Sports are a big factor in the high school experience. Many students also take on the love of sports outside of school and take up club sports. Even though they are fun to participate in, some challenges are at hand.

“It was really difficult, especially when they intersected, school year and club year. It was just a lot. And since the coaches coach in very different ways, it’s hard to go back to both,” Delaney Palmer, 10, said.

While playing both can be rigorous, there are some advantages.

“I feel like playing school and going right into club kind of helped with being better at club because I had time before to better myself during school,” Ava Crabtree, 10, said.

Students have many different experiences playing both, some good and some bad. These experiences can make or break a student’s decision to keep playing one or the other.

“It’s like two different atmospheres because I feel like at school, people kind of go off in their own groups and so it’s difficult to be able to make good connections with people. But in club, I feel like, since you’re around each other going to hotels and traveling, it’s a better bond,” Palmer said. 

Another big difference between the two is coaching. Regulations as to how schools and clubs choose their coaches contrast in many ways.

“I personally like club coaches better because I just feel like they just have more experience and they have to do more procedures to be an official coach. Unlike school where if you have any volleyball background then you’re able to,” Palmer said. 

When playing sports in either club or school, many students are determined to play. Although students aren’t guaranteed to have equal playing time, some factors can contradict this.

“Parents getting involved with coaches and having relationships with coaches definitely has an impact on their playing time. I feel like the girls who have a good relationship with the coaches also get more playing time,” Palmer added. 

Though many have fun playing both, school sports usually take the hit of lacking players.

“I feel like playing sports for school is a good experience, but at the same time it takes up a lot of time because you’re doing it every single day,” Crabtree said. 

Some students make the hard decision to just play one, but many stick with both. Each has its pros and cons differentiating from one another. There are many factors as to why a student may play both, or just one. No matter what the student chooses, both have many opportunities and benefits.