With many high expectations and pressures to be the best at sports, students drive themselves too far. Take it from my many friends with crutches and too many signed casts that sports now are more than just a passion. While some students want to advance to D1 universities which require major dedication and hard work, is it worth the risk of injuring yourself permanently? Many say yes because they love their future career so much, but I think that it will ruin the sport completely for them due to poor experiences.

According to a 2020 study at Personal Injury & Criminal Defense Law Firm Weinstein Legal, 90 percent of student-athletes experience sport-related injuries. Parental pressures don’t help, as they lower confidence in most students because of simple mistakes. Especially today, some parents expect their children to be the next Tiger Woods or Alex Morgan, which isn’t a bad thing. However, many parents choose their children’s future for them, preventing them from enjoying high school and being a kid. Sometimes, it’s not even the parents putting pressure on their kids but rather the students themselves who hold themselves to high standards.

These harsh expectations often lead to many injuries in school sports. Especially evident at RUHS, the school nurse sees many students every day to help with physical therapy. My friend injures herself almost every year. From tearing her ACL to breaking her ankle from soccer, she’s been through a lot. When we talk, she discusses that sometimes she wants a break from her athletics because it just overwhelms her as she is practicing every day. 

Despite the fact that most student-athletes injure themselves from stress and pressure, surprisingly, competitive sports help students manage their schedules efficiently and prepare them for the real world. Since almost all athletes have practice after or during school, they need to balance homework and their sport. While this is beneficial, it doesn’t compensate for when you get an injury. 

Society’s demands negatively impact students’ mental health and often take away their love for their sports. Although student-athletes should strive to do their best, normalizing harsh expectations will not help them reach them.