Number 7 slides in for a tackle, the opponent trips and falls. She gets back up, dribbles, swerves through the swarm of blue jerseys, crosses the ball, does an elastico dodging a defender, turns a corner, and sprints at full speed. She takes three small steps, takes a quick breath, and shoots for the goal. Everyone in the crowd stands up, gasping, the goalie dives right, ball goes left, and GOALLL, winning point for Rowland Hall against Waterford, just as the final whistle blows. 

There’s an ongoing debate about which sports season is the best overall, in terms of best playing conditions, best attendance, and best sports to watch. A lot of people say fall, because it’s the beginning of school and of school activities, attendance at games is high, and it’s a whole different feeling. Others say winter, but only a few do. The reason winter is a little less popular is because it’s winter, so most everything is indoors. Sure, there’s basketball, a popular sport with high energy since it’s a fast-paced game, but there’s less of a variety of sports. It’s only basketball, swimming, and Rowmark (with their busiest season, but their races are hard to get to). And winter means the first round of finals for the first time for a lot of kids, so their minds aren’t on sports. When spring comes, people’s moods improve with time outside. The warmer weather and longer days boost people’s energy, plus there are more sports to choose from. Now that we have condensed it down, it’s mainly a debate of two seasons in the end: fall or spring sports?

Most high schools around the country spend most of their energy focusing on fall sports, since it's football season, one of the most popular sports in the US. But since our school doesn’t have a football team, a lot of our energy is dedicated towards the girls’ soccer team, as it has one of the highest attendance records. In fall, there are new classes, new teachers, new sports people are trying out, and for both freshmen and new students, it can be hard to adjust, and it might take some people longer. But energy is high, people are seeing friends for the first time since the last day of school the year before, and the school organizes lots of team-building activities between the grades. Plus, in the beginning of the school year, teachers give a bit more grace to students, so student-athletes who are learning how to juggle school and sports can have some time to adjust. But, there are a couple of downsides to fall sports: new school year means new levels of challenge. Some people tend to ease into the year, so a lot of people don’t participate in sports and just focus on getting into the rhythm of academics. 

On the flip side, a lot of people prefer spring sports for a lot of reasons: great weather, finally coming out of the cold winter, and a new year, so a fresh start, spring fever makes us restless to get out and play and watch sports. Sports-selection-wise, there’s more of a variety. Just like the fall, which has co-ed cross country, track and field in the spring is co-ed too, bringing in more athletes. Speaking of track, there’s a higher chance for athletes to join, since people feel less pressure because it’s based on individual performance, as well as it being open to everyone. And there’s a huge variety of events athletes can choose from: there’s sprinting, throwing, long distance, and jumping. A few athletes have a hard time committing to one sport, especially if they are still figuring out what sport they do best in, so track is a good choice if you want to try new things. Track has the highest participation levels in our school. Besides track, most of the boys’ sports are in the spring, since they can’t be in the fall because of football season. It’s usually boys’ soccer and tennis that have lots of athletes at Rowland Hall. But of course, there’s a couple reasons to not prefer the spring season: second semester is usually more academically demanding than the first. Teachers are stricter, their expectations rise, and coursework tends to become heavier. Plus, there are AP exams in the spring season, and a lot of students are taking their first APs. Not only that, but statistically, March, May, and June tend to have the highest participation levels for SAT, and April and June have the highest participation levels for the ACT. 

In order to find out which is the most ideal season in terms of sport options, we need to look at what's going on besides the sport. I decided to ask a couple of athletes to find popular opinions. I asked a multi-sport athlete, and she prefers spring. She does quite a few sports but recently lowered it down to two. She says, “my prime time is always in spring. I feel good, the weather is good, plus I figured out a good schedule where I can balance both school and sports. I also get better results in all aspects in spring.” I asked another athlete who only does one sport all year round, and they said, “Even though my competition season is in the fall, there’s too much going on and I’m trying to readjust to the school schedule still. Spring just feels less pressure, and overall more fresh.” I talked to five or six other people, and almost all agreed: spring is the best sports season. 

So, while fall may bring the excitement of a new school year and the energy that is packed in the stadiums, spring stands out as the season where student-athletes truly thrive. The combination of better weather, more variety, and an overall stronger balance between academics and athletics gives spring sports the higher ground. Whether it’s track, tennis, or soccer, a student-athlete hits their prime when the sun is warm and the snow finally starts to melt. Just like number 7 in that final moment of a game-winning goal dodging defenders, sprinting down the field, and scoring, spring is when everything clicks. It’s when everything falls into place, and you can finish strong just before summer starts.