For LVA sophomore Dylan Helmer, though he is a band major, he also does activities outside of school as well. In addition to music, Helmer’s other passion is football. He plays on the Varsity Football team for Liberty High School. LVA doesn’t offer sports, so Helmer found another way to keep active and participate in physical activities outside of school.

“There’s a lot of people that could definitely play sports here”, he said, when asked what he thought about LVA, not including sporting activities for individuals or teams. “I feel, if we were to incorporate sports teams, it would definitely open a lot more opportunities. I do understand it’s an art school and that kind of conflicts, but I feel like we should definitely incorporate that.”

Helmer also thinks people could benefit from sports, but since LVA is an all arts school, it could conflict with students’ busy schedules. Continuing, he said that people can learn a lot about themselves physically and mentally from their participation in sports and doing physical activities.

“Definitely figured out more of my athletic capabilities, because I first started off a couple years ago, incredibly, like just small and nonathletic, very slow. And then over the years, I put on like 30-40 pounds, got faster, bigger, and ten times more aggressive, and developed an overall passion for football. Honestly, just overall health is nice, you know, running or just being athletic or working out. Always staying in shape, being fit, and being healthy increases your mental health a lot more. So that’s awesome.” said Helmer.

From his participation in sports, Helmer has grown as a person and improved his mental and physical health. Getting good at anything takes time, patience, and practice which means putting in the time and effort in doing something. That can be hard and can cause people to have problems, especially with their mental health.

“Before I had sports, I was really depressed. And then I got into sports, started working out a lot, developed an almost family-like brotherly bond with the team,” Helmer said when asked how his mental health was affected by participation in sports. “I just feel a lot more happy.”

Overall, Helmer feels as though his self-acceptance has grown physically and mentally. He has also bonded with the people on the team, resulting in more friends for Helmer, and quite a bit more social. Since this is his second year at LVA, Helmer also struggled a bit and contemplated leaving LVA.

“Last year, I couldn’t really fit in here, because I didn’t really like my major. I don’t have too many friends. I can’t really belong. The ballroom program has actually kept me here, because I had a lot of friends in there. I really enjoyed it, and I originally started that for sports.”

“Last year was how I started dancing and getting more involved,” Helmer responded when asked if he had danced previously. Helmer ended up changing his mind and is happy they stayed here and would like to continue being at LVA.

Lastly, since Helmer is in his second year at LVA, he offered some advice for freshman students. “Before you get here, feel free to take a look at all the programs and things they have to offer here. And then, be grateful for the experience that you’re going to have and all the opportunities that the school has to offer. It’s really not that bad, if you just know how to balance it.” Helmer has grown not only physically, but emotionally, and enjoys playing sports. A person can learn a lot about themselves from sports, or doing activities outside of school, as long as they are willing to put in the time and effort, there is nothing that can stop them.