All students at Northwood can try out for sports teams, but making the roster isn’t always guaranteed.

While most sports are cut, meaning players must earn a spot through try-outs, no-cut teams accept as many athletes as they can Whether a sport is cut or no-cut depends on factors like coaching staff, field space and league structure.

“The majority of our sports are cut because we can’t have an unlimited number of kids out there,” athletics director Sierra Wang said. “They won’t have teams to play, there won’t be coaches and they won’t have field space to play.”

While cut and no-cut designations typically remain consistent year to year, Northwood athletics adapts to changing factors to try to include as many students as possible.

Girls’ basketball added a frosh/soph team last year, and softball didn’t cut anyone last season because they had space for all who tried out. Water polo, on the other hand, had to cut some of the over 60 students who tried out due to the lack of facilities while the pool remains under construction.

“It did make us more competitive,” water polo coach Kyle Kim-E said. “But what we ended up realizing is that we weren’t able to have as many teams as we normally would have had.”

Kim-E further explained that cutting students who want to participate also depends on coaching staff and play time, as too many participants on a team can make it harder for coaches to give one on one attention.

Some student athletes say they appreciate the benefits of turning a sport cut.

“Everyone is held accountable for their effort as more effort increases your chances of being rostered,” varsity softball player senior Ines Khodja said. “ These girls improve over the season, and often enjoy it so much that they return next season.”