Joining a new sport as a freshman or middle schooler can be intimidating. But is it just as difficult to join a new sport as an upperclassman? Many juniors and seniors at Park take this route, and have unique experiences with their respective sports. Competing against athletes with years of experience and being on teams with younger athletes are just two potential negatives that could come from joining a sport as a junior or senior.
Sports are a great way to meet people and build community in high school. According to Erik Lindell, who joined the ultimate frisbee team as a junior and the Nordic ski team as a senior, this aspect was part of why he had such a positive experience in these sports.
“I think it’s a really good thing to have a set goal that you’re working on, like your skiing or Frisbee ability, that you’re working on pretty much every single day of practice,” Lindell said. “It’s also nice to consistently be spending time with the same group of people for hours every single day. That’s really good for building community, especially if you’re doing hard workouts or doing hard stuff together. I think that that builds friendship and camaraderie.”
Sometimes when a student joins a sport as an upperclassmen, they wind up wishing they had joined sooner. For senior Alison Garland, however, joining the ultimate frisbee team this spring was the perfect option for her.
“I’m happy that I joined this year because it would have been a very different experience if I joined earlier,” Garland said. “Part of me wishes I had joined earlier in my high school career because it’s been a lot of fun and I wish I could have had more time with it, but I am happy that everything has happened the way that it did.”
Upperclassmen join sports for a multitude of reasons. Girls track coach, Wyatt Scheu, says no matter the reason, athletes starting new sports have a positive impact.
“Usually, if upperclassmen are joining, they’re joining because they already have friends in it. Or they’re saying, ‘Hey, I really want to round out my high school experience,’” Scheu said. “It tends to add a lot of value to a team, even if someone hasn’t been able to participate the whole time.”
As one can imagine, competing in a sport where many of your competitors have been doing the sport for four plus years can be intimidating. Lindell says it’s crucial to keep this in mind and focus more on how you improve as an athlete.
“It’s important to manage your expectations, and to realize that when you’re playing against people who have many more years of experience than you, it’s going to be an uphill battle,” Lindell said. “That’s why it’s important to think about competing against yourself and self improvement, rather than trying to become the best ever, which is going to be a super tough goal with playing against people who have a head start.”
Starting a sport, as a senior specifically, is a very unique experience. Garland says especially during the spring season of senior year, a new sport can be beneficial.
“I would highly recommend joining a sport as an upperclassman. It’s a lot of fun and a really good experience overall,” Garland said. “Especially as a senior and joining a spring sport is just like, if you love it great, and if you don’t like it, then there’s no pressure, it’s a short time commitment and it’s a lot of fun.”
Despite the supposed drawbacks, many upperclassmen have positive experiences in their new sports. Scheu says he encourages students to go for it if they’re considering joining.
“I always say do it. It’s always worth trying. Sometimes we have kids who come out to track and end up surprising themselves that they’re really good at it. Some kids come out and they just enjoy the experience and think it builds positive habits for how to stay healthy and to enjoy running,” Scheu said. “I always say if you’re considering doing it, it means you should probably do it.”
