High school athletics should be divided into two categories: team sports such as football, basketball and baseball or individual sports such as wrestling, swimming or track & field. While both types require innate athletic ability, interest in either depends on many different factors.

The Breaking Muscle website attributes the difference in preference to individual personality. According to the website, people who prefer individual sports are usually more introverted and sometimes prefer to avoid team play and the responsibilities that go along with team play. Conversely, some athletes may prefer the heightened sense of glory that comes from participating in an individual sport. Athletes may prefer the attributional situation inherent when performing an individual sport. There is no team to share the pride with. If the athletes are successful, the glory is all theirs.
Additionally, the website claims that team sports are too restrictive to some people, while individual sports offer much more flexibility and personal control.

Success in a team sport demands much more from individual athletes. While the same athleticism and talent required in an individual sport still needs to be present, a huge amount of teamwork and control is also needed. Every athlete on the field must work together flawlessly to accomplish his or her goal, whether it be a deep touchdown pass or a basketball drive. Dresdin Archibald of the G4Athlete website mentions that team sport athletes must also share their success, something many athletes can not easily do. On the other hand, team sport athletes must also share the blame of a loss or blown play, with everyone accepting responsibility. Consequently, athletes who are more extroverted and better equipped to handle criticism will be more likely to find success in a team sport.

Psychologist Alicia Parnell of the Sportsnscience website described the difference in motivation between team sport athletes vs. individual sport athletes.

“The biggest difference between team and individual sports is what motivates athletes. In solo activities, such as long-distance running, the athlete is responsible for the training and strategy required to ensure his or her own success, whereas in a group sport like football, team members must work together toward victory. Most people are familiar with the concept of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is the drive to do something for its own sake, and extrinsic would be the opposite—doing something as a means to an end, like a reward or punishment,” Parnell said.

In my experience as an athlete who participates in both individual and team sports, I have found these guidelines to be somewhat accurate; however, these guidelines are not set in stone. For some athletes, their skill set is so far above their peers that they can find equal amounts of success in both team and individual sports, while others have such passion for a certain game that they play regardless.