One way to be active in school is to participate in school sports, but it is limited to what the school decides to offer. The Athletics Department hosts numerous sports throughout different seasons, including cross country, cheer, tennis, marching band, golf, volleyball, football, water polo, soccer, basketball, wrestling, baseball, softball, swimming, lacrosses and track.

This list of current sports already has many students participating, but offering more sports can entice more students to find an interest in other forms of physical education.

“I would feel more energetic because I would be doing something physical in my life.” sophomore Brian Hawkins said. “Badminton is fun.”

Students show interest in other school sports through clubs meeting at lunch such as badminton and ping pong. Adopting the clubs as school sports can provide better training and more time dedicated to an activity they are interested in. A few of the sports played in neighboring schools that have current interest are: badminton, table tennis, field hockey and archery.

Although it is only natural that the school has certain sports being that this is the second year opening, interests in a wider variety of sports show. The badminton club has 37 members signed up and ping pong has 41 members. Students who enjoy a sport and want to play it at school should start at the creation of a sports club, and then push to make the club an official school sport.

Research by University of Missouri Health Care states, “Sports require memorization, repetition and learning — skill sets that are directly relevant to class work. Also, the determination and goal-setting skills a sport requires can be transferred to the classroom.”

Offering more sports for students to participate in not only provides opportunities for students to find their interests, but also teaches students valuable lessons that have a positive impact on their lives. Sports yield health benefits that a regular physical education class may not provide. Health benefits can range from prevention of diseases to mental therapy to improving cardiovascular health and the overall well-being of the body.

Sports at school benefit the health of the students in it, and with more school sports, students can find interest in their high school experience while staying healthy. Badminton and ping pong already have major interests and more can show up in the future of Portola with the help of students.