Club vs. High School Practice

  Is it fair for players who don’t show up to high school practices to compete with the school when it comes to game day? There have been many speculations about the competitive fairness of players who play club sports and compete with high school teams. Depending on the sport, opinions differ. 

When asking the question of whether practicing with a club and playing with the school team is fair, it seems that if the sport is an individual sport like swimming or track, it is less impactful than a player on a team sport. 

On a team sport, participating in practice and being a part of the team is a large factor of playing time along with skill, but if all you have is skill but are never at practice or contributing to your team you are less likely to play than someone with less skill who shows up to high school practices. 

If the sport involves competing for a personal title, then participating in club practices suggests that you have surpassed the high school level of skill and have moved on to a skill level. Club teams often have coaches with strong coaching abilities. 

Former SVHS swim team member, and former Junior Olympian Greyson Mccaw said, “I got more from club practices than high school practices, and with more experienced coaching. Basically if you want to get to the next level, you play club.” 

Many people would agree, considering the high school season is only three months out of the year. When dedicated to improving in a sport, playing for a club team provides the opportunity to practice year round.  Although some would say that by not practicing with the school team, it is unfair to participate in competition with that team. When playing for a team sport like soccer and volleyball, it is important to practice with  teammates to understand their plays and play styles. When playing a self competing sport like track or swim it is less important to practice with teammates that do not alter your overall outcome and more iportnat to practice at a higher level.