This spring some senior athletes have decided to try a new sport they have never played before.

Senior Troy Reppert has been an important member of the football and basketball teams throughout the last four years. Because of this, Reppert didn’t consider trying a new sport until he got an extra boost from his friends.

“My friends Tyler Mann, Trevor Musselman, and Chase Asman influenced me to come out for baseball,” Troy Reppert said.

SeniorCasey Krause was also a key member of the basketball team and spent much of his fall and spring sport seasons playing Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball. Since he exceeded the age limit for AAU this year, Casey was able to participate in new sports such as golf and track for the first time.

“I held off because I played basketball year-round, which conflicted with the other sports’ seasons,” Krause said, “and seniors get cool gifts.”

According to US News, 7.6 million athletes across America participate in high school sports. Sports are an integral part of the American teenager’s life, and as a result, they are hard to give up.

“It is my senior year and I didn’t want high school sports to end, so baseball is my last hurrah,” Reppert said.

A study by the American College of Sports Medicine discovered middle school students who performed best on fitness tests also performed better academically than those who do not. Picking up a new sport is beneficial to a student, because it helps the student develop structure to keep their grades high.

According to the American Heart Association, more than half of Americans are overweight or obese. One way to counter this is staying active and participating in sports.

“I joined track because I had friends on the team, and I wanted to have something to do to stay in shape,” Krause said.

Both Casey and Troy are adapting to their new sports very well and are already making contributions to their respective teams.