Students benefit from facing cuts on teams

Talk about it

Getting cut is a part of life.

Sad? Yes. And sometimes it’s even traumatic. But nevertheless, rejection is reality and something students can’t always be shielded from.

Some parents attended a meeting of the Jamestown Public School Board recently, expressing concern regarding students cut from athletic teams. Students need opportunities to get involved, they said, and they asked the School Board to consider adding teams so more players would have a chance.

We agree that students should have more opportunities to get involved. We just don’t think “getting involved” has to be synonymous with “sports.”

Granted, many School Board members noted in the meeting that cutting older students is more understandable than cutting younger ones like freshmen and sophomores. But in most cases, not cutting a student who isn’t qualified enough for a freshman team is only delaying the inevitable.

Plus, adding more teams would not be in the students’ best interest and it would mean more money is allocated to athletics instead of other worthy educational opportunities.

Many readers agree. Cuts better prepare students for adult life, according to 74.7 percent of The Jamestown Sun’s online readers. On its Web site, The Jamestown Sun asked readers “Parents concerned about students being cut from Jamestown High School athletic teams appealed to the Jamestown Public School Board recently to add more teams and allow more students to play. Should more teams be added?”

Of the 478 who answered the unscientific poll, 357 said “No, facing tryouts and getting cut better prepares the students for adult life.”

Seventy-four readers, or 15.5 percent, answered “Yes, everyone deserves a spot on a team and playing time.”

The remaining 47 readers, or 9.8 percent of the total, answered “Yes, everyone deserves a spot on a team.”

Athletics are a worthy extracurricular activity and can enhance education. But other activities like art club, speech and debate and a student newspaper enhance education too.

Lack of interest is one of the reasons Jamestown High School no longer publishes Blue Jay News, officials said. Students who aren’t star athletes may take an interest in other activities and develop skills that may help them succeed elsewhere. Or, students can take a year off from the sport of which they were cut and train and practice for the upcoming season. Maybe their work will pay off next year. Cuts can be a motivator.

Cuts are how the world works. Will an employer hire 27 applicants for one position because everyone deserves a chance? Should a business create positions because everyone’s a winner? Absolutely not. No company would survive using that kind of business model.

Cuts happen. To increase the number of teams or require teams to allow playing time for all students hinders the students’ educational opportunities. And education is the primary reason a student attends school. If a student wants to play despite the cut, he or she should join intramurals or recreational groups organized by the Parks and Recreation Department.

Learning to handle stress and rejection like what comes from cuts is a lesson. It’s a lesson just as important as learning that hard work is the key to success.

(Editorials are the opinion of Jamestown Sun management and the newspaper’s editorial board)

Tags: what we think, opinion, editorials, sports, teams, cut, students