Arguments Against Interscholastic Sports

1. According to the twelfth edition of Sports in Society by Jay Coakley, “"Generalizing about high school and college sport programs is difficult because programs and the conditions under which participation occurs are so diverse” (Coakley, 476). However, there are definitely some broad, widespread issues that are found within the majority of high school sports programs. The textbook offers a plethora of claims against interscholastic sports, and one that stood out to was the claim that highlighted the pressure that interscholastic sports place on student-athletes. Unlike club sports, high school sports practice for over 2 hours every day after school and have games on weeknights, leaving little time to prepare for exams and to get homework done. This causes an unnecessary amount of stress and places an extreme pressure on athletes to continue to excel in both schoolwork and then also excel at their sport. I was a varsity student athlete, and I definitely support this claim about interscholastic sport causing pressure on athletes. I played softball for my high school, and there were some weeks in the springtime when I had games every day of the week and a double-header on Saturday. Weeks like these put a TON of pressure on me to perform well during my games but also to keep up with my
A good way to alleviate some of the pressure would to make a slightly less intense schedule, where games would only be played 4 times a week or so, and when the team did not have games, possibly giving the players a day off of practice in order for their bodies to recuperate and to catch-up with school