Although some researchers, teachers, and even parents may say that participating in team sports during high school affects a student negatively, they actually help them in high school and for the rest of their lives.  Being a part of a team will teach students important life values, like teamwork, accountability, having a good character, goal-setting techniques, and allowing themselves to leave the past in the past.  They also help to increase academic scores, boost self-esteem, create great friendships, and teach students time management and communication skills.  Being a part of a team and playing a sport does consume a lot of valuable time that could realistically be used for school work and other activities.  Although this is true, the positive influence team sports put on students is far more valuable.   

By playing team sports, anyone can learn so many values that produce good character, which is important to their present and future lives.  Ross Morrison of the NSW Department of Education and Communication says, “Kids learn that things aren’t going to go their way all the time, and that they need to respect their peers and officials.”  Through playing team sports and learning that the world doesn’t revolve around themselves, kids learn how to work for a boss and respect authority figures.  This can change their character for the best, and positively impact themselves and others in the real world.  Someone with “courage, grit, honesty, self-discipline, determination, and delayed gratification,” is how Patrick J. Sweeney II, an Olympic-level athlete, describes a good athlete.   Having all of these features is also exactly what someone with a good character has, which helps them to persevere through tough situations to accomplish their dreams.  On top of having these important features, being positive is another important character trait.  It will spread through to an entire team, getting everyone working together.  Having a good character, which can be obtained by playing team sports, will create a well-rounded personality and lead to success.   

Athletes also know how to be accountable for their actions, and know what’s best for them.  If someone causes the team to lose, or miss a group assignment, they are usually very disappointed in themselves.  After experiencing this, students will work harder to become better and not let their teammates down again.  The more they work harder and improve, the more they are trusted by their teammates, which can boost self-esteem and work ethic.   Ronald Achenbach, who has 17 years of athletic teaching experience, once said, “setting goals and working toward their attainment creates a drive in kids to succeed that will last a lifetime.”  Being able to set these goals and reaching them on and off the playing field will create a winning mindset that everyone needs in order to be successful.  When mistakes are made in the middle of a game, and that mistake keeps the team from playing to the best of their ability, then the outcome won’t be as good as they expected.  Good teammates will learn how to acknowledge their mistakes, learn from them, and leave them in the past.  This same thing can happen in life and letting go of mistakes is another value that athletes will pick up in team sports.  In order to achieve goals a team must work hard, have an optimistic attitude, and encourage one another.  A successful team will create chemistry between their teammates, causing them to work together and be able to reach a common goal in the end.  The value of teamwork is very important to a sports team, but it is also helpful between family members and in multiple occupations. 

Even though playing sports during high school takes up a lot of valuable time, studies have actually shown that students who play sports do better academically.  A University of Kansas study looked at the performance of students grades 9-12.  These studies show that more than 97% of student athletes graduate high school.  This statistic is 10% higher than the students that do not play any sports.  They also looked at students’ GPA’s, and student athletes had higher GPA’s than students who didn’t have to juggle all the responsibilities of sports on top of academics throughout high school.  Athletics are linked with academics because they increase blood flow, releasing more endorphins into the brain.  These endorphins impact an athlete’s mood and performance by increasing their cognitive abilities.  Concepts, like memorization, repetition, learning, and determination, are practiced in all sports.  These are also all linked directly to academics, creating a positive impact on student performance in school.  Tackling all the responsibilities of school and sports may seem like more of a challenge, but it’s actually a huge benefit for student athletes.

Creating enough time between practices, games, tests, and homework can be a struggle for many athletes to accomplish. Many people compare an athlete’s job to someone who works a full time job.  They must wake up early enough to get to school at eight in the morning, which depends on their amount of homework, practice schedules, or lifting in the mornings. They must go to all of their classes, which usually results in homework from every one.  At the end of the day student athletes either have practice until 5:30 to 6:00 P.M., or a game that could last as late as ten.  Student athletes have to make time throughout their day to complete the homework assigned for all of these classes.  From these experiences, athletes learn that every second of everyday matters and they must use their time wisely.  For example, an Olympic gymnast, Shanon Miller, had to keep a minute-by-minute schedule when she was an athlete in order to manage everything she had going on.  The skill of time management is something every student athlete must learn in order to succeed athletically and academically.  Once learned, this skill can help them reach their life goals quicker than most. 

Participating in team sports does a great deal for the players’ communication skills on and off the court.  In time they learn how to recognize their teammates cues, through non-verbal communication.  Players are able to use eye-contact or physical cues to communicate with teammates during games.  Jill Pruden, who is considered one of the best girls’ basketball coaches in Tennessee, explains that players have the communication that they need once they are able to take feedback from others, and be able to express their concerns, hopes, and disappointments with the team.  This will not only create more communication, but also increase the trust levels between teammates and coaches.  The skill of communication learned by being a part of a team is very complex, and extremely beneficial. 

Being a part of a team and knowing that there will always be teammates there is a reassuring feeling that will increase one’s emotional development and lessen pressure and stress. Both Canadian Research and Lifestyle Research both say that exercise leads to a state of relaxation.  This leads to increased concentration, better memory, and puts people in better moods.  Having this positive mindset on top of a family of teammates, makes people more relaxed, so that they loosen up and let go of stress.  Having a high self-esteem, better social interactions, strong relationships, and an increase in academics will create a sense of community that can’t be formed anywhere but from a special bond, like a team.   

The friendships made in sports often are the strongest of all, lasting a lifetime.  It is one of the greatest feelings ever to experience working hard with your closest friends, and making memories that can be reminisced on forever.  Being loved by teammates and friends creates a feeling of acceptance, making players more excited to practice and play the game.  Which eventually leads to success.  Practices are every single day, so these people that may just be considered “teammates” actually understand and care the most.  My own basketball coach just told me a story the other day about friendships within a team.  He talked about how he is still in touch with every one of his former teammates.  He wasn’t friends with very much of them at all during school, but the bond that they formed over sports was different.  His teammates and sports family back then, are still very important to him.  Everyone’s there for the same reason, trying to accomplish the same goal, and the ones who are there in these times, will be there forever. 

Team sports are an asset that can make a huge difference in anyone’s life, and is an opportunity many don’t get to experience.  All of the characteristics that professors, business owners, friends, etc. would be looking for in someone can be obtained while playing team sports.  The personal values, academic improvements, time management and communication skills, emotional and character development, and friendships are all benefits attained from competing in team sports.  Not only will these principles help during the tough times in high school, they will also last a lifetime.