Sport dedication has now reached an all-time high.

Students who participate a high school sport and wish they could play year round can now rejoice.  Effective next year, Virginia High School League (VHSL) has ruled that high school sports may now hold practice year round in order to prepare their athletes for the season.  This  new ruling received both positive and negative reaction among students.

“I feel like it wouldnt work for some sports, especially soccer,” said senior Andrew Berkowitz. “After the high school season is over we all go and play for different club and travel teams that we have commitments to.” 

This could definitely raise a problem among teams, because if star players have prior commitments in the offseason, then they are losing valuable time at practice and the team is missing key components.

Although there could be problems with extracurricular committments, students are still positive that the extra work they are  now allowed to put in with their teams will pay off during the regular season.

“I definitely think it will be beneficial to the progression of our sports teams,” said junior Drew Mullins. “Our teams already make lots of progress during the season and those extra practices will only make us better.” 

Not only do those teams in season have to practice, but those who are in the off-season may have practices as well.

“It would work really well for football,” said junior Devon Winslow.

Another big concern that is raised with the new rule is the interference of one school sport with another.

Since many athletes at WS partake in more than one sport, they could run into big difficulties with the problem of every day practices with both sports.

“If you miss practice because of another sport, you are behind,” said senior Jason Fry. “If your attendance in practice counts towards your playing time and performance, there could be a huge disparity.”

Along with every other aspect of high school, students will be forced to prioritize and figure out which sport is the most important to them.

Some student athletes may find this to be an easy task, while others may face great difficulty because of their love and dedication to both or all of the sports that they play.

“You just have to know what’s more important to you and your happiness,” said Mullins. “Unfortunately, some sports and activities do have to take priority over others.”