Cutting athletes in high school sports is an important aspect of building a team. Making cuts through a tryout period allows for coaches and schools to build team reputation by making them competitive and high scoring. Those who do not fully participate in the sport, or are just joining the team to earn “sports credits” for graduation, bring down the team and cause issues with teammates and coaches as well as financially. 

Attitude, workouts, and performance levels are significantly dropped when cuts are not made. The workouts that are created for the team will have to be made so that those who are not yet at peak performance can complete a practice without struggling too much. This holds back athletes who are advanced in their sport. This creates the issue of undertraining for those who are advanced because they are not training at a level that supports their athletic ability. Teammates who do not want to compete or are just on the team to earn their mandated physical education points often cause low morale among the team. Constant complaints about pratice or not wanting to participate influences others who then decide that they too, no longer really want to be there.  

There are two sports that typically do not have a tryout phase or cuts in general. These are cross country and track and field. Both are individual and team sports, meaning the schools are scored on numbers. Track and field should have cuts as too many people on one team will lead to the downfall of a team.