The four years spent in high school are a time of exploration and self-discovery. Waterford High School offers a diverse spread of classes, sports, and clubs that allow students to discover new interests and possible paths for their futures. The 26 credit graduation requirement forces students to try a little bit of everything, but one credit in particular creates extra stress for varsity athletes.
Connecticut state law requires all high school students to take a minimum of one credit in physical education to graduate, which amounts to 120 hours over four years.
At Waterford High School, that is equivalent to two half-credit gym classes: Lancer PE (typically taken sophomore year) and an elective PE class (typically taken junior or senior year). To fill this elective, Waterford offers Unified PE, Adventure PE, Aquatics, Bootcamp, Rec Sports, Dance Fitness, Lifeguarding, and Team Sports.
While many students look forward to gym class, for some varsity athletes, this requirement adds extra physical stress to their already demanding schedules.
Varsity girls swim captain Zaya Haglund has roughly four hours of work to complete after her two hours of practice every day. Haglund argues that the elective PE class is a “high opportunity cost for high achieving student athletes.” In other words, there is little reward for their enrollment in the class. This begs the question: should varsity athletes be required to take a full credit of physical education?
Waterford High School Athletic Director Chris Landry believes every student can benefit from taking PE, saying, “I think it’s important for balance.” Landry claims that the opportunity to participate in sports recreationally and without consequence is good for athletes.
Andrew Walker, a veteran gym teacher, agrees, arguing that the experience of taking an elective PE class teaches students “lifelong fitness.” Not all varsity athletes go on to play their sport at a collegiate or professional level; gym class teaches students how to maintain a level of personal fitness into adulthood.
While there are benefits to taking gym class in high school, many student-athletes, especially in their senior year, wish that Lancer PE combined with their varsity sport were enough to satisfy their physical education requirements.
Landry states that the average varsity athlete spends approximately 15 hours per week at practice, attending games, and training to keep in shape. With a typical season lasting anywhere between 12 and 14 weeks, athletes put in around 180 hours per season. Based on this fact, a varsity sport should fulfill the state requirement, especially if a student participates in multiple seasons per year.
Though a strong advocate for gym class, Walker says he understands how the graduation requirement can be frustrating to students with a full schedule.
Senior Hannah Grant is a high achieving gymnast outside of WHS who commits 20 hours a week to her sport. She argues that “junior and senior year are important academically and it’s hard to fill your schedule with good classes when you have [PE] credits hanging over your head.” She goes on to say that students who are high achievers in both academics and athletics would benefit from an exemption to PE class. She suggests athletes like herself fulfill the credit by filling out a form, signed by a coach, confirming their activity level.
Varsity athletes represent Waterford High School on local, regional, and national levels, a commitment that deserves recognition. Exempting varsity athletes from half a credit of physical education would allow more students to take classes they are actually interested in or have more time to do their homework in a study hall. Grant says that the elective PE credit prevented her from taking orchestra her senior year, a class she regrets giving up.
JV athletes may feel this is unfair because they also participate in one or more sports, but there are good reasons for their exclusion. Landry confirms that there is a clear difference in intensity between varsity and JV teams. Varsity seasons are not only more physically demanding but also last longer than the JV season.
Exempting varsity athletes would likely create an incentive for students to not only join sports but commit the time and energy required to excel.
Additionally, it reduces the issue of job security for PE teachers, which, according to Walker, could be decreased by almost half without elective gym classes. Most students would still be required to take the PE elective, and many would opt to take gym even if it were not a requirement.
Though PE offers many benefits to students, the one credit requirement is inequitable to high achieving students who play on varsity teams. High school is typically the last opportunity for people to take free classes in whatever interests them but requiring a credit to be filled with PE limits the choices available. Exempting these students would reward them for their hard work and dedication to Waterford High School.
