Slam dunk! Whether it’s swinging a tennis racket or pinning someone to the ground, each sport has its own level of intensity. Although to the eye some sports may not look as vigorous as others, it doesn’t mean they’re any less fierce.

“I feel people misjudge sports because they haven’t experienced the kind of force and strength that they
require or they view the same level of intensity but don’t see it the same way as other sports,” junior and water polo player Angie Rodriguez said.

In wrestling, your opponent is the same size and weight and you’re trying to immobilize them by either a pin, takedown, throw or a reverse. It’s one of the oldest and yet it’s still one of the most physically and mentally demanding sports.

“We can win by pin which means you have your opponent on the ground with both their shoulder blades touching the mat,” junior and wrestler Gabby Hernandez said. “With that being said, people tend to think it’s weird because of how we make contact.”

There are sports such as field hockey that are misunderstood because the sport does not garner as much attention in the South. From a spectator’s perspective, it may look like field hockey is “just for fun,” however it’s just as competitive as any other sport.

“Field hockey is typically played in the Northeast so not many people in the South know about it,” senior and field hockey player Julia Morstead said. “Some people think we just hit the ball around but it’s really a sprint up and down the field mixed with a wide range of skills.”

Aggressiveness can also be defined as the training or endurance that goes into playing the sport, whether that’s strategies or perfecting certain skills.

“In water polo, there’s a lot of conditioning and a bunch of drills,” Rodriguez said. “In some practices, we wear weight belts up to 20 pounds or even hold gallon jugs of water while
treading.”

Despite the majority of “popular” sports being the ones with the most contact, that doesn’t mean those without contact aren’t any less tough.

“Currently the most challenging part about tennis is the heat,” senior and Team Captain Marcus Azuaje
said. “Not only that but you’re facing different opponents and you’re having to adjust to them. It may not be a contact sport but you’re playing for long periods of time.”

Though aggressive sports tend to be the most prominent to watch, each one has its own set of rules and discipline that athletes must respect.

“In water polo, you have to be aggressive on defense to prevent the other team from scoring,” senior and
water polo player Cade Robertson. “However, some people think that you can go around pushing people underwater when in reality it can result in a foul or an ejection.”