For team sports at a small school, we have to join forces

In a small community like Bridgehampton, there are problems getting enough kids to play sports. Bridgehampton School compromises by getting neighbors like Pierson High School, in Sag Harbor, and East Hampton High School to allow Bridgehampton to travel to those schools and play sports with them. Most sports, including baseball and soccer, are shared with Pierson, but a few sports like lacrosse and football are shared with East Hampton.

Sharing sports has benefits, like making new friends. Meeting new people from different schools, especially from ones that are bigger than yours, is good because you make connections with kids from neighbor schools, and you can talk to kids outside of your school, so you can see how different things are outside of Bridgehampton.

Another benefit is that you get to explore different schools, which might look a lot different from the school you are used to. For example, the schools might be a lot bigger or the hallways might look different.

Sharing sports also has challenges. One challenge is you might be scared for the first time going to a different school without anyone you know. You might be really quiet before meeting the other kids on your team. Another challenge is traveling: It can take 20 to 30 minutes just to get to practice.

In my opinion, sharing sports is better than not having those sports at all because it gives students more opportunities. If sharing sports wasn’t possible, Bridgehampton students would not have as many options.

Marie Hand and Thomas House’s sixth- and seventh-grade students, Bridgehampton School