The lettering process at our school is inconsistent when it comes to different sports and even athletes within the same sport. The lettering process should be consistent throughout all varsity-level sports to provide student athletes with an equal, fair opportunity to letter.
The athletic handbook has a loose definition of what constitutes an athlete to letter, and leaves this process to the coaches. The athletic handbook, which can be found on Delaware Valley’s athletics website, states, “The coaching staff of the individual sport determines the ‘Varsity Letter’ award criteria.” They then state examples of what coaches could base their awards off of, “These criteria may include, but are not limited to, playing time, points scored, dedication, cooperation, loyalty, leadership, a sense of fair play, and years of service.”
This is an unfair, inconsistent system because it allows some athletes to be awarded letters based on their talent, while others are presented with letters based on their team spirit. While both of these attributes create a successful, balanced team, it is important to award athletes letters based strictly on their accomplishments, not out of pity.
Creating a schoolwide lettering system would allow athletes across different sports to be held to the same standards, and thus have the same opportunities.
One sport should not be harder or easier to letter in than others just because of the coaches’ standards. Although, an example of sports that are more difficult to letter in are those that have a large roster, like football, which makes it more difficult for athletes to letter in because of increased competition.
In my opinion, an athlete being awarded a letter must fit the following criteria: a total of 60 minutes of accumulated playing time or two matches played in, consistent practice attendance and overall dedication to the sport.
Sixty minutes of playing time is possible for varsity-level athletes, as a single game lasts an hour or longer for most sports. If a team has 15 games in a season, an athlete would only have to average four minutes played per game. This sets an achievable lettering requirement for athletes, while still showing their impact and role on the team.
For sports where playing time is not tracked, like tennis and golf, varsity letters should be presented based on the amount of matches played. In tennis, a match averages between 30 and 60 minutes, so playing two matches would result in 60-120 minutes played.
Consistently being at practice shows dedication and diligence, which are characteristics that make up a committed athlete. Obvious exceptions to attendance include educational, religious and medical situations.
A final exception to the lettering criteria is unified sports. Special education peers should not be prohibited from lettering because of mental or physical challenges, which may get in the way of completing the lettering criteria.
The lettering process should be consistent in order to provide athletes with a fair and enjoyable high school athletic experience.
