“The Octorara Area School District offers a wide range of activities for students to participate in during their school years.” This quote is listed under the sports section on the school website. Athletics have many benefits for students. However, Octorara Middle School does not offer sports anymore as they did before. Previously, the school offered ten sports, but now we only have two, football and field hockey. Octorara Middle School needs sports for the following reasons: they improve grades, lower chances of negative actions, raises self-esteem, and it appeals to the majority of students.

Playing school sports has a positive effect on grades. To be on the team you must maintain at least a C average. Many people believe athletes don’t necessarily need good grades. In fact, athletes spend a great amount of time studying to ensure they are not kicked off the team. As a result, players must focus harder at school than non-athletes. “To be honest, I don’t try as hard anymore because there’s no team for me to even get kicked off of.” says an anonymous student at Octorara Middle School. Without school sports, students’ grades are spiraling downward.

Having middle level sports as a part of our lives reduces the chances of negative effects and actions. Womenssportsfoundation.org says that girls who play sports are 80% less likely to get pregnant than non-athletes. It is physically impossible for a currently pregnant female athlete to perform as well as she did before. The website also states that females who do not play sports are 92% more likely to get involved with drugs. Furthermore, male and female athletes have a lower chance of depression issues. These percentages are extremely high because so many teens participate in athletics.

How would you feel if you liked absolutely nothing about yourself? Not very good right? Very few athletes feel like this. That’s because they’re in good shape. They practice for two hours, five times a week. Sports relieve a great amount of stress. For example, an 8th grader at Octorara Middle School says, “When I’m mad or need to clear my head, I practice. I actually practice harder when I’m in a bad mood because it takes away all the stress.” Studies show that athletes have higher self esteem. With sports students will feel better about themselves.

Your child looks at the list posted outside the gym and doesn’t see their name. They didn’t make the high school team. Imagine how they feel. Sports are their life at this age. Athletics appeal to the majority of the student body. Suddenly, what students know and love has been taken away from them. Practicing in school has major bonus effects on players. According to research, students gain more skills practicing on a school team rather than home. Another thing is the students are bored and unhappy. Do you really want a whole school full of unhappy teenagers?

Athletics make an enormous difference in students’ lives. So, do you want our kids to pursue negative actions, bad grades, and self esteem issues? Would you like to deal with un-happy, emotionally disrupted teenagers? With sports, your kids won’t become involved with negative actions. Students’ grades will improve tremendously. Furthermore, Octorara Middle School needs to have school sports because these facts are reality, and can become long term.