Sweat pouring down his face and completely out of breath, junior Will Horn finished his track and field work out, but he wasn’t done just yet. He was still expected to dive into a pool with the swim team.
This was a typical day for Horn, who decided to be on the varsity swim team and indoor track and field during the winter season.
“I found out I was allowed to do both [sports] one day freshman year when I jokingly asked Mr. Torres if I could run at the [track] meets and swim on the team, and he said I could. After a while of trying to decide which sport I wanted to do, I decided to do both,” Horn said.
The Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) permits boys to participate in two sports in the same season. According to Athletic Director Larry Dukes, boys at JC are only allowed to do so if the two coaches agree and work out a practice schedule with the player.
“In many instances, this started and continues with the football team borrowing a soccer player for a kicker. Most sports would not allow an athlete to participate in two [sports] because of the training schedule and need to be at practice. This is especially true with team sports,” Dukes said.
The Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland (IAAM), however, doesn’t permit girls to participate in two sports in the same season. The IAAM is a separate organization from the MIAA, but both are private school conferences.
Girls are not allowed to participate in two sports at once because all girls are held to the rules of the IAAM, whereas the boys can play because they follow the rules of the MIAA.
“In my six years as the Executive Director of the IAAM, this topic, policy has never been challenged,” IAAM Executive Director Susan Thompson said.
Junior Ally Kozel participates in varsity indoor track during the winter season, but does varsity lacrosse in the spring. Kozel says she would like to be able to do both outdoor track and lacrosse in the spring.
“I want to be a contribution to both the lacrosse team and the track team. I love indoor track and I would love to run outdoor as well, but I like lacrosse too much to give it up. I’m trying to play lacrosse in college so it wouldn’t make sense to give it up for outdoor track,” Kozel said.
“The thinking, when the organization [IAAM] was created 12 years ago, was to ensure that students were not over-extending themselves and able to provide full commitment to one sport, one team per season,” Thompson said.
At JC, track and field or cross country are often sports that get doubled up on.
“If a kid is doing two sports at once, they need to know what they’re doing in both,” track and field and cross country coach Rob Torres said. “The throwers need to get the technique down, so guys who played rugby get a good cardio workout during rugby days, then I want them working technique when they’re with track.”
Torres participated in both swimming and indoor track and field at the same time while he was in high school.
“I think it is unfair that boys are allowed to play two sports and girls are not. There should be one rule for everyone,” Kozel said.
Emily Clarke is a Managing Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.