There\’s a big shift going on in America right now at the high school sport level and in regard to sports in general. It\’s falls along broad generational lines as we see a steady move from traditional teams sports to individual sports. You can\’t tell during the mayhem of March Madness or leading up to the Super Bowl but kids these days are taking to individual sports at a faster and faster clip. Let\’s take a look at this trend and see how it changes things at the high school sport level.

It might mirror general trends in the society at large but what does a move from team based sports to more individual pursuits mean? To some extent, the U.S. is based on the individual so it\’s not that strange to us to have individual pursuits and passions. Let\’s first define team based versus individual sports with some examples. The big three sports in terms of popularity and participation are definitely team based sports. Football, Basketball, and Baseball are all intensely team focused and have been the mainstay for high school sports in almost every area (except for the real cold climate\’s love for ice hockey). Although they\’re not going away any time soon ,they are lessening in participation on a per capita basis over an extended period of years (even decades now). What\’s taking some their spots?

Individual sports. This categories includes actual high school sports as well as activities that some in the older generation might characterize as just for fun until they see what some of the kids can do these days. This group generally includes, skateboarding, skiing, snowboarding (the winter sports), swimming, tennis, and you can go all the way out till you hit discus and even karate. Some of the events have made their way into the official high school arena while others operate more at a local community level in terms of passionate followers and supporters. It\’s hard to say exactly what a sport is outside of requiring some type of skill and offering an competitive element. This line will continue to blur going forward as the individual sports gain more and more ground. Furthermore, the support will become more formalized in terms of groups, rules, and competition. What started as kids basically enjoying their activities under the radar will lose some of the counterculture aspect of it (such as skateboarding) but will gain reach and legitimacy which ultimately should help the sport reach new heights. An even that brings the best in a certain sport from many different areas can only help to excite the participants and the greater community.

Are we losing something in getting away from team pursuits? Maybe. There\’s something to be said for working with a group of people to achieve goals. It\’s actually a lesson that many adults in the workplace still don\’t have down. Obtaining shared goals with a passionate group of like-minded people is part of what makes us human and our team-based sports may just be practice for \”getting along\” with others when we get older. Individual sports go about it in another way. This is the U.S. and ultimately, we celebrate the individual. If you get there with hard work, dedication, and passion…who cares whether it\’s on a team or solo. Either way, you win both in your sport and in life.

Author Bio: Dennis Jarvis writes about the world of Prep Sports including high school sports such as high school football, basketball, and baseball.

Category: Sports
Keywords: team high school sports, individual high school sports, team prep sports, prep sports