Tennis has always been a big part of my life, something that has not only shaped my identity and experiences but also provided me with immeasurable life skills. When you spend 15 hours every week on the court, you’re going to learn how to manage your time effectively, and when it’s best to sacrifice a fun time with friends in order to qualify for US Nationals. For me, playing tennis has never been a distraction, but rather where I’ve developed many of the skills that make me perform better off the court too. That’s why I’ve always made it a point to focus on both: academics and athletics.
But with each passing year of high school, as classes are getting more difficult and the college admissions process draws closer, I’ve seen classmates drop out of sports or de-prioritize them for the sake of academics. Our county-wide tennis tournament, for instance, always conflicts with the first week of major assessments in school, and while I’ve always made the decision to go, only about half of our team went this year. The other half stayed home, fearing they’d fall behind their peers in schoolwork. We still ended up winning—but as high school culture is increasingly moving away from sports, we’re losing sight of what’s one of the best learning experiences we can have. Because sports aren’t a distraction. They make us better students and people, and set us up for success way beyond our college years.
Unfortunately, studies show that sports participation has been on the decline in high schools. By age 13, some 70% of kids leave sports, and the number is rising. Between the 2018 to 2019 school year and 2021 to 2022, high school sports participation has dropped by 4%, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations, with girls’ sports especially declining. One big reason for that drop I’ve seen in my own environment is that high schoolers often get discouraged from pursuing sports as the pressure in the college admissions process builds. Sports are seen as taking away from academics, and the low odds of getting recruited into college for sports often don’t make it “worth it.”
What we’re forgetting, though, is that participation in athletics is actually linked to increased academic performance, higher GPAs, and better test scores. What’s more, playing sports sets you up for success well into your professional career. Numerous business leaders, especially in the financial field, have explained that athletes are preferred in the hiring process. Studies have also linked school participation in sports with higher wages later on, and found that former high school athletes are “more likely to occupy high-status jobs than people who did not play a sport.”
That’s because the benefits of playing a sport extend way beyond building athletic capacities. Playing sports teaches us how to set goals and reach them, how to operate as a team, and how to think strategically. Grand slam champion Roger Federer often discusses the many lessons he has learned through playing tennis, crediting the sport with teaching him to “stay humble, to strive to be the best I can be,” and to “work unbelievably hard” on and off the court. In my own life, I’ve seen these benefits translate to the classroom time and time again, whether I’m figuring out how to study most effectively, or trying to stay motivated during end-of-year exams.
Most critically, sports provide leadership experience. By having the opportunity to serve as team captains from a young age on, athletes learn how to best organize a group, as well as how to motivate and inspire others to reach their full potential. As captain of my school’s tennis team, it’s my responsibility to keep everyone on track during practice and on match days, lead our warm-up, and make sure we’re all motivating each other. These experiences have taught me that good leadership isn’t about controlling but actually listening to others, building trust and connection, and ultimately making decisions based on what’s in everyone’s best interest. I’m applying these skills at school all the time, too: When doing group projects, I make sure everyone’s ideas are heard and prioritize what is best for the group, even if it isn’t my preferred way of doing things.
The benefits I’ve experienced by playing sports have inspired me to co-found the Student Athlete Leadership Team (SALT) at my school last year, through which we try to make it easier to balance being both a student and an athlete. We’ve already had students from a range of grades and sports share their student-athlete experiences with our school’s athletic director, and we met with school leadership to advocate for more flexibility with deadlines during tournaments. By the time our county-wide tennis tournament comes up this September, I hope we’ll have made enough progress for my teammates to be able to miss a day of school without the pressure of falling behind academically. Even more importantly, I hope that both my teammates and our teachers will understand how doing so might actually help us get ahead in our college applications and beyond.