Sometimes athletes switch sports to find one they enjoy more or benefit them in some way, while others decide to try something for the first time later in high school.
For many athletes, the love of a sport can keep them involved and take them all the way through life, but for some, it may take a few new tries to find a sport just right for them.
Senior Anthony Ross knew he would play baseball all four years of his high school career, but spent his time at Marshfield trying new sports.
Ross played one season of basketball his freshman year, focused on baseball his sophomore and junior years and tried cross country and swimming for the first time his senior year.
“I didn’t ever feel like a new guy, just a guy on the team,” Ross said.
According to Ross, switching sports was all about trying new things.
For sophomore Corey Shaffer, who played tennis for the first time last year, switching to track and field was easy. This season Shaffer joined the team and is participating in shot put, javelin, discus and the junior varsity 100 meter dash.
“I decided to do track instead of tennis because I thought that track would be able to help me more with football and basketball,” Shaffer said.
Shaffer said he thinks track and field will help him with strength, speed and endurance. Track and field throwing coach Chad Scriven, who also coaches football, agreed an athlete can benefit from training with another sport during an offseason.
“Most sports translate to one another,” Scriven said.
Scriven said he sees more athletes come and go in sports like track and field, where the team is big and there is an event for nearly everyone, rather than a sport where one earns their position and tend to keep it, such as football.
“The best athletes you see come through here play two or three sports,” Scriven said.
Sophomore Jane Suppes, after committing to the track and field team at the beginning of the season, joined the boys golf team as its season progressed, with coaching help from her parents. Suppes played on the girls golf team as a freshman, but the team was cut this year due to low numbers. She is now participating in both track and field and golf.
“I’ve been golfing since I was like seven,” Suppes said. “My parents got me into it.”
Suppes said she travels with the boys team, but competes separately with girls at tournaments. She competes individually, but is not the only one in the league.
“Pretty much everyone in the 4A league are individuals,” Suppes said.
According to Suppes, she originally joined the track and field team to run the distance events to help keep in shape for cross country season before she knew she could compete with the boys golf team.
Junior Sierra Yunkherr has been dancing through Time and Tide Dance Studio in Reedsport for 10 years and has recently been selected as part of next year’s cheer team at Marshfield.
According to Yunkherr, she has never danced on the dance team at school because she did not like the competitive side.
“I just liked the ‘you can do it for fun’ aspect,” Yunkherr said.
Though she has experience with dance, Yunkherr does not have cheer experience and is one of the few new athletes. She said she thinks there are only a few disadvantages to joining a team for the first time later in her high school career.
“If you like being on the team, you never get the chance to do it again,” Yunkherr said.
Yunkherr said she is excited to be on the team and is glad she will have the experience in high school, even though she will only be able to participate for one season.
While Shaffer agrees trying new things can be a good idea, he thinks sticking with a sport all the way through also has its benefits.
“Obviously it’s more beneficial to stick with a sport all the way so you learn not to quit and strive to get better,” Shaffer said. “Track and field is a good sport, but I still support our tennis team.”
