Athletes are expected to commit all of their time in season to their sport, and nowadays, even out of season. Coaches drill into athletes’ minds that involvement at every off-season practice or workout will get them farther in their sport. 

Coaches give the opportunity of an optional practice out of season, but are these practices really optional? Even though some players are currently in another sport, they feel obligated to attend these practices, especially if they are hoping to be on varsity or want to keep their spot.

The term “optional” feels like a test to many athletes. If they do not go to an optional practice, they tend to get texts from other teammates and coaches asking why they didn’t attend. It confuses the meaning of optional. Many athletes nowadays are in multiple sports, which is not to be taken lightly since each sport is a huge commitment. An athlete feeling fatigued from their in-season sport doesn’t want to be obligated to attend a supposedly “optional” practice for their off-season sport.

“If the players are in another sport we don’t want them to come to that stuff, we really want them to focus on their sport,” baseball/football coach Anthony Dunn said. “If they have other things going on it is not make it or break it by any means but it is definitely an important piece to the development process.”

Now, offering the optional practices is not a bad thing. People who are not in another sport or want to improve their skills really appreciate the practice opportunity. I love being busy; it is why I chose to do sports, but doing too much leads to burnout and injuries that can affect an athlete harshly. It is only a problem when the optional extra practice feels forced upon busy athletes. 

In my experience, just because an athlete shows up doesn’t mean they are going to get everything that they want. A player can give full effort and attention to a sport and still go unnoticed. Coaches say full effort and time commitment will get a player to a better spot on the team, such as being pulled up to varsity or even starting varsity. But, during the season, another player will be given the spot, even if they showed up to minimal practices and didn’t give their full effort and time, just because they simply are better.

After being a high school athlete for almost two full years myself, I’ve come to the realization that during my freshman year I was very naïve. I went to everything that I could, thinking that would be enough. Then I realized that in order to get to my goals, I needed to do more crucial intentional training outside of team practices. Now, I go to an outside trainer regularly to hone my skills. Not everything is obtainable by just showing up. Just because someone puts in a certain amount of work and time, it can’t guarantee anything for their future athletic journey.

From my experience, optional practices do not feel optional because even if I go it doesn’t guarantee a better spot. There seems to be more attention on the players who don’t show up, rather than the ones who do and put in the work.