Patrick Foss is a typical high school student. He plays soccer, has friends, and hopes to attend the University of Virginia after he graduates from high school. However, there is one difference between Foss and his neighbor, another young athlete who plays for his high school’s basketball team: Foss can’t play for a high school team because he is home-schooled.

“My parents pay the same exact taxes as my next-door neighbor who plays varsity sports,” Foss said. “I just want to be part of the community. You shouldn’t have to pick between athletics and academics.”

Foss says he would like to try out for the kicker position on Freedom High School’s football team. Sadly for Foss, that has not been an option in the past. However, a new bill is sitting before the House of Delegates in Virginia’s General Assembly that could change this fact. If it passes, this bill would be a victory for home-schooling advocates who want to allow their students more access to extracurricular activities at local public schools.

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It sounds like something out of Footloose, but unfortunately, this did not happen in a movie. Last week, police in a small town in Utah used pepper spray on high school students when the students began dancing a Haka celebration dance following a football game victory.

According to the Associated Press, a group of students and young adults who were related to a football player at Roosevelt Union High School started celebrating the team’s win by performing a traditional Maori dance. Evidently, the dancing occurred in a location that blocked the exit and prevented other people from leaving the field. Police asked the celebrators to move so that players and other fans could leave the field. However, they refused, so the police began using pepper spray in order to displace the crowd.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Jason Kelly, a fan of the Roosevelt Union High football team. “It was totally unprovoked.”

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I know the title is a little disheartening for college football fanatics across the country, but it is accurate. I promise.

As the school year comes to an end, summer practices draw nearer and nearer. Soon, the sounds of whistles blowing and pads crashing will bellow through college campuses nationwide. When these practices commence, it will mark the beginning of the greatest season of the year, the college football season.  Read the rest of this entry »

For as long as I can remember, I have always made fun of golfers and always said it wasn’t a sport I would ever find myself playing. It’s funny how opinions change though isn’t it!? This year I picked up a golf club and joined the girls golf team at my high school!

Not that this idea was entirely my decision. My friend is on the golf team and finally talked me into doing it. I must say, I’m extremely glad she did because I have a new found respect for golfers.  Not only is it a difficult sport to learn but it also takes immense amounts of concentration. It’s more than just hitting the ball and putting it into a hole with a flag. This is also a sport that I will be able to continue playing, if I enjoy it, for a long time, unlike other sports like softball that I’ll eventually be too old for. Today at practice I realized that while I tell all the younger students, especially freshmen, to take advantage of all opportunities they are offered, but there are so many things that I have missed out on because I just decided not to do it.

High school has so many opportunities it offers to its students and taking advantage of these opportunities is something I really push amongst freshmen and sophomores. High school is full of learning experiences that help you shape and become the person you are or the person you will become. Due to these growing and learning experiences, taking advantage of all opportunities placed in front of you in a very smart thing to do. Now I’m not saying, be involved in absolutely everything. If you try to do that then you will wear yourself thin and wont be able to keep up with everything you are a part of. Involving yourself in a few clubs or sports and going to social activities from time to time is what I’m talking about. These things also make time for you to be with friends and make new friends, which is always a great thing!

So try something new. Join a club, learn a sport, just be sure whatever it is you do, have fun doing it and enjoy yourself! Every experience, good or bad, is a growing experience.