Sports are an integral part of any high school. They provide opportunities for budding athletes to explore the wonder of sports, and proficient athletes to compete at a high level. However, at large schools like Leesville that have a lot of sports teams, LRHS has 12, some are bound to become forgotten.
Men’s & Women’s Tennis
Tennis may get national support with big tournaments like the U.S. Open, but in Leesville’s community, the teams don’t receive that much attention.
“Most people don’t think about it when you think about a sport you play in high school,” said Kyle Lange, junior. Lange has played for the Varsity men’s tennis team since his freshman year.
“No one even goes to the games,” said Brooke Baur, sophomore. Baur has been on the Varsity women’s tennis team for two years.
One of the main reasons why some sports like tennis can become forgotten is if there are other bigger sports in their season. This is certainly the case for women’s tennis, which is a season that includes big sports like men’s soccer and football. Men’s tennis has to compete with larger sports like baseball in the spring.
Another reason why tennis could be classified as a forgotten sport is even though they have Varsity teams, they don’t get all of the perks of other Varsity sports. “We don’t even get a media day,” said Baur.
The lack of attention does come with some benefits. “There’s less people, so no one is really counting on you to win,” said Lange.
Men’s & Women’s Varsity Golf
The golf team is another sport that doesn’t get a lot of attention from the Leesville community. While it’s a popular sport that the wealthy play in movies, it’s less popular with high school students.
“Nobody knows there’s a golf team,” said Maddie Grandsden, sophomore. Grandsden joined the Women’s Varsity Golf team this year.
Similar to tennis, golf can be overshadowed by bigger, flashier sports that have more action in their games/matches.
“People just think it’s boring, all you’re doing is hitting a white ball into a hole,” said Chase Duncan, junior. Duncan is on the Men’s Varsity golf team.
Even though the sport doesn’t get that much support, the lack of attention from outside onlookers aligns with the solitary nature of the sport. “It makes it less stressful and more fun,” said Grandsden.
One reason high school students–girls specifically–should be interested in golf is because of the scholarship opportunities presented by the sport. “Women’s golf as the least number of filled scholarships for college, so you can easily get full rides without being that good,” said Grandsden.
Men’s and Women’s Wrestling
One of the more unique sports at Leesville, the wrestling teams could definitely be classified as a forgotten sport.
“There’s no publication about it… generally, most people don’t think about it as a common sport,” said Devin Hardy, junior. Hardy joined the women’s wrestling team in her sophomore year.
Wrestling is different from other sports as the objective isn’t to score points with a ball or race against other people. The objective is to quite literally throw your opponents on the ground.
“It’s a different sport, the rules are very complex and it’s not really something you can look at and understand,” said Carter Laba, senior. Laba is part of the men’s wrestling team.
However, the unique premise of the sport is a great reason why people should come and support the teams.
“It’s a really tough sport to do,” said Hardy.
“I think it’s fun… it’s kind of enjoyable to watch,” said Laba.
Men’s & Women’s Swim Team
Even though swimming is one of the top 5 most popular sports in the summer Olympics, the Leesville swim team doesn’t receive that much support.
“I feel like [people] think it’s easy,” said Elijah Nelson, senior. Nelson has swam for Leesville since his freshman year.
“I feel like in more professional areas like the Olympics it’s not [forgotten]… I feel like the only people who know about it are the people who swim,” said Naomi Lehavot, junior. Lehavot has been on the swim team since her freshman year as well.
Swim is a winter sport, which means it competes with basketball–a popular sport at Leesville–for attention. This could explain why it doesn’t get as much attention as other sports.
“There’s a lot of sports like football or basketball or baseball that kind of overshadow it,” said Lehavot.
However, the lack of attention the swim team gets can benefit the individual athlete’s relationships with each other. “It makes everybody feel like a family on the team, we’re not distracted by other people,” said Nelson.
Some sports are more popular than others, but even these “forgotten” ones have their special characteristics. Next time you feel like trying something new, show out for these lesser-known–but just as important–sports teams.
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