The football team at PHS competes in the fall.
Photo Contributed By: Jordan Kelley
By Emma Daniels
Students at Plymouth High School have a variety of school-run sports for students to compete in.
With PHS having over 1,000 students, there are about eight sports for male and female students to choose from. Students have the choice to either take two school sports or complete two Physical Education classes. Senior Taylor Fulton said, “I joined sports because they are something I love to do.” School run sports can include the basics of football, basketball, and soccer, or they can expand into golf, tennis, cheerleading, and marching band. Junior Leticia Torres said, “I am involved in marching band and tennis.”
Other students choose to compete in sports for the love of the sport. Torres said, “I get way too competitive,” when discussing and competing in her sports. Freshman Ashly Deleon said, “Even though [cheerleading] is scary, I love being in the air. The exhilaration is amazing.”
While students join sports due to their competitiveness, others compete because of tradition. Freshman Mackenzie Winrotte said that she plays golf because her “grandfather plays, mom plays, and dad plays.” Deleon said that she enjoys the individual aspects in sports. “It’s really nice to have people support you when it [is] your turn to perform or compete.”
Sports at PHS get photographed and placed in the yearbook.
Photo Contributed By: Jordan Kelley
To join a sport, criteria given by the coach or director must be followed. Deleon said that the only requirement given to her is “bravery. Without bravery, you will never achieve anything.” In the sports that Torres competes in, “attendance and working well together are huge requirements.”
Students are able to compete with multiple different PHS teams at once during a season. Students “have to wait until after practice to start homework so there is times that you have late nights because of games or meets,” said Fulton.
Sports can lead to minor and severe injuries. Football can cause concussions, basketball can cause ankle problems, tennis can cause shoulder pain, and other various injuries can be caused by sports. Torres said, “I broke my ankle in basketball and received a concussion my sophomore year in tennis.” Although students involved in sports are at risk of getting injured, they continue to play the sport. Deleon said, “We as people are always getting hurt. It’s life. Just because you bang your hip into the table while you’re walking doesn’t mean that you’re never going to go past that table ever again.”
The competition that sports bring into the player’s life can be encouraging or bring him or her down. The coaches/directors of sports require several aspects such as bravery and cooperation to be a part of their team. Injuries are nearly inevitable while playing a sport, but students at PHS do not let minor injuries stop them from competing in the sport they love.
School sports are a part of the average student’s high school experience, whether it be watching from the stands or competing with the team.