Arbuckle's Advice

Arbuckle’s Advice

Importance of doing a sport for the future

Donald Arbuckle

Sports Editor

Almost every student has been involved somehow with a sports team in some way, and it is well-known that sports have health benefits. Sports often have post-high school academic benefits as well.

According to Campus Explorer, an athletic résumé is important to have when applying to colleges. To a college, being involved in a sport shows that a student will make time for activities, whether those activities are school-related, extracurricular. A college is more likely to consider a person with straight As who are in sports or extracurricular rather than a person with straight As who are involved in no sports or extracurricular activities. They look for an athletic résumé because it shows a good work ethic and commitment.

Being good at a sport is also a benefiting factor that a college looks for. Colleges look at if a students plays varsity and has a high winning streak because they understand that a varsity player is better and earned their place on the team compared to a JV player.

A player’s athletic level also plays an important part. Some athletes perform better and have a higher chance of playing on college teams because they are simply good at their sports. Colleges want that on their sports teams.

“Colleges don’t think you should have to play a sport. They just want to see if you have done something other than high school to show that you are a well-rounded and balanced student,” Counselor Brain Schmidt said. “If [colleges benefit academically because of a student] they would want [that student] to play sports in college. They want a student that has experience outside of high school, and [playing sports shows] good time management.”

That being said, any extracurricular activity, like a job and not just a sport, gives applicants an advantage. A college looks for a well-rounded student that can handle activities outside of school, and according to CollegeVine, some colleges do not even look at your sports résumé.

Sports do help when applying to college, but if a student is not involved in one, it will have little effect on a college résumé. Sports are most likely not going to be the deciding factor in whether an application for college is good, but it can give students an edge when applying.