Sports are a big part of Miami High. One requirement that every student must meet to take part in a sport is a minimum of a 2.0 GPA, so keeping up their grades is important to athletes. Being in sports motivates them to do better in school, where for others it comes naturally.  

   A special case at Miami High is sophomore Ivan Ruano, who takes part in tennis, track, water polo, golf, bowling, and used to play football. He says he has no problem with school. “It comes easy to me. I put school first, then sports and clubs,” he says.  

   Ivan said he likes how playing sports helps him build teamwork skills, keeps him focused, and teaches him leadership. Ivan got into playing all these sports because he’s always been athletic, and instead of going home after school and doing nothing, he wanted to help his school and take part in sports. 

   He says he’s involved in these sports for two reasons, one for scholarship opportunities and the other because they are fun. Ivan says, “If you’re in one sport and you are good at it, you have a chance to get a scholarship. But if you are in multiple sports and good at them, you will have multiple scholarship opportunities.” 

   Ivan says that knowing how to manage your time is especially important because it keeps a balance between your school life and sports life. Last year, he and his brothers played three sports in one season. “First practice was tennis, then track, then we went home and ate a little snack. After that, we went to water polo practice which finished at 8 pm,” he said. 

Softball 

   Sophomore Rosemary Hernandez, who plays softball, says she likes being part of a team and how there’s always something different going on. The way she got into softball was that she saw a post on Instagram that said no experience was needed so she decided to go for it.  

   Taking part in softball does motivate her because “you have to get good grades to play the sport, and if you don’t have them you can’t play,” she says. She plays softball because it gives her something to do after school and brings a group of girls together. 

   Rosemary says it is hard to balance school and sports because school always comes first, but then student-athletes also deal with games and practices. She says, “Your school work always comes first, but then you have practices that last until 6 o’clock and then games that last even longer at times.”  

Volleyball 

   Sophomore Evan Alarcon, who is on the varsity volleyball team at Miami High, says he enjoys the people he has met that have the same number of interests as him and how many connections you can make. He said he was approached by his teammate, Chris, and then he saw a poster and it became an interest to him. Evan says, “Once passion get involved with the sport, you love it unconditionally.” 

   He agrees that being in a sport motivates him to do better in school. Evan says, “Volleyball disciplines me that not only am I an athlete, but I’m a student-athlete and being a student comes before being an athlete, so I have to set my priorities straight and be academically good.”  

   Evan says it is difficult, but you must find the balance. He also says, depending on how much you do in volleyball, it can outweigh you. Evan said at first, he joined volleyball to be a part of an extracurricular activity, and then he fell in love with the sport.  

   Freshman Livan Lopez, who is on the junior varsity volleyball team, says he’s always felt drawn to the sport, and he likes it because it takes a lot of time and practice. Livan was introduced to volleyball at an early age by his uncle who would play beach volleyball with his friends, and he enjoyed watching it, so he gave it a go. 

   He says that is it difficult to manage both sports and school. “For volleyball, it’s pretty difficult because the practices are late, but I manage to do schoolwork and homework before practice starts,” he said. Volleyball practice may be from 5:30-8:00 pm or 7:00-10:00 pm.  

Dance 

   Sophomore Genesis Lopez, who is on the dance team, feels like she’s not being judged when she dances. She takes part in dance because she loves dancing and music. “Let’s say I listen to music. I can’t stay still. I just have to dance,” she says. The way Genesis got introduced to dance was by taking part in her middle school’s dance team. When she was in sixth grade, a new dance teacher got hired at her school and she tried out for the team.  

   Genesis says it’s hard to balance sports and school because she gets out of practice late, and when she gets home, she must get straight to work. “But before that, I have to eat, shower, and spend time with family. So, it is hard,” she says. Dance motivates Genesis to do better in school and to come to school.  

Track and Field 

   Melodysol Rivera, who takes part in track and field, feels free when she runs. Running track distracts her from stress and brings her peace. “I like how for my event, which is running, I can keep seeing progressive improvement in how I run,” she says. She got into the sport because her cousin recommended her since she loves running. Melodysol says, “I tried it out and fell in love with the sport.” 

   Melodysol says that being in a sport does motivate her to do schoolwork. “Knowing I already completed one goal motivates me to complete more,” she says. But at times it can be difficult for her to manage sports and homework. Especially if she has a tough day, she just wants to go home and rest, but she tries to motivate herself and usually ends up getting her work done. 

Sports offered at Miami High 

• Football 

• Cross Country 

• Volleyball 

• Swimming and Water Polo

• Bowling 

• Golf 

• Basketball 

• Soccer 

• Wrestling

• Track and Field 

• Softball 

• Baseball 

• Flag football 

• Tennis 

• Dance