My biggest regret in high school wasn’t having zero free periods my junior year or taking an AP economics class that I truly can’t handle. It’s not even getting my license a year-and-a-half later than everyone else. No, my biggest regret is quitting the sports I loved all for the sake of focusing more on school.
When I decided to quit field hockey and lacrosse after my sophomore year, I thought I had everything figured out. I was convinced that quitting my two other sports to focus on school and spend more time dedicated to my main sport would make me happier. Better grades, a better SAT score and college acceptance letters would come flooding in as long as I narrowed it down to one sport, right? Not quite.
But now, near the end of my senior year, I see it all differently. What I thought was a strategic move has turned into missed opportunities that I will never be able to get back. I didn’t realize back then how much sports would impact me beyond the court or field. Basketball, the only sport I stuck with, became one of my most defining high school experiences — but I can’t help but wonder what lacrosse and field hockey could have taught me too.
Many other student athletes also decide to quit one of their secondary sports because they assume it will lead to better grades. But here’s the thing: sports aren’t necessarily something getting in the way of your school work. In fact, they give you structure and a schedule for when school work feels endless and unmanageable. For me, the routine of basketball pushed me to organize my time and stay on top of my grades. Without that type of structure in the fall or spring, I let my homework pile up.
Most importantly, sports offered me something that studying in my room could never. Sports gave me a community. Through basketball, I’ve formed long-lasting bonds with people across all grades, something I couldn’t have done if I had limited myself to just focusing on school. In other words, I wouldn’t have been able to meet some of my favorite people if I had also given up basketball.
So if you’re debating whether to drop a sport to focus on school, don’t quit just yet. Trust me, your future self will thank you for sticking with it. Or, if you’re on the fence of joining a high school sport, just do it. You may not be going to college for that sport, but the lessons you learn through sports aren’t just for athletes. They’re for life.
