High School Sport

High school sports emerged in the 1900s. During that time, school was still modeled after the education system in England. There was muscular Christianity as well as the goal to develop a sense of legitimacy. Sports were a tool for marketing for high schools. The objectives of high school sport are to promote integrity and sportsmanship. Working hard to do well and succeed is also an objective of high school sport. The success of these objectives vary by school. My personal experience of high school sports aligned with the success of these objectives but I’ve had friends who had entirely different experiences.  Interscholastic sports and athletes have a high status in America. Athletes were often slapped on the wrists in high school when kids were getting expelled for similar offenses. Interscholastic sport creates a distraction for succeeding academically, excessive pressures to win, reinforces gender roles, and promote unsportsmanlike behavior. A solution to the problem of doing well in school could be setting a high national level of high school grade point average in order to participate in college sports.