sports column by Darius Booth

In the world of high school sports it is easy to become complacent. For most student athletes, their respective sport is not their priority. While some high school sports stars are bound to play at the next level, the majority are not so fortunate in this regard. With that said, it becomes easy for players to not focus on the competitive nature of the sport, especially in a small school system.

In a small school system, expectations are generally low for sports teams. With these low expectations, players often don’t take the sport seriously. More often than not, these sports are just hobbies for players, instead of being something the players are passionate about. Without passion, student athletes often lack the desire to win. Senior Kaycee Grant said, “Competitive sports require you to be competitive. Without the desire to win a team will have trouble being successful.” It simply is not easy to win, if the athlete’s goal is not to win.

Complacent student athletes generally only play for the fun of the sport. While there is no fault in that, it can often translate to a lack of success during the team’s season. A team with players who enjoy playing and also have a desire to win, are more likely to be successful. Senior Christian Stewart said, “Complacency is the worst thing for any sports team. If you don’t work hard everyday with a purpose, you won’t get the results you want. You can lose to less talented teams and won’t be able to compete with more talented teams.” Driven athletes, who refuse to become complacent, generally have the ability to improve. This improvement can be translated over the course of a season, or multiple seasons, but the complacency of some student athletes can deter this development altogether.

In order to have success as a team, winning must be a priority. If the team has a hunger to win games and constantly improve, that will be the results they get. Every team simply isn’t capable of winning every game, however if a team wants to be successful they must want to continue to always improve. Playing together as a team and bettering as a team are two of the things that are seemingly mandatory to being successful. Senior Justice Webber said, “If a team doesn’t have the desire to win they do not love the sport. Players who love the sport are team players who will do what it takes to win.” Players who aren’t concerned with winning, can seriously hurt a team’s chance of winning.

If a team consists of players that are not passionate about the sport, it is likely they will suffer through their season. Improvement will likely be minimal, and the loss totals will accumulate quickly over the years as opponents better themselves. Players with desire and passion for their respective sport, are more likely to work harder and play harder, which can translate to more success. Regardless of skill, a player with a real desire to win can never be at a disadvantage to a player without it.