With the final months of the school year rapidly approaching, many students might be starting to think about picking their extracurriculars for next year. Especially among those wanting to waive a PE credit by participating in a few sports, one of the worries on many students’ minds, is getting onto a sports team. Many of the sports at our school “cut” students from their programs, but not all of them. 

“Most team sports cut,” says Athletic Director Bob Kickner, “most teams cut because they have too big of a turnout for tryouts.” In contrast, many teams don’t cut because they have too small a turnout. 

One of these teams is golf. “Normally with golf, it’s around 13-14 people who do all the paperwork and show up for tryouts,” says golf coach Taelar Shelton. “Whether a sport cuts also depends on the amount of space available. Since we practice in the fall, we have plenty of course space for girls’ golf. Boy’s golf, in the spring, might have to cut because Timberline also uses our course then,” says Shelton.

A sport with plenty of space for a huge roster is Track. Boy’s Track and field coach, Jesse Stevick says that in the last few years, they have seen “about 130 boys and 80 girls sign up for the track”. 

There are many reasons a sport might decide to cut, but is a cut sport right for you?  “Whether a cut sport or a non-cut sport is the best fit for you depends on what you want to get out of it,” says Kickner. “A cut sport is usually one that aspires to excellence. They go for state championships, league titles, etc. Individual non-cut sports are more about personal growth and  finding your level of competition.”  

 One of Stevick’s favorite parts about track is he will “see people who show up for track who might not usually do sports, aren’t that athletic, or are just there for the PE credit.” Even though these students aren’t incredibly committed to the sport, he still loves watching them learn new things about sportsmanship and the value of hard work.

Another thing Stevick loves about track and field is that many students enter the sport with little prior experience. “I love to watch those students discover that they might have a talent for something on the track or the field that they didn’t know they had,” states Stevick.

“No matter what sport you choose, cut or non-cut, there are definitely merits to both,”  claims Kickner. 

Are you thinking about trying a new sport next year? Here’s a chart of all the sports our school hosts and some basic information about them!