Many teenage athletes start out playing for a club sport, some occasionally transitioning towards high school sports along the way. Most students choose one or the other based on their schedules, commitments and plans for the future. Their decision can be difficult due to the similarities between both club and school sports.
The main difference between club sports and school sports is time commitment. Club sports are more flexible, as an athlete is able to skip practice if they have other obligations at the time. However, school sports follow a strict schedule, so players are unable to skip practices or games.
Rishika Nanda, a freshman at DVHS who has played on the Elite badminton team at Bintang Badminton Club in Dublin for a year and a half, has “practice five days a week, for two hours on weekdays and three hours on weekends,” according to her.
Jaiden Liggins, a freshman on the DVHS womens varsity basketball team who joined the team this season, must attend all practices for the team from Monday to Saturday. The only exception is if she has a family emergency or other extenuating circumstances.
Liggins described that she has “six practices per week for two hours.”
Although Liggins is required to attend all events for her team, Nanda is able to switch her practices around based on her schedule. If she has other extracurriculars at the time, she is able to ask her coach to postpone it to another day.
“For me, I have other classes that I’m doing, I’m only doing four days a week [instead of five like most people],” Nanda said.
Based on her availability, Nanda is able to choose between competitive events as well. She said, “I go to local tournaments, mainly because I don’t have the time to go to tournaments outside the state.”
However, Liggins is required to attend games and tournaments, which happen two to three times a week.
Another difference between club sports and school sports is the competitiveness. Since club sport athletes have often been playing for longer, they have more experience and are more familiar with the sport overall.
“There’s so many people that put in [more] effort [in club sports] then people do for a [school] sport. Also, most school athletes are not familiar with the rules of the sport, compared to [those who play in] club sports, as they have just been playing for a longer time,” Nanda explained.
Nanda believes that though club sports can help strengthen your skills at a sport, school sports can help students build lasting friendships with their teammates. According to her, this is more difficult to do with teammates in a club sport, as teammates see each other less often and usually do not attend the same school.
Liggins said that playing on a school team “gives kind of an opportunity for you to get closer to everyone, since you see them more often. For club sports [usually] there is a lot less practice, [around] two times a week, [so] you do not really have much bonding time [with teammates].”
Although skill improvement is important, creating long-term friendships is also crucial. Liggins explained, “Playing a school sport is more of an experience and a good way to connect with more people. It is [also] more memorable because of events we do like eating dinner together, [taking] pictures, and other team bonding events which you don’t really do in club sports.”
Since players on school teams are able to see their teammates at school as well as after school during practice, at games and during other activities, they spend more time together, which can help their camaraderie and overall synchronization as a team.
When asked which team is more important to her, Nanda replied, “I think club sports are more important, because [my team] is an international team which is known for being the best of the best, and playing for that is a privilege.”
Based on what an athlete is looking for, both club sports and school sports can satisfy their needs. While club sports can help an athlete improve their skill, school sports help create better bonds with teammates.
Nanda suggested, “Whatever you think is the best one, just focus on that one and do your best.”
