One of the most important parts of a school is their athletic teams. The school body depends on players to produce a successful outcome for their team. Sports enhance school spirit, unite the school, and create nail biting rivalries that will last a lifetime.

In previous seasons, students were required to meet a high standard academically in order to be eligible for their games. The rule was a player could not fail one class and if they did by the grade check, they had to sit out for three weeks. Three weeks is considered a long time in sports, as athletes might miss as much as three games in that time period. Athletes are always eager to compete with their team and failing a class would hinder their ability to perform.

The 2022-2023 season starts with a slight change for many programs involved in TAPPS. The rule has an alignment along the district, and this plays a major role in the classroom. Students now can fail one class, but two would require an athlete to sit out. Along with this, grade checks are at the end of each quarter, not a few weeks at a time.

Senior Dee Kennedy said, “Baseball is super important for me because I have been working on my game my whole life. If I couldn’t play for three weeks, I would be really upset.”

Although athletes can be relieved from this change because less pressure is added to their plate, being an athlete holds the responsibility of being able to balance school and sports.

Junior Zion Matesun said, “I really like this alignment because Prestonwood’s academics is really tough, especially with juggling everything outside of school.”