Significance of High School Sports during the COVID-19 Pandemic - Abstract
Sports is an important part of school life for high school students. Students benefit from school sports in several aspects, including improving their physical and mental health, building up leadership skills and teamwork, time management, developing accountability and responsibility, and improving academic performance. However, school sports are often considered for elimination due to funding cuts from federal, state, and local sources. They have been severely limited in the past two years during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused and continues to cause negative effects on the lives of high school students. Two of the most important negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in high school students were mental health disorders and decreased academic performance, both of which could be combated by participation in school sports. This article discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and sports on the mental health and academic performance of high school students, thereby providing evidence for high school policymakers to emphasize student sports during the COVID-19 pandemic.