Club sports teams have become a vital component of developing athletes into sufficient varsity players for their high school.
In some cases, participating in club sports is becoming a necessity to be considered for spots on school teams.
Even then, club and sports teams are very different experiences and have very different goals and mindsets.
Club teams have the main goal of development for the players.
The players pay to participate on the team, and therefore they all earn the right to develop and participate in the games.
Wins or losses aren’t as important, as every weekend ends and the records are reset as you move on to the next week of practice.
In contrast, school sports are completely team oriented.
Players are expected to merge into specific roles that benefit the team as a whole instead of being a player focused on individual success or personal development.
Coaches have no requirement to play all their players, as the only goal is to come out victorious.
This results in occasions where players don’t get playing time.
Winning or losing the games mean much more, as the record lasts the entire season and results in the team being able to make the playoffs or not.
Beyond team success, however, some athletes use their performance in club sports to gain valuable exposure to college recruiters, opening up opportunities for their athletic future.
Liam Lombard is a senior that transferred to Palos Verdes to play basketball for his senior year.
Throughout his high school years, he has played for Elev8, a club basketball organization that has helped him get looks from the next level.
“The founder and coach of Elev8, Cory DeSanti, has a lot of connections with college coaches,” Lombard said.
“He was able to reach out to coaches and get them to come to games during live period in Sacramento.”
He received a Division One offer from Cal State Fullerton at this event.
Some people find club sports not as important if they plan on not playing their sport after highschool.
Kallista Wang is a senior who has played for the girls lacrosse team since she was a freshman. She decided to quit her club team to prioritize academics.
“Club lacrosse is a really big investment of time and money,” Wang said.
“Although it’s good for experience and practice, the people who play for competitive club teams are trying to pursue it for college and that wasn’t one of my goals.”
Overall, club sports are a great resource to improve as a player.
It properly prepares you to contribute as an athlete on competitive school sports teams.
The benefits and drawbacks vary from person to person.
In the end, whether or not athletes choose to pursue club sports depends on their personal goals and desires.