With Adel being so close to Waukee, students at ADM are able to join Waukee sport teams that ADM does not offer. These include: bowling, swimming and tennis. Only a few students at ADM are involved in one or two Waukee sports. The question here is what do the students prefer- ADM sport teams or the Waukee sport teams. For students who are not involved in a Waukee sport, do they believe the Waukee sport teams are getting enough recognition around here or are they not as big as they should be? If not- How can we change this issue?

Bowling has always been a popular sport to join. Everybody has played before in their life, and for most people, it’s a fun, social atmosphere to be apart of. This is not the case for sophomore Carter Slater. Carter has been involved in bowling for a little over 10 years. “I pretty much grew up with it.  Also I know lots of coaches from colleges and high schools. My dad is certified and I always just wanted to bowl,” he said. Carter is also involved in football and track at ADM. Comparing ADM to Waukee sports he prefers ADM sports. “I prefer ADM because it’s more open and a lot more interacted and equal.”

Seniors Emma Kaney and Racquel Gonzalez both went out to have a good time and try new things. “I did bowling because of my senior friends who made me go out for it,” said Emma. Racquel’s reason for going out was a little different. “I quit cross country and I didn’t like how I only had one sport and I wanted to do something kind of easy to do for a season.” So what sports teams did these girls like better? Waukee or ADM? “I prefer volleyball at ADM. It was a lot closer knit team because I knew them, but Waukee is a fun atmosphere because it’s trying something new,” Emma said. “ADM has more goals and it’s more focused, but Waukee is more laid back and it’s to have fun and a good time. “It’s much more enjoyable,” said Racquel. 

Senior Cole Schippers has been swimming for 10 years! “I used to live in Clive so I’ve known these people for a long time and I have had the same coach for a long time and I like him,” he said. Senior Spencer Evoy is a former competitor on the swim team. Before she decided to not continue swim team after her freshman year, she was involved in swim for 8 years. “There was a lot of other stuff I wanted to do here, with sports and activities and I didn’t have time to go to Waukee for a couple hours everyday and still do plays, musicals, and color guard,” she said. Comparing ADM to Waukee Spencer says, “They’re not very different. If I didn’t know a lot of people at Waukee it would of been different.”

The third sport Waukee offers for ADM is Tennis. Junior Patrick Origer has gone out for all three years that he’s been in high school. He chose tennis because, “It seemed like the most appealing sport for me.” He is also involved in cross country at ADM. “I prefer ADM because it’s not so massive and chaotic.” Senior Melody VerWoert went out for her very first time during her junior year. “I chose tennis because Emma Kaney wanted someone to do it with her.” Melody is still deciding if she would like to continue this year or not. “I prefer Waukee sports because I met a lot of new people and it was a totally new sport and atmosphere and I learned a lot. At ADM I got kind of burned out on the sports I was doing and that’s why I wanted to try something new,” she said. 

Looking at outside sources and people who have never gone out for a Waukee sport before, agree that the Waukee does not get enough recognition here. Students are not aware of what sports they offer, don’t hear much about them, and do not get enough information to even want to go out for one. A way we can change this as a school is to promote Waukee sports more often. That can include talking about them in the announcements more, and recognizing them as a winter and spring sports at our seasonal meetings as a school recognizing activites that have been going on.

One issue many people have complained about is the transportation. Student’s have to rely on either themselves or their parents for transportation. What happens when parents are unable to drive their kids to Waukee everday? What happens when a student doesn’t have their license or a vehicle available? These are just a few of the issues that we as a school should start stepping up and making changes to.