With hours of team practice, strength training and intense conditioning, coupled with a strong sense of teamwork and unity, a Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School student athlete embodies everything that standardized physical education attempts to achieve. But despite the amount of time and energy student athletes put into their sports, they must still participate in pickleball, archery, or a collection of other activities every school day in order to fulfill their physical education requirement.

According to the New Jersey Department of Education's Comprehensive Health and Physical Education Standards, quality health and physical education programs promote each student's optimum physical, mental, emotional and social development.   And what do school sports do? Just that.

Being part of a team, and not just part of a class, motivates the student athletes to support each other; a quality barely evident in gym class. Athletes know that unsportsmanlike conduct results in penalties just as disorderly conduct in physical education class results in detention. Coaches teach students discipline and the value of working as a team. Constant practice and rigorous workouts keep them in shape. School sports go beyond the basic motions and the basic rules of the sport to give athletes a total physical education.

Athletes must be able to manage their time and stress; hours of practice and hours of homework make the life of many student athletes difficult. Because they have less time to do homework and other things for school, it becomes nearly impossible to go to practice, eat dinner, finish homework and get to bed at a reasonable time. Instead of gym, athletes need a study hall to let them catch up on work.

With some gym classes bordering on 40 or more students, teams in class must rotate, which leaves kids sitting around not participating, and cuts down on physical activity time for all kids. Allowing athletes to use their involvement in high school sports for gym credit will be beneficial for everyone: student athletes will have valuable time to study and meet with teachers during school, and smaller physical education classes will improve participation and instruction, giving non-athletes and physical education teachers a class they can work with. Our high school already has an existing policy that allows students self directed time, which student athletes should be able to choose in place of their gym class.