Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

Michael Farris:
Most parents welcome sports competition as a good outlet for their child physically and socially. I’m one of those pro-sports parents.

So how do homeschoolers offer sports opportunities to their children if they don’t attend an institutional school? First, we would need to remember that most sports activities for younger children are organized independently of the public schools. Community leagues for baseball, softball, soccer, and football, just to name a few, generally are organized by park and recreation departments or independent associations like Little League. At the high school level, however, most sports do shift to the schools for the most serious sports experiences.

There are three basic sports alternatives for homeschool high school students. A small but growing number of states have enacted laws which require local school districts to allow homeschoolers to join their sports teams. A second alternative is one my own family uses. My 17-year-old daughter, Katie, plays basketball, softball, and track for a Christian high school. A final alternative is growing rapidly. Homeschoolers in some metropolitan regions are creating their own teams that normally play in private school leagues.

More and more often, homeschoolers are finding they do not have to give up the advantages of home education to gain high school sports experience.

I’m Michael Farris.