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Playing volleyball in high school is one of the best decisions I have ever made. My private school enrolled fewer than 200 students and the coach took whoever could fill the roster, including homeschooled students. Playing with that ragtag team taught me lessons in humility, strength, and the importance of teamwork and sacrifice. 

But the Michigan High School Athletic Association prevents homeschooled students from that same opportunity to play high school sports. Michigan should overturn that restriction with a new bill proposed by state Sen. Joe Bellino.

Senate Bill 589, introduced last month by Bellino, a Republican who represents part of Hillsdale County, would allow homeschooling families who pay local taxes to participate in government-funded public-school programs, including athletics and extracurriculars. Currently, the MHSAA, which regulates public-school athletics, requires public-school enrollment for students to play sports. Many states allow homeschooled students to participate in public school sports, but Michigan is one of the 20 states that does not, according to homeschooling advocacy group Coalition for Responsible Home Education. 

The MHSAA’s restriction denies taxpaying homeschoolers an important opportunity for character formation and athletic excellence. Although homeschool athletic coalitions exist, they can’t match the resources of taxpayer-supported public schools. Bellino’s bill would allow parents already paying for those programs to benefit from them, without surrendering their authority over their children’s academics. 

The opportunity to participate in athletics is an essential part of education. Studies show former high-school athletes are more likely to occupy high-status jobs than people who did not play a sport, in part because they possess traits valued by employers: stronger leadership, confidence, and self-esteem. Players not only improve in their particular sport, but also develop the intangible qualities of teamwork, humility, respect, work ethic, and passion. They learn to hustle despite letdowns and frustrations, to push themselves to their limits, and to give 100% because 97% is not enough.

I experienced this growth during my two years on the varsity team. I was never much of an athlete, but my parents understood girls can become women and boys men on the field and the court. During one of the most important games of the season, my pitiful attempt to rescue the ball sent it hurtling into my teammate’s face instead of over the net. The referee stopped the game to let her stumble off the court, a hand over her eye, tears streaming down her face. I felt so guilty that I tried to follow her off the court. My coach didn’t let me. That day, I learned to put mistakes behind me and keep going because the game does not stop, both on the volleyball court and in life itself.

Playing volleyball stretched me to my limits, and those growing pains taught me the strength and virtue every human being is capable of. Michigan should give homeschooled students that same opportunity. Their differences in educational background matter little in the face of the connections they can form with teammates and coaches and allows homeschooled and non-homeschooled students to learn from one another. My private school allowed homeschoolers to play on our team, and I found myself looking forward to practices so I could get to know my teammates more, rather than seeing them as strangers who did not belong. 

The MHSAA forms an athletic cartel against homeschoolers and denies them a crucial aspect of their education and formation of character. By using sports as a weapon against non-traditional forms of schooling, the organization fails in its duty to communities and students. If public schools worry that opening their sports to homeschoolers would lure more families away from traditional schooling, they should focus on improving their own curricula rather than imposing bans on certain students — whose parents are contributing to their programs. 

Opening teams to homeschoolers will cultivate talent in an environment of educational diversity, which helps the school along with the student. This way, while public schools expand their pool of players, homeschoolers find fellowship among their peers and have the opportunity to give their talents to the community. Bellino’s bill will build up all students, no matter where or how they learn, and that is what a community is meant to do.

Megan Li is a junior studying economics.