By Alyssa Askeland and Luke Karamitros

This spring season some students may be able to participate in dual sports.

Alisha Welter comments, “I’ve done soccer for three years and this year I’ve decided to do track (too) because it is more of an individual sport and I’ve never done one before.” Welter hopes to throw, and says that she has made equal opportunities for both soccer and track this season.

With this opportunity, students will miss days of practice to attend the other sport. The student must choose a primary sport. If the competitions from both sports land on the same day, the student will play the primary sport.

However, if the games land on the same day, and the secondary sport is a conference match/meet, then conference play will override even the primary sport, unless the primary sport has a conference match/meet as well.

“The reason behind dual sports,” says athletic director  Josh Rasmussen, “is to encourage kids to be more athletic and to let them do more than one sport.” However, participating in dual sports isn’t as easy as switching practices each day.  The school has issued a directive that every student interested in doing dual sports is to get a contract from the office stating the rules of conflicts between the sports, academics, and respect for both teams.

Students who do not have a GPA of 2.5 of higher are not permitted to do the dual sports program.  You will need to get signatures from a parent, both coaches, and Rasmussen. “This contract must be completed before both the agreed upon athletic seasons begin.”

Ryan Coenan, assistant girls track coach, is apprehensive about the new rule. He states, “Being able to do two sports makes the athletes more prone to overextended kids. The only athletes that should consider both are juniors and seniors who know wha’ts going on.”

“Because I like both soccer and track, I’ve decided to do both,” states Dan Thomsen, “Our soccer coach said he would probably start half-an-hour late, so that kids who plan on doing another sport can go to it for a little while.” He hopes that his soccer skills will not go down hill as he prepares to run track this season.