High School Sports

Between 2009 and 2011 approximately $3.5 billion dollars was cut from school’s sports programs. Estimated 27% of U.S. public high schools are expected to cut sport’s programs by 2020. According to the CDC, in 2014 roughly 20% of teens ages 12-19 were considered obese. Only 3 in 10 high school students got the recommended 60 minutes of exercise daily. For many students school and school associated sports programs are their only form of exercise they receive. America with a high percentage of 65% of the population overweight compared to Japan with roughly 25% overweight, we don’t need more people overweight! Many districts and governments may consider the sports programs as a money swallowing monster which only spits back high bills each year,

While sports may not seem like it will give benefit for the future, in reality it does. Kevin Kniffin, a teacher who teaches management of sports at Cornell University wrote in “High School Athletes Gain Lifetime Benefits” (2014) that many of the “High school sport players gets better jobs with better pay” (Kniffin, 2014 p.2). This statement was said after Kevin Kniffin conducted research on the relation between high school sport players and higher salaries. Students can learn the essential skills for jobs in the future such as teamwork and communication. Not only could these valuable skills be applied at future work, but also at school. During projects in any class or lab experiments in science class, students can apply the cooperation, teamwork and communication skills are learned through sports. Kniffin also stated that sports “make life long lessons that stick with them [students]”(Kniffin, 2014 p.1) which also shows how through sports students can learn life lessons used for the future. These lessons could be consequences or accomplishments though sports. Later these valuable lessons can be applied to help projects and assignments go smoothly and efficiently, both at work and school. Both of these evidence shows that sports gives these students skills that are more complicated to learn though regular academics. Sports give these students a bigger opportunity to succeed in this world. Sport playing students learn

Sports is not always safe, like many other things in life. The ABC News article, “High School Football Comes with a Risk” (2016) written by Jeffrey Perkel and Healthday Reporter wrote that the “NCAA (National Collegiate Athletics Association) system logged more than 3,500 injuries in it’s database during the same period [2005-2006].”(Perkel, 2016 p.5). 3,500 is indeed a fairly big number, however things have changed. Better coaching for tackles to linebackers and running backs. These players are taught the proper techniques and evaluated on them before they play (Perkel, Reporter 2016). With these measures students are able to play more safely and enjoyably. Last and most common setback to sports is the costs. Many schools spend millions on coaches, equipment and maintenance. A school in Alabama used 13 million dollars for the Athletic Program, mainly on football (Bissinger, 2012 p.5). While the costs are high, the high costs are in some ways important. Many schools hire specialized coaches and staff to evaluate and ensure a safer environment for the players. The more advanced equipment and field maintenance costs add up just keep players safe. The high costs are also justified with the learning benefits the players get through sports. Although sports can be dangerous and expensive in some way, the new safety measures and learning benefits outweigh the