by Quinn Gillespie (Posted on October 20, 2026 @ 12:34 p.m.)

Students at Alamo Heights Junior School want the school to add more sports options. The school currently offers soccer, basketball, volleyball, tennis, dance, cheer, cross-country, track, and tackle football. Students interviewed last week said they want to add baseball, softball, lacrosse, girls flag football, and swimming.

A survey last week of 573 students found that 83.1% want the school to add more sports. This shows that many students are interested in having more opportunities to play sports at school. Adding more options could help students find sports or activities they enjoy, meet new people, and become more involved in the school community.

Seventh-grader Charlie Kiehney said more choices would help students find sports they enjoy.

“I think it’s important to have more options because you have more chances to try different sports that you might like or to try something new and to have a team to rely on and more people to support you along the way,” Kiehney said.

Having more sports could give students the chance to find new interests. Some students already know which sports they like, but other students might not have found the right sport for them yet. With more choices, students could try something different and find a team where they feel comfortable and supported.

Girls flag football is one option students mentioned. This sport would allow girls to have a football team of their own so that they are not the only girl on the tackle football team. It would also give girls another way to play football without having to join the tackle football team.

“This change would benefit my life by making me happier to know that there are a lot of good options, but to have more to choose from and more freedom to play what I want. Instead of making it weird that you are the only girl trying out for football, you have an entire group of girls so you don’t have to feel awkward or alone,” Kiehney said.

For students who want to play football, having a girls flag football team could make the experience more comfortable and give them a group of teammates who share the same interest. It could also give more girls the opportunity to try a sport they might not have tried before.

Kinsley Powell, a seventh-grade student, said more sports options would strengthen the school community.

“I think it’s important for middle school sports to have different options to build different relationships with different students and so that you can have a more active student body,” Powell said.

Sports can help students make friends outside their everyday friend groups. Teammates practice together, work toward the same goals, and support each other along the way. Adding new sports could help students meet people they might not normally spend time with during the school day.

More variety could also encourage students who don’t currently play sports to participate. Some students might want to play a sport but not be interested in the options currently offered at school.

Sloane Delaney, another seventh-grade student, said some students don’t participate because they don’t like the current options.

“Some kids don’t like the sports we already have, but they might like to do, like swimming, for example, or softball instead of not playing any sports,” Delaney said.

Adding sports like swimming and softball could bring in students who currently don’t participate. For example, a student who doesn’t enjoy basketball or soccer might be interested in swimming or baseball instead. More options could make it easier for different students to find something they enjoy.

Students are not the only ones who have wondered about adding more sports. Daniel Yancelson, the school’s soccer and cross-country coach, said he has wondered why the school doesn’t offer baseball and softball.

“I don’t know why baseball and softball aren’t part of the middle school sports, like, they’re so common, and so many people, in middle school, in this middle school, play baseball and softball that, like, I’m just curious as to why that never has been the case,” Yancelson said.

Baseball and softball are sports that many students already play outside of school, which makes the absence of these sports at school noticeable to students and some coaches. Having these sports at school could give students another opportunity to play with classmates and represent their school.

Even though Yancelson understands why students might want more options, he doubts the change will happen.

“Probably not. I don’t think it could happen because, um, for what I know, it’s been at least since I graduated. So, like, 20-something years, and there’s been no baseball or softball in middle school, so I don’t think it’s gonna happen now,” Yancelson said.

Yancelson’s doubt suggests that expanding sports at the middle school level may be difficult. Although many students want more choices, adding sports that have not been offered for years could take time and planning.

For now, students who want sports like baseball, softball, lacrosse, girls flag football, and swimming will have to play outside of school or wait for the school to expand its options. For now, students are still hoping the school will give them more opportunities to play the sports they love.