Springdale schools should offer more athletic opportunities

The Springdale Public Schools system offers athletic opportunities at every school, including football, basketball, soccer, volleyball, tennis, wrestling, swim, cross country, track, baseball, bowling, golf, cheer, and dance. 

Unfortunately, this only scratches the surface, and there are many sports that the school lacks. These sports could bring more creativity, athleticism, and character development if played. Yet the school has been hesitant to add them even though I feel they would benefit us in both success and value.

One of the sports I believe our school needs the most is lacrosse. Lax is a sport similar to many more well known sports. It is akin to a soccer field in shape, size, rules, and position on the field. Players carry a stick with a net on the end to hold their lax ball in, and they throw the ball from the net of the stick to make a goal. What makes it unique is that it is a contact sport, and the only thing off limits is obvious aggravation and head shots with your stick. 

I am personally a participant of this sport, and what I have learned from this sport is work ethic, conditioning, discipline, and grit; all things I had been hard pressed to learn in my previous sports. It teaches coordination and quick thinking. It has put me in shape, and I appreciate the use of such a unique stick exclusive to the sport. If a lacrosse program was enacted in Springdale schools, it would be played in the spring.

Another sport that our school should adopt is Ultimate Frisbee. Ultimate is similar to football, but what makes it different is the tool used to score. In addition, players can’t move while they’re holding the frisbee. There are no goals, just an end zone. Ultimate promotes conditioning, costs no money to play since there is no gear for the sport and can be played on a regular football field. This sport combines IQ with athleticism and forces you to learn to communicate. It would be played in the winter. 

A third sport that I believe the school needs is Spikeball. Spikeball is a two or four-player game with a circular net, raised 8 inches off the ground, and a soft air-filled ball to bounce against it. Players can only smack the ball, not hold it, and the goal is to get the ball bounced back off the net in only 3 hits between the team. Each player positions himself at opposite ends of the net, and when the player serves to his opponent, their adversary must hit it to his teammate. If they fail to do so, the serving team gains a point. Games typically go to 7, 11, or 21. This game requires hand-eye coordination, can be played anywhere, and is very creative because there is no sport truly like it. This sport would be played in the summer.

Another game that I believe our school should adopt is ice hockey. There is already a team for the city, but it does not reach the wide range of kids that a school team would. It would be played at the Springdale Jones Center, and we could most likely get the same coaches as the Springdale league. It would be played in the winter.

A final sport that I strongly argue our school should adopt is pickleball. Pickleball is played similarly to both tennis and ping pong. Many of my friends call it ¨life-sized ping pong.¨ Although there are subtle changes to the rules, what makes it unique is that there is no running like in tennis, and it isn´t purely about technique like ping pong. It is a perfect balance of both, and wins can feel a lot better because it takes more extreme movements to do something impressive. Because it is played in the spring, the tennis courts by the school would be vacant and available. Utilizing this space would be purely beneficial for our school.

Now I suppose I should answer why our school needs different sports. At this current time in our school, we are not winning in almost anything. This is significant because before around 4 years ago, we dominated in every sport. By opening avenues to more competition for our school and students, we would be providing more opportunities for our student body and our school to excel. Our school could even make money from competitions of this nature! Please consider my proposal, and check out these unique sports when you get the chance.