Joining a sport has been an opportunity offered in high schools for decades. Joining a sport comes with its advantages and disadvantages. Several students here at OLCHS have shared with me the struggles and rewards that comes with playing a sport.
Jack Dillon, a setter for Oak Lawn’s varsity volleyball team, has been playing since 6th grade and really enjoys playing volleyball. Dillon believes that joining a sport gives you several opportunities to get more involved in your school and gives you something fun to do after school. Although, joining a sport does come with some struggles. Dillon says that joining a sport involves a busy schedule and time consuming practices, which makes it difficult to do other things that may interest you. Joining a sport also comes with learning opportunities and teaches you how to be open to criticism and how to work with a team. Dillon would recommend others to join a sport and says joining a sport such as volleyball is extremely fun and strategic and offers several learning opportunities.
Jessica Komperda a varsity badminton player at Oak Lawn High School who also enjoys playing a sport. She has been playing badminton for 1 year and prefers to play singles matches. Jessica says playing a sport is a fun opportunity allowing you to meet new people and learn new skills such as communication, patience, etc. It also allows you to make new friends but it still comes with its challenges. Jessica states playing a sport is a huge time commitment and leaves little time after school to do homework, study, and do other things you may be interested in.
Cassandra Guiterrez, a varsity midfielder for Oak Lawn’s varsity soccer team, has been playing soccer since she was 10 years old. Guiterrez has learned many vital life skills from playing soccer such as communication skills, self discipline, resilience, and more. Guiterrez also says playing a sport allows you to stay active, make new friends, and learn new skills. Guiterrez loves playing soccer because it is extremely fun and allows you to hang out with friends. Although, having a bad day can affect performance on the field and having an injury can halt progress and the skills you have learned. Playing a sport can also offer athletic scholarships, making it much easier to pay for college.
Oisin Walsh, a middle on Oak Lawn’s varsity volleyball team, has been playing volleyball since 7th grade and really enjoys playing volleyball. Walsh says playing a sport is beneficial to your health, allows you to see new aspects of yourself, can help you make new friends, and help you get involved with your school. However, playing a sport can be time consuming and distracting from school or other things in your life that you may be interested in. Walsh says that you can combat this by starting homework immediately after a game or practice.
Kamil Schab, a varsity tennis player here at Oak Lawn, has been playing tennis for 3 years and really likes playing tennis. Schab says joining a sport is important since you can learn very necessary life skills from resilience to teamwork. Schab has also learned how to work with others, communication skills, and grit. Once again, joining a sport can be extremely time consuming, but can also teach you time management.
After interviewing these students at Oak Lawn Community High School, the importance and significance of joining a sport has become extremely evident. Several skills can be learned from joining a sport and there might be negative things that come with playing a sport but the positives of playing a sport outweighs the negatives.
