Elkhart sports are about to get a whole lot more interesting next school year. With the last Mangy game finally wrapped up, we’re gearing towards merging our athletics in the 2020-2021 school year. 

The addition of lacrosse my sophomore year was something that caught my attention. Already, two years ago, we were setting up for sports that only “big schools” are playing. Club sports, in general, are becoming more prevalent in the upcoming years, with roughly 3,000 students under one Elkhart High. 

So the question I ask everyone is: what’s next? What’s the next big athletic feat for the Elkhart Community High School system? My only answer has to be ultimate frisbee. 

Why ultimate frisbee, you ask? Competition and peak physical athleticism is the easy response, but dive in with me for a bit.

Large schools, a little more specifically private schools, have dominated in club sports forever. Wes Anderson’s Rushmore painted the perfect picture for what an American boarding school should look like: big blazers, Tommy Hilfiger polos, and all the club sports you can imagine. Their diversity in sports have been a miracle for their numbers, some people go to private schools specifically to play those sports not offered in our public system. 

Next year, we will be a very large, populated athletic program. We need to utilize this time wisely, cultivating new talent that hasn’t been exposed to what all is out there. 

Ultimate frisbee is highly energizing, very entertaining, but not as aggressive as football. You can be extremely fit, athletic, and perform incredibly well, but you can also be a little more on the scrawny side and still be an excellent player. We can use this new talent to new ends with our new competition, as we’re going to be moving conferences to compete with larger schools. 

Maybe we’re too far behind, maybe we’d be a little ahead of the curve: either way this addition couldn’t be wrong. This school year is proving to be a pivotal moment in our history, I just hope we can move to impress more as Elkhart High.  

The views in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of the GENESIS staff. Reach Jenaro DelPrete at [email protected].