Bella Harper

Collage of Rocky’s sports

Considering what is, and what is not a sport is a very controversial topic. People have many different opinions to say about this. Students at Rocky were then interviewed about their thoughts.

Hallie Schrum, a senior and the co-captain on the dance team was first to be interviewed. She was asked “What do you not consider a sport, and why?” She replied. “I don’t think cheer is a sport, because I feel like they don’t practice as much as other sports do.”  She added, “While dance on the other hand, which many people say is not a sport, practices every morning, trains, conditions, and is always working hard.”

Gunnar Thompson was interviewed next. He is a Senior QB on the Varsity football team. As somebody who never gets comments about the sport, he plays not technically being a sport, he had some important things to say. He was also asked what he does not consider sport. His answer was “I think chess is not considered a sport because it is more of a leisure hobby and there is a competitiveness but that does not mean it is a sport in this situation.” To be considered a sport he says there needs to be team bonding, practice, and competition. He believes dance, cheer, and even marching band are sports because of these factors.

To be considered a sport, Kevin Juarez, a freshman on the boys’ varsity soccer team says, “A sport needs to have a bit of physical contact, as well as a mental toughness to be able to play in a game.” Like many others he also agrees cheer and dance are not sports.

It is always a difficult topic to consider activities like dance, cheer, gymnastics etc. sports. Others will always have their opinions on how they are not sports, and how they are more of just fun hobbies.

One of the main stereotypes for these sports is that since they don’t have players, jerseys, numbers on their uniforms, or games/matches they are automatically not a “real” sport. People also get the idea that they don’t train and practice as much or as hard as others.

While on the other hand, the people who are involved in these sports have a different perspective. These sports need real commitment and work ethic to be able to succeed. When it comes to practice, they are always working hard to achieve their goals not only for them but also their team.

The Rocky Cheer and Dance team has that commitment. To do Cheer you need to have serious strength. They are not just throwing people in the air, but the flyer as well has to control themselves to safely perform the stunt which in most cases is not very easy. Dance as well trains and conditions every morning and occasionally after school and during the weekend. All in all, there are many different components on what a sport is or isn’t.