Many people don’t like playing sports because they don’t know what sport they would like. There are different sports for different types of people. For example, someone who likes contact sports might wanna try wrestling or football. Others who like more recreational and mental sports might want to try golf or badminton. There are many ways you can choose a sport and these questions will help guide you through.

1. Do you like team sports?

A lot of sports consist of working with a team such as soccer or basketball. For those who don’t like playing with a team, but rather solo they can try swimming, golf, or tennis. Keep in mind individual sports are a bit harder to play and take up more work than team sports do because instead of doing the work that usually consists of what two people do, it’s being done by one person.

“In my opinion playing alone is a lot more work because you have to move all around the court & you have to think of strategies to defeat your opponents all by yourself, but when your working with your partner you share those responsibilities” said freshman Jennifer Monnar, who plays both singles and doubles in tennis.

2. Do you like running?

Not all sports require running, there are some positions that require more physical work than running. For example, a goalie in soccer doesn’t run as much as a forward; the goalie has to dive for the balls and protect the goal. For those who do enjoy running try cross country or track and field.

3.  Would you rather play in the water, on a court, or in a field?

If you like playing in the water, swimming, sailing, and water polo are for you. Water sports usually require a lot of upper body strength, legs and works a lot with your abdominals as well. Those are the key things that water sports focus primarily on; water sports work out your whole body. If you’d rather stay dry, you have 2 different options: you could play on a field or on a court. If you prefer  being outside you might want to try soccer, field hockey, or track and field. If you’d rather play outside you could try volleyball, basketball, or badminton. These sports usually have different things that you would need more than the other. For example, you would need your legs more than your arms in soccer because you can’t use your hands at all.

4. How’s your hand-eye coordination?

Hand-eye coordination is important for a good majority of sports, but some sports don’t need it as much. Sports such as golf, soccer, and swimming don’t need hand-eye coordination so it’s perfectly fine if it’s not one of your strongest spots, but for those who have good hand eye coordination badminton or tennis is the adequate sport for you.

“I don’t have the best hand eye coordination, but I still play soccer and it doesn’t affect me in any way,” said freshman Thomas Martinez.

5. Do you like contact sports?

For those who don’t mind tackling others to the ground or pushing them out of the way to make the winning goal, contact sports are perfect for you. They do require you to be fit and strong, but are really fun to play. These include soccer, football, basketball, and wrestling.

6.Are you willing to spend money on buying equipment?

Many sports require you to have to buy sporting equipment. Nowadays equipment can be very expensive because you want to have the best and safest equipment there is. Very few sports require one to have little to no equipment.

Also, choose a sport where you know your strengths are. For example, if you have a strong upper body, you might want to try swimming; if you have strong legs, you might want to try soccer, or if you can run a far distance in a short amount of time, you can try cross country or track and field.

“At my first swim meet I was really nervous, but right before I dove into the water I got this rush, and I just knew that I would love swimming, ” said Catalina Saavedra, a freshman on the varsity swim team.

All sports can be played by anyone who is willing to dedicate themselves. They can be a great experience for anyone, not only do you get to be in shape, but you also get to meet new people and make new friends. It doesn’t matter what sport you choose as long as you have fun and enjoy playing it.