Creating new high school sports programs and competing against other teams who already have a history of competing is not easy. Teams who go through the disadvantage normally do not win many games, and remain like that for a while. Preuss broke this pattern with our new boy’s volleyball team, which started off strong in their first ever season and even made CIF playoffs. Moments like this are why Preuss should offer more sports. It will display the students’ greatness, showcase sports diversity, and also give more students an opportunity to play sports of their choice.
Preuss’s athletics is highly underrated and isn’t the main focus for administrators, which is why we lack an abundance of athletics options. With around 500 high school students, there are only 8 sports teams to play for. The three teams that were added this year were boys volleyball and both girls and boys flag football. Both boys’ teams had successful first seasons and made their playoffs. The teams qualifying for playoffs can be used as an example of how successful the athletics can be at Preuss. Sports that our high school students suggested to add were tackle football, badminton, and swimming.
Having a limit to what sports students can play is an action that hurts the success of our students’ athletics. A large number of students are extremely talented at their sport , but do not have the chance to showcase their skills because of the school they attend. Some students have created their own clubs like badminton and have fun but they are not involved in any competitions against other schools. I have seen the badminton club play after school and I was really shocked at the skill they were playing with, and how they do not have an official team while being that skilled. Similarly, the flag football team has a group of talented individuals who can play football at the tackle level. The school should seriously consider the students’ requests of adding the sport they want to play to expand opportunities.
Preuss should expand the number of sports offered because students have already proven their athletic potential through the success of their new teams. Many talented students are currently unable to compete in the sports they enjoy simply because there are limited opportunities available. While Preuss lacks the facilities, funding, and vision for athletics, we can collaborate with other schools for their facilities and use the current success of our new teams to advocate for the funding and for the vision to be seen.
