Rivalries exist in all levels of sports. In the NBA, the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers are poised for a third consecutive matchup in the NBA Finals. In college football, Ohio State and Michigan are regarded as the two most historic rivals in the sport’s existence. Even at the high school level, Solon sports teams consider certain schools as rivals in the newly established Greater Cleveland Conference. These rivalries enhance competition and push student-athletes to compete at their hardest.

Courtney Dunn, who plays softball for SHS, said she understands that rivalries motivate her team to rise to the occasion no matter who they face.

“The softball team takes rivalries seriously in that we always want to go out and play our best,” Dunn “We don’t only take our rivalries seriously, we also focus on the other really good teams in our conference.”

Contrary to pop culture, high school sports rivalries in 2017 don’t usually consist of a heist of a school mascot, or out-of-school confrontations like those seen in “Karate Kid.” In my experience as a student-athlete at Solon, rivalries with other schools are civil, meaningful and contained within the actual sporting event.

I have been a varsity tennis player at Solon for all of my high school career. Our team usually carries a similar schedule from year to year, so we know most of our opponents very well at the beginning of each season. When we receive our schedule in the offseason, we highlight opponents that have beaten us in the past, or matches that are of particular importance. In a sense, we constantly acknowledge where our rivals are.

As a team, we identify rivals in order to measure ourselves. Our team prioritizes matchups with our rivals because they serve as benchmarks for evaluating our progress as a whole. If we can beat teams that we know are talented, we can ensure that our team’s lineup is at its strongest. By placing special attention on these opponents, we give our team even more of an incentive to beat them.

Our team also prioritizes certain matches for a source of motivation. Frankly, my teammates and I train in the offseason so that we can beat top teams. If we didn’t have teams that we know we need to beat, there would be no reason to put effort into what we do.

Football player Logan Rock can also explain how the presence of rivalries for his team pushes them to work hard.

“The football team prepares every week like it is rivalry week,” Rock said. “But when it actually is rivalry week, it just gives us more motivation to win and practice harder.”

However, the high stress of intense high school sports competition can lead to negative responses from student-athletes. Despite the many benefits of quality competition in sports, there always is potential that a student-athlete could act out of line due to the sheer competitiveness of high-level high school sports. This could entail unsportsmanlike behavior during a game, or inappropriate comments directed towards an opponent. However, the state of Ohio has mandated rules that are designed to prevent this sort of behavior. If a student-athlete truly wants to break the code of conduct and act out, swift punishment will definitely follow. Because of these rules, there is no incentive for a student-athlete to disrespect his or her opponent.

Additionally, if a rivalry in high school sports turns personal, it really isn’t a true sports rivalry– It’s just disrespect for one another. A true high school sports rivalry should serve only test the mettle of student-athletes and force them to compete a high level. SHS student-athletes can attest to the enhanced competition that a true high school sports rivalry provides.
“The whole world gets cut off and the team just focuses on each other and playing at our best,” said Anmol Kumar, who plays soccer and runs track for SHS. “It’s due to these rivalries that we push ourselves to do our best and perform at a level we only dream of.”