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Basketball, football, and softball are the most common team sports in high school athletics.Soccer, lacrosse, and swimming are popular with both males and females.Unusual sports offered by some schools include fencing, cricket, judo, and rodeo.
Do NOT use a comma when only one or two parts of the date are given.
Mike Jordan tried out for the varsity basketball team in November 1978 and made the JV team instead.Football players graduating in 2018 can sign with a Division I or II college between February 7 and April 1.
Dates
Use a comma before and after a title or degree following a person’s name.
James Andrews, MD, is an orthopedic surgeon known for his work with famous athletes.Ken Griffey, Sr., and Ken Griffey, Jr., both played on major league baseball teams.Sherry Werner, PhD, offers clinics for fastpitch softball pitchers.
Hey, would you like to go to the dance with me after the game?Aww, that’s sweet of you ... but, well, I have to babysit tomorrow.Alright, maybe some other time then, okay?Yeah, sure, maybe next week. Bye... woohoo!
Coordinate adjectives are two (or more) adjectives that are equal in rank and precede a noun.
Ask these questions to decide whether adjectives are equal in rank:Can I change the order of the adjectives?Can I insert the word “and” between the adjectives?
Adjectives
one tired, grouchy old baseball coachone grouchy, tired old baseball coach
Officials in an Oklahoma football controversy have been accused of making misguided, biased decisions.Random drug tests are administered in an attempt to prevent unfair, illegal doping among athletes.After suffering a severe, frightening concussion, the star quarterback quit playing football.
Adjectives
Use a comma after a transitional or conjunctive adverb.
First, playing high school sports requires a lot of time.Students who play sports must divide their time between practicing and studying; however, athletes have a higher mean GPA than non-athletes.
You tried out for the volleyball team, didn’t you?Our school doesn’t have pep rallies for the bowling team, even when they win the state championship!Horseback riding, not skiing, is the most expensive sport.
According to ESPN, “Some high school districts across the country are lowering minimum GPA requirements for student-athletes in an effort to keep them on the field and in the classroom.”
“We realized,” said an administrator, “that when we kicked kids off the team, they weren’t going to the library instead.”“If a kid’s able to do both—work hard and maintain in the classroom and on the field—he shouldn’t have to compete with somebody who’s one-sided,” responded one high school athlete.
Direct Address
Use a comma before and after naming the person or group being addressed.
In order to be a top high school athlete, a player needs commitment to and passion for the sport.Without a natural athletic physique, you can still develop strength and quickness through training, practice, and hard work.According to Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers, it takes 10,000 hours of focused practice to become expert at any skill.
About 1 out of every 30 high school men’s basketball players plays in college, and fewer than 1 in 10,000 eventually plays in the NBA.Ice hockey has the highest percentage of high school players go on to play in college and professional leagues, so maybe you should try that sport.
The dependent clause may come at the beginning or end of a sentence. A comma is not required if the dependent clause follows the independent clause.
Because teens’ bones are growing in uneven spurts, muscle and tendon injuries are common in adolescent athletes.Muscle and tendon injuries are common in adolescent athletes because teens’ bones are growing in uneven spurts.
Although repeated injuries can lead to long-term problems that require surgery, injured athletes often feel pressured to play through the injury.When a sports injury occurs, it’s important to get treatment and follow a doctor’s advice about when to return to play.
Ask these questions to determine whether a phrase or clause is nonessential:Can I remove these words without changing the essential meaning of the sentence?If I remove these words, is it still clear who or what the sentence is about?
Nonessential Phrases & Clauses
Coach Bryant, my favorite teacher, taught me to prepare mentally for the game.
The Guinness Book of World Records, which has been published annually since 1955, has information about some unusual sports records.The world record for fastest 100-meter hurdles wearing swim fins, held by Christopher Irmsher of Germany, is 14.82 seconds.
A compound predicate is found in a clause with more than one verb (and verb complements).
Do Not Use a Comma
xMichael Jordan played in the NBA for fifteen seasons, and also spent one year playing minor league baseball.Michael Jordan played in the NBA for fifteen seasons and also spent one year playing minor league baseball.
Remember that the rule is to place a comma after the DEPENDENT clause. (The exception is when the dependent clause creates contrast or contradiction.)
Do Not Use a Comma
xIt’s important to get treatment and follow a doctor’s advice about when to return to play, after a sports injury occurs.It’s important to get treatment and follow a doctor’s advice about when to return to play after a sports injury occurs.