By Weston Irons Posted December 17, 2014
High school sports are the spirit of every community. For decades they have provided entertainment to small towns whether it be football, basketball, or baseball. These sports are a cheap and easy way for residents of small towns to watch the talented athletes that their town has to offer. Now, every day these small-town sports seem to imitate their professional counterparts and that is not necessarily a good thing.
Recently I read an article about a high school whose coaching staff recorded some film of a team that they would be playing in a very important game, a game that would decide if they went to the playoffs. Long story short, the team who had recorded the other, won the game and were subsequently disqualified because of their actions of recording the other team. The players, most of whom did not know their coaches had unjustly recorded this game, were obviously disappointed as they lost their shot at the playoffs. This sounds a lot like the Patriots Super Bowl scandal from a couple of years ago which brings me to my point. Are high school athletics becoming too much like the big time?
I constantly read headlines about high school sports that I would expect to see reading about professional sports; scandals, hazing, throwing games, etc. High school sports are supposed to be an activity where students with exceptional athletic ability and love for a sport can play in front of their friends, family, and fans. It’s not supposed to be an activity that attempts to simulate the bad actions of professional sports. There is a huge difference between high school sports and professional sports and I’m not just talking about skill level. There are billions of dollars invested into professional sports which is why so many of those scandalous things happen. High school sports are not about the money they are about the athletes who play for the love of the game and play to hopefully further their athletic career.
High school sports need to stay the way they are and need to prevent these scandalous incidences from happening. People need to open their eyes to the real reason high school sports are played. A prime example is Lowry, a school that is the epitome of a good athletic school.
