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Highlands Today

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High School Sports

Katelynne Wigton

Published: January 30, 2009

The Highlands County School Board is thinking about the possibility of terminating high school sports and extra curricular activities in local high schools. As a 15-year-old at Lake Placid High, I am very active in my schools athletic and extra curricular activities.
I am in the marching season Color Guard, band during concert season, student government association and on the girl's basketball and softball teams.
I know that the purpose of doing away with sports is only because of budget cuts, but having sports and extra curricular activities in our high schools is a good thing. Most of the kids in Lake Placid don't only play sports because we love it, but because of the support and help we get from our teammates and coaches. You see, we get more out of sports in schools than we do in any other activity in Highlands County.
Coming into the high school, I didn't understand the meaning of, "You have to buckle down. High school is nothing like middle school." Not until I became apart of the '08-'09 Lady Dragons basketball team did I get the whole meaning. My basketball coach, Ms. Shonda Legree, not only taught us how to be the great basketball players that we are, but great students and classmates. She told us that colleges would not only want us for our basketball skills, but our grades.
She works hard to keep us in line on the court and in the classroom. I haven't seen anyone care for us more and I would not have the GPA or the motivation I have now if I had never been on the basketball team or any other sports team this year.
Sports in general are a great motivator for kids, not only in Highlands County, but everywhere to stay in school and on track. Even though this is still in discussion with the school board, why should we be denied the opportunities of our parents? This isn't only the choices of our future, but yours. The high school students today will be your leaders of tomorrow.
Katelynne Wigton
Lake Placid