School sports such as basketball, volleyball, football and baseball are all popular sports to participate in, as well as enjoy watching here at FHS.
Some students also partake in sports outside of school, and they have excelled without much recognition. Students must complete two years of PE or participate in school sports in order to graduate from FHS, and oftentimes, student-athletes who do sports outside of school have limited options in order to complete those credits to graduate. Although alternate options are often hard to find for these students, they can still succeed in their academics and their sports beyond what the school has offered.
Calvin Higgins, a sophomore at FHS, has been fencing at his club for five years and has participated in several national championship competitions. Higgins trains about nine hours a week in order to compete. However, his matches do not always end up going in his favor.
“I fenced at the summer nationals in 2022 Y-14 men’s Épée and did okay,” Higgins said. “I also fenced in the summer nationals in 2023 in the Men’s Cadet and Y-14 Épée, but didn’t do as well.”
Higgins discovered fencing at a Renaissance Fair a few years before he joined a club, and since then, he has continued to compete at a national level. When Higgins was choosing what sport to participate in, he decided to try fencing because it seemed like his best option.
“I feel like it makes me a better student, I know more stuff, and I’m a little bit more mature from it,” Higgins said. “It’s also been fun to do after school.”
Keegan Leroux, another student-athlete outside of school, is a freshman at FHS and has been playing hockey for about seven years. He has been on ice skates since a young age, and his parents pushed him to try out hockey. Although Leroux plays hockey outside of school, he also participates in school sports such as water polo and swimming.
“[I have to] learn time management, and I don’t have all day to sit around,” Leroux said. “I still have to get my homework done in a timely fashion to make sure I have time for other activities.”
Leroux has also had camps and tournaments all around and even outside the country. When he has these competitions, he feels missing school is not usually a problem.
“As long as I just try to be honest with the teachers, I have been fortunate enough to not run into that problem,” Leroux said.
Although some student-athletes do both in-school and out-of-school sports, students who do out-of-school sports may lack opportunities such as PE credits and alternative courses and recognition. Support from FHS administration and teachers is often scarce, especially if the sports are not offered here at FHS.
“I don’t get PE credits for [fencing], and I have to argue for it,” Higgins said.
There are private instructional PE options here at FHS, but the process to be allowed to do it is lengthy and the program is difficult to get into. Leroux feels similarly to Higgins about outside sports.
“For those who don’t do school sports, they probably should have more options,” Leroux said.
Besides school credits and recognition, these student-athletes will continue to excel in their sports in school and outside of school.
