Why Upper School Students are Expected to Play a Sport at ULS

At University Lake School, we require Upper School students to participate in athletics, the arts and service along with a rigorous academic load.   Is a schedule this robust sometimes hard to manage for teens?  Of course!  Does it teach them to create a vibrant rich life in which they are well rounded?  Of course!   Why should athletics be a part of the mix of requirements?  A few of the most important rationales for playing athletics in high school include: the importance of learning to work together as a team, creating a pattern of being physically active, learning the art of self-discipline and often times fostering the ability to push oneself outside of one's comfort zone.  In addition to these reasons, Kevin Kniffin, Professor of Leadership and Management in Sports at Cornell University, adds another spin to why high school athletics are so important.  In his New York Times article, Kniffin talks about addition lifetime benefits of playing sports in high school.  See the attached article.

High School Athletes Display Lifetime Benefits