by Maximiliano Torres

Created on: January 29, 2009

Most high schools revolve around their sports more then their education, at least that is the case in Dekalb county, Georgia. I should know I am still in high school. At Lakeside (the high school where i currently attend) it is very demanding to be and athlete. It takes a lot of dedication and commitment. Not only do you have to be really good at whatever sport you are going out for you also need to be a good student and make decent grades. It is specially hard for us since we have to deal with 7 classes a day (which you have to be passing at least 6 to play a sport) instead of the 3 or four that other schools in Georgia do. Students are also pushed to join clubs and do community service. Even with a full day most students want to be top dogs in sports. Now I believe based on my own experiences that doing a sport and competition is a very good and healthy thing. I played high school football and I am currently the captain of the wrestling team. What i have learned from doing sports are extremely valuable lessons that i will take with me into every aspect of my life and someday pass on to my children. I learned that in life whatever you put in you get out. If you work hard and put time into it you will get out what you want and be successful in what your trying to accomplish. I learned to be dedicated and to be committed. I learned to stay away from trouble and focus on a goal. I learned to go the extra mile and to give it my all 100%. Besides the personal growth I have been able to witness how me and my team have grown together. We had to learn how to be leaders and followers. How to work together for one common goal.

Besides all the personal growth that comes with high school sports you also make friends. You share a special bond with your teammates and your rivals. I could not tell you how many friends i have in rival school because of sports. By now I probably know at least one person in every school in the top half of Georgia. I mean at least I should I have spent every Friday and Saturday with them. Even tho we are trying to destroy each other and trying to win we gain a special respect for one another. If you were to come to a high school competition then you would see what i mean. You would see some rivals cheering each other on and helping each other because we are all trying to get better.

Lastly sports have helped me put in perspective what I want in life and what I need to do to get it. I honestly used to think that i just wanted to get out of high school and that everything will fall into place after that. Now i realize that that is not enough. I want to go to college and have a good job. I know that i have to work hard to get good grades so that I can get into the college I want. I know that nothing will be handed to me and that nothing is free. I know what it takes to reach a certain goal and to be successful. If anyone were to ask me if high school sports are worth the time and expense I would say that doing a high school sport is probably one of the smartest thing your child can do.

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