I have been an athlete for my whole life. I began organized sports at 3 years old , and have played travel or club sports since I was six. I started school sports when it started being offered in 8th grade. Throughout my careers in both school and travel sports, I have heard many people voice their opinions on which is more important, or which serves more of a purpose. 

Through my experiences in both, I have gathered an opinion of my own.  School sports have been an extremely positive experience for me. I have gotten to play with the same people I’ve grown up with for the past four years, and we have done some awesome things on the field together. 

The main difference between school sports and travel sports is the variety of people you’re playing with. During school sports, you’re playing with people who live in your hometown and go to your school. Where in club sports, you could be playing with athletes from all over the city, state or even the country. School sports are special. It’s a group of people in the same community, wishing to achieve the same thing. The environment that this mindset creates is awesome and a ton of fun. Whenever I’m talking about school sports, this is always the first thing I think of. The brother or sisterhood you gain from playing with people who share the same school campus as you every day is an experience that is impossible to get with a club team. 

Is it possible to make a lot of new friends on a summer team? Absolutely. But it is much harder simply because you are only around those teammates for a few months, and in most cases you and your teammate on your club team won’t be at the same school as you. For example, I had different players on my travel baseball team last year who lived as far as Las Vegas. It is hard to gain the connection you have in school sports when playing with people who don’t live in your hometown. Usually, if you see a travel team with this comradery, they have been together for multiple years. 

Another pro to school sports would be the importance the team has to the entire community. When you put on a jersey for a school team, not only are you playing for your school but also the alumni, people who live in your city and every person who has grown a love for your school over the years. Similar to a college team, high school teams have fans, and some of them you might not personally know, but they still care for your school. It is an awesome and important aspect, being able to play for alumni, fans of your high school and your student body. 

I love school sports, however, school sports do have some issues. One large problem with school sports is the part of the year it is played in. For example, in the spring I play baseball. My goal is to play baseball at the collegiate level, and it’s extremely hard to get college coaches to your games in the spring. This  is because the college baseball season is also in the spring. This is one large reason travel sports are so useful. It helps a ton being able to travel anywhere in the country to get in front of a college coach’s eyes: something that school sports cannot provide. 

This past school season I saw four scouts all year watching our RBHS baseball games and in the summer usually over 10 will come and watch every tournament. I cannot rely on school baseball to get recruited. Although I’m blessed with a great coach who helps with reaching out to colleges and helping me with my process, colleges need to see you play firsthand, and it’s really hard to get that to happen during school sports. Therefore, travel sports are important and serve a big purpose. 

Are school sports a waste of time for athletes trying to play at the next level? Absolutely not. This is a common argument you will hear from travel coaches or on social media. I think it is important to play school sports. You may not have many scouts come to your games, but at the end of the day, that isn’t what matters. What matters is putting your best foot forward for your hometown and trying everything you can to reach that goal of a district or state championship. You create many special memories playing school sports and many great life lessons as well. It’s something every athlete should experience. I also have made a ton of awesome memories playing summer baseball. I’ve gotten to travel the country to play baseball, make friends from all over the country and even get recruited to play in college. They are both important for their specific reasons, and I think it’s important to do both. One isn’t better than the other; they each serve their purpose, and I wish more people would see it that way.

Have you ever played a club sport? Let us know in the comments below.