Every school day during the spring, all freshmen, sophomore, and junior athletes are required to go to track practice during eighth period, and if they participate in other sports, they have to report to their additional practice after school.
Athletes in other sports should not be expected to go to track practice.
To begin, athletes who have to go to track might not perform as well in their other sports. When people spend over an hour working out, they are definitely going to be worn out if they have to go to another practice. For example, a girl on varsity softball would have to go straight to track after a full day school day and still go to a whole softball practice after that. It is one thing if an athlete participates on the track team, but softball and baseball players should not be required to go to track practice. Furthermore, tennis athletes are also required to go to track practice, so they might not perform as well in their sport either. Additionally, some athletes may participate in both tennis and softball, which would be two practices along with the unnecessary track workout.
Requiring athletes to go to the track during eighth period instead of softball, baseball or tennis is being biased towards one sport. Athletes are supposed to go to their designated sports practice during eighth period. If athletes are in off season during volleyball or basketball season, then they should be able to go to off season during track. Athletes aren’t required to do other sports, so they shouldn’t be required to go to the track practices. If athletes aren’t required to go to tennis, why should they be required to go to track?
While some may think that requiring athletes to go to track would keep them in shape, this is not right because athletes have an actual off season that they participate in during other sports. Athletes who have to go to multiple practices a day are already in shape. Going to track does nothing for the athlete other than increase their risk of injury or affect the way that they perform in other sports. This is also unfair to the athletes who should be in off season.
The athletic program should change its policy and allow athletes who don’t participate in track to go to their primary sports practice. The school should allow students to focus on the sport they choose.
