More students are selecting club sports over traditional high school athletics. The downside to this is that high school sports are losing some of their best athletes.

This past year, Durango High School did not have enough athletes for its JV football team. Shadow Ridge, Valley, Clark and Centennial, just to name a few, were high schools that did not have enough athletes out to field all levels of teams in all sports. Students deciding on club sports rather than their high school team may have been a contributing factor to this problem.

But why, when customary high school competition includes tradition, fanfare, glory, bands, rivalries, and a high level of excitement, would someone choose club sports over high school sports?

“It is the wrong reason if they feel they have to in order to keep up with everyone else or to get that scholarship,” said Jerry Hughes, executive director of Nevada Interscholastic Athletics Association. “If it is because an athlete just loves this sport and that is the only thing they want to do, then that is the right reason.”

This imposed obligation on student athletes doesn’t just come from within, it often comes from parents. Is it the exposure from excelling, the scholarships, or the level of play that drives these athletes from high school to club?

Some athletes participate in club sports because of the coaching. Club coaches are often paid more than high school coaches, and they do not have to worry about eligibility rules for their participating athletes. These factors would tend to attract more coaches to club sports.

The Clark County School District is having trouble finding highly qualified and dedicated coaches. The time, pressure, parents, and the little money offered to pay coaches are just some of the reasons why good instruction and leadership is hard to find.

“The first source for coaches is to hire teachers,” said Warren Hagman, assistant principal in charge of athletics at Centennial High School. “Teachers and coaches go hand in hand because of the required grade point average.”

Nevada’s state education policy is that all athletes must attain, prior to the sports season, a minimum 2.0 grade point average. They must maintain that grade point average throughout the season.

This is one way to help athletes prepare for academics and sports at the collegiate level. It is also to send the message that high school is about education first and athletics afterward.

“To help promote high school athletics, we need to convince everyone that high school sports can lead to academic success,” said Bill Garis, Clark County director of athletics and student activities.

Since high school athletes are required to maintain good grade point averages, it makes sense that playing sports at the high school level rather than the club level would help ensure academic success. Many high school coaches at Sierra Vista conduct grade checks even when their sport is not in season.

So then why are kids choosing club sports over high school sports? It may be what the athletes believe are benefits from club sports. With the elite tournaments, the traveling, the scholarships, and the friendships made within the teams, it’s no wonder so many athletes choose club sports.

“I’ve played hockey since I’ve been five, and one of the best things about it is getting to travel with my team,” said freshman hockey player Matt Oberling. “We compete in California, Florida, and even Canada.”

Club sports are a year-round activity. That could cause athletes to burn out easily. On the other hand, it gives athletes the opportunity to develop good relationships with their coaches and teammates, and really excel in that one particular sport.

The year-round aspect creates other concerns. Athletes who might have played more than one sport, maybe a high school sport, are kept from doing so by their demanding club sport schedule.

“The perception has been perpetuated by club sport coaches, parents and possibly some recruiters, that if an athlete doesn’t play a single sport year round, that athlete will lose out on opportunities and scholarships,” said Zane Gray, assistant principal in charge of athletics. “In reality there are a good number of athletes performing at very high levels that were multi-sport athletes in high school.”

“What’s disheartening to me is that these athletes will be brainwashed into believing the single sport concept, not participated on a high school team, miss the experience of learning different coaching styles, team camaraderie, and the thrill of excelling in a different sport for their school and regret it later,” added Gray.

With the popularity of club sports, how do school officials plan on promoting high school sports?

There has been some consideration by state and district level administrators to propose a dead time for athletes. Meaning there will be a period of time prior to their sport season that athletes will be restricted from playing and/or will not be allowed to play for anyone that is a member of the high school teams coaching staff.

Currently other western states such as Washington, Oregon, and Utah have these restrictions in place.

“I believe that at some time the club sports will do more harm to their own cause, than high school sports will have to do promoting themselves,” said Gray. “By that I mean when athletes and parents realize that club sport coaches have no stake in the kids total well-being, and the only reason they want them to excel is for the fact the club coach or parent can boast about their accomplishments, or some club sport finally puts so much pressure on an athlete that the athlete melts down, then people will realize the value of the high school experience and maybe the perception that club sports are not the means to some unrealistic end.”

“The Review Journal has done an exceptional job giving exposure and highlighting high school athletes,” said Hagman. “That gives athletes a reason to participate.”

Sports such as hockey, lacrosse and even cheerleading are not recognized as sports in high school, but they are in college. So what does an athlete do if they participate in one of these activities now and hope to do the same in college? Club sports are the answer for some.

“I know for the sport I play it isn’t recognized as a high school sport, so the only thing I’m left with is a travel team,” said Oberling.

Cheerleading is now being recognized just above a school club. It is a class, but it is still not given the title of a sport.

“We get to compete at a state competition next year which is exciting for us,” said Sierra Vista varsity cheer coach Donna Besser. “For the amount of work we do it’s good to see that we get privileges too.”

The best-case scenario is when young athletes don’t have to make the choices between the two. It only becomes a problem when club sports aren’t flexible when dealing with the games and practices of high school sports, and vice versa.

One of those inflexible sports is swimming. Last year Sierra Vista’s super star swimmer Tara Staley ran into these problems.

Staley participated on a club swim team for much of the year. Being a senior on her high school swim team, winning a high school state championship, and having a scholarship to Colorado State University all contributed to a hard but rewarding year.

“I knew I wanted to swim for high school as well as my year round team,” said Staley. “There were times where I thought why bother due to conflicts between both teams, and I knew that I still had my scholarship due to year round, not to high school swimming.”

The club sports are taking athletes away from their school programs for a variety of reasons.

Club sports and high school sports need to work together and provide flexibility for their athletes. Participation on both teams may be possible, benefiting all involved, if agreements can be reached.

Judge’s Comments:
Nice job. This is a story I would expect to read in the Las Vegas daily newspapers, so imagine my surprise to be reading it in a school newspaper. Your report instincts are impressive for a young writer. Keep following them and the sky will be your limit.