You know about the football team, the girls’ volleyball team, and a dozen other sports teams at Bingham, but you may not know that many students are involved in athletic teams and clubs outside of Bingham. There are more athletes walking our halls than you realize.

For example, Beyley Boggess, a softball-obsessed senior, plays for the Taylorsville city softball team as well as competing at Bingham. “We play against teams all over Utah,” she says. Her team’s fall season started in August and ended in October. She also plans on participating in the spring softball season.

Boggess says that she grew up on softball: “It’s in my blood.” To her, softball is a way for her to play out her stress and frustrations. “You just forget all your problems, and just have fun.”

She competes for a city team for a couple of different reasons. She likes being able to play on different teams at many different times of the year. She mentions how at Bingham, you are playing with girls you’ve known for a long time. “Outside [of Bingham’s team], you get together and make new friends,” she explains. The downside of this is that she can’t always keep in touch with her new friends, especially because many of them play for a few different teams at different times of the year. She loves when she gets to see some of them again when she joins another team.

Kahlan Davis, also a senior, was born to be a black belt. She excels in mixed martial arts and has competed for her team, the Salt Lake Chapter of the International Kickboxing Federation, throughout high school. This activity has given her opportunities to compete throughout the United States and even internationally in Europe. She says that in competitions, “Basically, we’re sparring — you punch the crap out of your opponent.” The winner then moves up to compete in regional, state, national, or international competitions.

There are a lot of things Davis likes about doing martial arts, but she says her favorite part is definitely the performance aspect. She also loves the people on her team, and she hangs out with them whenever she gets the chance. She simply says they’re “…like family.”

Fall ball and other off-season sports are fun and casual ways to stay fit, and many Bingham students choose to participate in them to keep themselves fit and active as the weather gets colder. What seems most exciting to them, though, are the new friends that they get to meet through their sport. The world is full of opportunities for teens to engage in their favorite sport, whether it be here at the high school or in community clubs. Celebrate each other’s accomplishments, even if they’re not announced over Bingham’s intercom.