IA Students View On Sports
March 27, 2026 2026-03-27 10:52IA Students View On Sports
By Poorvi Roopesh
For years, students have played sports at their high schools, spending countless hours at tryouts, practices, and games. Most schools offer football, soccer, tennis, volleyball, basketball, track, and more. Being on a team teaches students things they wouldn’t learn as well in a classroom. It teaches dedication, teamwork, patience and team spirit. Many students choose to sign up for sports and dedicate themselves to early morning practices, late nights, and long tournaments. On top of all this, students study and complete homework. Even though it may seem tough, students like to choose to be athletes so they can represent their school, win games and make friends along the way.
A Different Focus
STEM schools have a stronger academic focus in science, technology, engineering, and math. In IA, we have different pathways with exciting activities and courses to take. Each event, class ,or project sets students up to succeed in whatever goal they have for their future. But our school does not have those traditional sports that we all know and love. IA focuses heavily on STEM based activities as many students at IA are interested in those activities. Our school centers time and planning in other ways that students can enjoy. With Flex Fridays and special planned days like Save-a-Life and Phoenix Project week, IA focuses on stem-based events and projects. The workload can already be heavy, and adding full sports programs might be difficult for many students to balance.
Student Opinions on IA’s lack of Sports
Students have mixed feelings about this. Some believe STEM schools should still offer more sports so students can represent their school and participate in activities they enjoy. Others think IA doesn’t need more sports because students already have the option to play at their home schools. Some student‑athletes also point out that balancing a STEM workload with late practices can be tiring and stressful. Students choose to apply to STEM schools usually knowing that they have a passion for a future in a STEM-based career. Some students still think that sports should exist at IA while some believe that keeping a focus on STEM based activities is more useful to them.
Prathamesh Badgujar (11) says, ““I think IA should definitely have more sports so students have more opportunity to participate in sports they like to play and can represent IA. I enjoy playing cricket at IA. It’s a very fun experience; we have a fun time at practices. I get to make new friends and hang out, and play with them we all have fun playing in games together as well.”
Sports IA Does Offer
Even without full varsity teams, IA offers fun and unique activities like fencing, cricket, and pickleball. We also have clubs for dancing basketball and other sports. Many students enjoy this because everyone goes to the same school, so practices are simple to attend and less stressful. Students describe sports at IA as fun, social, and a great way to make new friends while staying active.
Emma Housmans (11) “It’s fun to do a sport at IA because all my teammates go to the same school as me, and it’s easier to get practices because I don’t have to drive a bunch right after school. I think IA doesn’t really need more sports because we’re given the option to play for our home schools, and a lot of students aren’t really interested in doing one. Being an athlete and having to balance going to a STEM school can be difficult sometimes because of the workload. My practices run really late at night so I have to stay up longer to be able to complete my work which affects me the next day.”
Students have mixed opinions of the lack of traditional sports at IA. Some believe that IA should still offer traditional sports while many are happy with stem focused mission that IA offers. Sports help build discipline, teamwork, leadership, and time management and students do not have to give that up! They can always choose one of our in-school sports or athletic clubs or even take sports from their home school. They improve mental health, reduce stress, and help students build friendships. However, balancing sports with a STEM workload can be difficult, especially when practice runs late and homework piles up.
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