Playing sports is fun, especially when you are playing at the level of competition you want. While people enjoy playing both travel and school sports, there are preferences as to which should be played.

Although travel sports usually don’t take up school time and can be more competitive, they also require additional travel and can be expensive. With school sports, although the games are regular and easy to get to, they’re typically less competitive.

Freshman Jordyn Ivy, a basketball player, prefers travel sports.

“I really enjoy travel sports more because it’s more fun and there are more things to experience,” said Ivy.

Travel sports are leagues that usually play during the summer. They can be played all year round, but they are mostly in the summer because school sports are usually going on during all other seasons. Being on a travel team means paying fees as well as paying for additional expenses that come with traveling, such as transportation, hotels, and food, according to Mike Kennan’s Costs to Play Trends. 

Another difference between the sports is the amount of time players spend on their sport. There is often less time to practice on travel teams because the coaches usually work regular jobs outside of coaching the travel team.

Despite its drawbacks, travel sports are still preferred by most Loy Norrix students, although they still enjoy school sports.

“Playing travel sports is better, but school sports are fun because you can play against your friends at your rival school,” said freshman basketball player Jaela Moncrief. 

If students are unable to play with a travel team, Ivy believes that school sports are a great alternative.

“I recommend starting with school sports and then moving on to travel sports because the competition is way harder,” Ivy said.

Freshman multi-sport athlete Lea Harrison gives similar advice.

“I like travel sports better, but I recommend playing both because you can get different experiences from both,” said Harrison. 

School sports and travel sports are different in many ways, with many reasons to prefer one over the other. Still, student athletes agree that both are beneficial to students.