Moving into second semester quickly, with no sign of Fall sports starting up, student athletes have found other ways to continue playing their sport and staying active. The alternative route athletes use to play sports are club or travel teams. These club organizations are ran solely on their own outside of school, thus the reason students are able to participate in playing. Which guides us to the big question. What is the difference between club and high school sports and why do students participate in them?

Connor Martin a senior on Varsity Football at Don Lugo High school who plays for Trust The Process football club states, “California cancelled the 2020-2021 high school football season and the film we receive from games goes out to college coaches in order for us to obtain more college scholarships.” In Connor’s case, his reason for playing club is to get enough footage of him playing football to send out to college coaches for scholarships.

Nicole Briggs senior on Varsity volleyball at Don Lugo High school who plays for Forza 1 North, a volleyball club,  states, “I play club to get recruited for college and the competitive level is much higher than high school. Club is more important to me than High School season due to the competitive level in order to prepare for college.” Just like Connor, Nicole’s focus is to get recruited and ready for college.

You can see the trend with two seniors ready to take off for college, their goal is to be prepared and in their prime for their futures. But not every student athlete does club for the competitiveness or the scholarships. Others simply do it to meet new people and/or to work on skills for their sport.

Paul McNaughton a junior on Varsity water polo at Don Lugo High school who’s involved with Chino Hills Aquatics (CHAWP) states, “Sports are just a high school thing for me, and club is just to help me improve for the next year.” Paul tells us playing club is merely just to get better, where as Nicole and Connor who wish to move to the next level. He continues, “Club sports are a really fun way to improve and make new connections to people from different schools, but should be secondary to your high school experience.”

With Falls sports having no official word for starting, many athletes feel that club is their best or even their ONLY option for their sport. Nicole Briggs says, “Both Club and High School sports give the opportunity to get better physically and mentally. Before graduating and moving on in the real world, you need to be the best version you can be to succeed. Therefore, both levels of play will benefit players by meeting new people and forming connections.”