I throw my skis sideways and float over the ice into the finish area. My coach gives me his signature job-well-done firm pat on the back followed by a silent nod. I was good and I exuded confidence.

The next day I scribble a barely illegible 35 on the white board, following the problem 6 x 6. The kid next to me with the inside-out shirt snickers. I was bad and I hated math.

All children have potential skills they excel at that could fill them with confidence. That if encouraged could spill over to all parts of their lives.

To fail a math test or lose in the first round of a spelling bee and walk into class the next day still confident in your abilities as a student is no small feat, and yet it’s necessary. Confidence is highly unlikely to be fostered in the same place where it’s stifled. Schools need to recognize the passions that students have as tools to academic success.

Self-efficacy has become a buzzword in psychology referring to the amount of faith a person has in their abilities to perform a task. It simultaneously increases as skills improve. To gain self-efficacy, an individual needs to start with tasks that well suit their abilities. Over time the difficulty of tasks can increase simultaneously with self-efficacy levels.

In his 2009 book Why Don’t Students Like School?, Daniel Willingham says that students cannot be treated as experts of the concepts they are being taught, but rather as the novices they are. The only way to become an expert is to practice as much as possible and the most effective way to encourage a student to practice is to increase their self-efficacy. Although self-efficacy is task-specific, it can instill general confidence and problem-solving skills that are transferable to all parts of life.

Often kids are put in classes where the coursework is over their current ability, causing them to feel lost and hopeless about succeeding in school. Education unlike many skills cannot be set at a personalized rate for every student. Teachers need to ensure that students get the pleasurable rush from accomplishing a task and learning. This is difficult to accomplish when every student’s needs and abilities have to be considered. Tutoring and repeating grades are options but have limits and downsides.

My self-efficacy in high school was boosted because of skiing and my grades were a reflection of that. I received As in the winters and Cs in the off-season. Before I started skiing competitively I was failing classes. Yet, many student athletes who are far better at sports than I ever was at skiing still struggle with school. The help of my teachers and the use of engaging curriculum at the appropriate ability level taught me the material.

Although skiing didn’t improve my comprehension of geometric proofs it did improve the way I looked at a challenge. Its placement in my daily schedule—right before classes—allowed me to take the evidence of hard work and problem-solving I had seen in myself on the ski hill and apply it to math. Skiing helped saved my education; it was a small part but crucial nonetheless.

Sports are not every student’s strength; for some it might be art, the guitar, or English. Regardless, the opportunity to promote confidence and joy from a healthy source in youth should not be taken lightly. All students should have the opportunity to apply the benefits of extracurricular activities to school.

Recent government budget cuts pulled $29 million from the 60 B.C. school districts for this school year. I fear that as is common with budget cuts, extracurricular programs will be the first to be trimmed down. I am not suggesting that another area should be cut first. What I am suggesting is that before the seemingly automatic decision to toss out the chess club or the ski team is made, the impact they make on students’ lives in and out of school should be considered.