Nowadays, it seems that everyone has different opinions on high school sports. Some believe that they are simply a pastime or hobby for student athletes, and others take them very seriously and competitively. Because of this, opinions concerning team size vary as well.
There are both benefits and drawbacks to high school sports teams making cuts.
If no cuts were made, there would be more players per team, and therefore more positions to be filled. Chris Levesque (’12) said, “There would be more players to compete for starting positions, and more athletes to take the place of injured or tired teammates.”
Alternatively, making cuts is seen as an essential part of creating a competitive team. “It makes everyone that is going out for the team to compete to the best of their abilities,” said Chris Mashinski (’12); “It’s also like the real world, because no matter what you’re going to have to compete for jobs and other things to show others you are worthy.”
Sports teams actually differ in team size based on the type of competition. This means that whether or not cuts are made is also controlled by this factor.
“Take tennis for example: only so many people can play at one time due to the accommodations of the match site,” said Coach Serpone. “Different schools have different numbers of courts, and some schools don’t have lights to play longer games that will go into the later hours of the day.”
Coach Leonard stated, “Cuts are really only necessary for certain sports. In wrestling, for example, there is a better chance of getting everyone who tries out to compete on the mat at some point or another throughout the season, but sports such as baseball only allow a certain number of players onto the field at once.”
Another view of making cuts is that the number of athletes who were unfortunate enough to not make the team would be greater than the number of members on the team itself. “For tennis, players would quit left & right because not all of them would get the opportunity to play. More would quit than continue being a member of the team,” added Serpone.
Whether or not high school sports teams should have mandatory cuts does seem to vary based on each sport’s necessities. To some they may be very competitive, and to others they may be just for fun. Regardless of each athlete’s outlook on the sport, the number of members per team really can be affected due to many outside factors. So before making assumptions about each sports team’s size, remember all the possible factors that could have gone into that specific number.