Benefits Of Being A Student-Athlete

Do student athletes make the most of their opportunity to obtain a post-secondary education? Do they have the same academic success as those students that are not athletes? Are student athletes just “dumb jocks?” The answers to these questions might surprise you. Much research has been done to dispel the myth that athletes going to college are only there to play sports with little regard to their education. Programs have been created to assure that colleges and universities hold athletes to the same standards as the everyday student. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has decided that the “magic number” to put the “student” back into “student-athlete” is 925 (Hamilton).

Multiple studies have shown that college athletes do not perform as well in the classroom as their nonathletic peers. For example, according to Michael Maloney in the article An Examination of the Role that Intercollegiate Athletic Participation Plays in Academic Achievement, he states that “SAT scores of athletes are, on average, 150 points below non- athletes. Similarly, athletes come to college with inferior high school preparation in academics. Their high school rank is 20 percentage points below nonathletes.”

Athletes at school might get carried away just focusing on their sport. Playing a sport might not be a distraction and the student could just be stressing academically. They might be using their hobby to relieve stress, but this can lead throwing away their education as well. Education should be the number one priority. Honor roll, or just average grades in general, will increase the chances of students getting accepted to the college of their choice. If an individual wants to do the things he or she loves, college will play an important factor. Setting this rule for athletes will motivate them to do well in school if they really love the sport they

When participation in a sport in high school, it may interfere with class work, meaning an athlete may have to leave class early in order to participate in a game or tournament. With doing so, it is up to the student to get their work done. They have to make it up on their own time in order to make up what they missed in class. This teaches students time management and motivates students to try their best in order to make up work they missed. All coaches should take into consideration that if a student does not have the grades, then the athlete may not participate in competition or practice. Even this rule applies to the team’s best athlete, grade ineligibility applies to everyone. When it comes to high school, the sport itself generates motivation to keep the student on top of things and wanting to thrive for greatness in academics and athletics as well (“Merkel,”). All students should know that grades come before athletics. This will make student athletes aware of the minimum GPA that will be needed to be maintained in order to participate in athletics (“The Benefits of Participating in Sports”). Consequently, it forces students to learn

Benefits of Youth Sports“Sports do not build character. They reveal it,” said John Wooden, legendary UCLA basketball coach. Playing sports not only provides physical activity, but also other positive benefits. This is especially true for children. A well-structured and organized youth program will provide benefits and positive experiences for young athletes. While children are having fun participating in sports they are also building character, learning to work as a team, and playing fairly. Most people think the only benefits of sports are physical. Sports are more than just developing hand-eye coordination and burning calories, youth sports provide many developmental benefits, physical benefits, and psychological benefits.

The impact of preserving sports in high schools has been surrounded by much controversy as people suspect that it is the reason behind the poor academic achievement of students. Opponents to high school sports feel that allowing athletics to be a part of schools sidetracks the focus of the student body, which goes completely against the main purpose of schools. Indeed, this assertion is completely true and based upon plentiful evidence. High school sports undoubtedly come at the expense of student academic achievement since they divert the attention of students away from academics and they come with far too many financial costs, both of which incur negative impacts on the academics within a school. The bottomline is that sports are harming the education of students, so a school must make the decision between composing quality sports teams or providing high level academics; both of these choices simply cannot occur simultaneously.

Moreover, college athletes have shown a poor academic success rate in past few years, in brief. Their academic performances were significantly low due to the distraction caused by athletic programs. Athletics are not only a distraction for athletes, but also for institutions which are holding these athletic programs. “The low graduation rates among athletics, particularly in sports like football and basketball, are alarming, although there is strong evidence that this problem is endemic to the entire academic enterprise” (“College”). Average outcome GPA of an athlete is way lower than that of a normal student in general. Missing classes regularly, missing assignments, and missing exams have been the reasons for these poor academic performance rates. Daily practices and tournaments are the reason for them to miss their academics. Another side of this argument is that athletes are given unfair advantages in academics unlike other students. They were given excessive grade changes and extra points to maintain their athletic eligibility. This situation degrades the quality of academic programs and it debases

To many educational institutions, it is controversial whether or not sports are beneficial to scholastic success. Offering athletic programs is said to supply students with an enhanced learning experience, as well as adding amusement to a rather dull school year. Therefore, sports should be provided in all schools to reduce stress, improve academic performance, and develop teamwork skills and equal opportunity in school.

High school sports make student athletes strive for better success in their education. Sure some Schools have a minimum G.P.A requirement of 2.0, and to get that all your classes have to be “C” or better. Well that’s better than letting them have a 1.0 and letting them play. It makes them have something worth studying for, For example my friend Bryan Garcia does not like school or work but he is always looking for ways to make his grades better so that he may play with the John F. Kennedy soccer team. Also not all the states in the United States of America have a G.P.A requirement to play in a sport activity, twelve out of the fifty states in the USA require a G.P.A to play."A High School Athlete 's GPA Vs. Average High School Student 's GPA." Everyday Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2016.”Sports participation is associated with higher GPAs, lower dropout rates and stronger commitments to school compared to the average,non-athlete high school student”. Also they made a study for Kansas in 2008-2009 between athletes and non-athletes,Academic Performance Of Athletes And Non‐Athletes, and Page 41. COMPARING THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES AND NON-ATHLETES IN KANSAS IN 2008-2009 (n.d.): n. pag. Web.”high school athletes earned higher grades,graduated at a higher rate, dropped out of school less frequently, and scored higher on state assessments than did non-athletes”. Student athletes have a greater chance of graduating with a 3.0 or more. They are more

On the other hand African American and female students alleged that African American athletes are more competitive and have a different playing style (Sailes 1993). From relevant literature it has been found that the statement made on how athletes are not academically smart enough compared to the average student is proven incorrect due to a number of the following studies illustrating a positive correlation between the increased amount of physical activity being associated with higher academic performance, as well as positively influencing concentration, memory and classroom behaviour (Trudeau & Shepard 2008) (Eitle & Eitle 2002) (Bailey 2006) (Coe et al

Sports in conjunction with academics are capable of creating a balance that makes for a well rounded citizen and healthy, happy employee. Issues in the mix often come from the balance itself. Many students find themselves overcommitted to sport while others find they are not able to compete. I will examine issues in interscholastic and collegiate sport.

The Adequate Yearly Progress qualifier is a guideline that labels what all students achieve when it comes to state academic standards in at least Reading/Language Arts and Math (U.S. Department of Inculcation Website, 2006). The exigency of addressing and rectifying academic/athletic imbalances at schools is underscored by the estimated 8 million students who participated in high school athletics during the 2008 school year (Associated Press, 2008). Yancey (2007) concluded the incrimination of students participating in interscholastic sports is positive as athletics amend the overall high school experience for

Despite the many stereotypes that are connected with being a student athlete, student athletes in general are held to much higher standards by their institutions. Before a prospective student athlete even enters college, they are made fully aware of the academic standings and requirements of the college they choose. Although the academic requirements vary from college to college, the standards are still held high for all student athletes. The transition into college can be exceptionally difficult especially for the

Arguing that students are flooded with copious amounts of homework, extracurricular activities, and stress which in turn limits their free time, creativity, and ability to explore and discover who they truly are. A huge debate being discussed is how interscholastic athletics are impacting academic results. Opposed to the common belief, student athletes are excelling in their academics, learning to cope with stress through physical activity, learning many useful skills through their sports, and creating essential friendships and bonds.

Being in an American school begins a student’s search to find who they are considered in the system. From a nerd to a punk, many academic ties are also involved with this identity. The one group of students who get the most academic ties with his or her extra-curricular activity is the “jock”. As having the title as a jock, a child learns that many people look at someone who plays football or basketball doesn’t have the ability to learn as fast or as well as someone who just studies and doesn’t have extra-curricular activities. Studying this topic is not as stressed as it should be, even when many programs claim to get more physical activity in students. The articles that have been reviewed were testing whether the athlete gets good grades