports and I do not know what I’d be doing right now if I wasn’t a swimmer. Would I be sitting around all day? Would I be tired or awake? Would I feel good? These are all questions I ask myself if sports weren’t a part of my life. Sports help the mind positively, increasing alertness and positivity. Physically, it maintains us at healthy weight and could possibly become a healthy habit. This is why I think it should be an obligation that they are included in the school curriculum.