Effects of Interscholastic Sports on Academic Achievement

College is a time for young people to develop and grow not only in their education, but social aspects as well. One of the biggest social scenes found around college campuses are athletic events, but where would these college sports be without their dedicated athletes? Student athletes get a lot of praise for their achievements on the field, but tend to disregard the work they accomplish in the classroom. Living in a college environment as a student athlete has a great deal of advantages as well as disadvantages that affect education and anti-intellectualism.

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

In “The Case Against High School Sports,” Amanda Ripley, a journalist for The Atlantic, states that America is spending more money on high school sports rather than on academic purposes. “High School Sports Aren’t Killing Academics, “ written by Daniel Bowen, a postdoctoral scholar at Rice University, and Colin Hitt, an assistant professor at the University of Arkansas, discusses the benefits that come out of sports programs to improve the classroom and the school’s social capital. Co-founder of a sports recruiting social network, Kai Sato’s article “The Case For High School Sports,” focuses on how school does not just involve scoring well on a math test but to educate us to be productive in what lies ahead. Ripley’s article discusses how

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.

Sports are a popular pastime among all ages and types of people. People not only participate in them for fun, but also for money, physical fitness, rush of competition, and for many other personal reasons. Playing sports is especially common among young people in schools. Athletics are great and enjoyable for many reasons, but there can be a point where sports participation can go too far and become negative for children and adults. Sports specialization for young people is an increasing trend that results in sports having a negative impact on individuals and society.

"The Case against High-School Sports." The Atlantic Oct. 2013: 72+. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 19 Feb. 2016.

In most of the USA, schools would offer a variety of sports programs to their students in order for them to have a chance at becoming an athlete and competing against other schools. On the other hand, there are schools in various other countries that do not give their students any opportunities for school athletics. In a nourishing school environment, we all know that academics and in-class abilities count first when it comes to learning. In this world we live in people argue that after school sports might be the reason for poor academic performances and dropout rates in sports-featured schools.

Imagine you’re a teenager in a high school who is involved in athletics, and sports are the one thing you love doing the most. Now imagine that one day out of nowhere your sports team was cut, and the one thing that you so deeply loved you are no longer able to do. A lot of people wonder if sports are too much of a priority in schools, and whether or not they should be cut. Students disagree that sports are too much of a priority, and claim athletics make them the person that they are, and that they wouldn’t be the same without sports. School districts should not cut sport programs because they benefit students, they bring in money and publicity to the school, and it gives the students a fit and healthy lifestyle.

Jordan Larson (1955) speaks of this in his article “Athletics and Good Citizenship”, “I believe that athletics in our high schools, properly handled help to develop good citizenship.” The overall attitude toward high school athletics is extremely positive in these relating articles. Further and more recent research shows that females who participate in high school athletics and more prone to graduate from college (Troutman, Dufur 2007). Troutman and Dufur (2007) conclude that females who engage in interscholastic high school sport have higher odds of completing college than do their counterparts

Sports help children build good character or serve as a building block for good character. Many life lessons are taught through experiences while playing a sport. The challenges in life these children are going to face require discipline, earning and giving respect, and taking accountability for one’s actions. Children who play sports learn the physical, mental, and emotional rewards for these traits, or the consequences for the lack thereof, and get a taste of what the real has in store for them based on their decisions. Children learn that the choices themselves or another teammate makes affects the whole team. “A sign of wisdom and

Since the creation of man, sports have had a tremendous role in the way people live their lives. From the time we are born, until our elderly age, most of us are involved in some way with sports. Whether it is a scrimmage game of soccer at recess in elementary school, playing on the varsity athletic team or simply watching the Olympics or sporting events on television, sports have an influential role in our everyday lives. The outstanding popularity of the sports industry has profoundly affected youth sports organizations that an estimated twenty-six million children ages six through eighteen participate in at least one school or community based athletic program (Smith & Smoll, 1997). Well structured sport programs can provide youths with

Paul: First, I am praying I get into SAM, but if I do, I will take a different approach in my school work and be serious cuz I wa my life run smoothly after and be proud of myself.

Sports programs have been an integral part of all schools. They support the academics of the school and therefore foster success in life. These programs are educational and help produce productive citizenship. They help students experience and build skills that may help them in their future, like interpersonal and time management skills. Education may kindle the light of knowledge, but sports help to maintain the proper physique. Sports are also an important means of entertainment and a use for energy after long hours of study. Sports increase a student’s performance not only in the classroom but also in their life.

Sports and the general physical activities have been associated with a plethora of benefits. Not so much in correlation with education though. The debate on sports and academic performance relates as to whether sports affect academic performance positively or negatively. Mostly, academics, especially in high school and colleges, require an enormous time commitment. In the same way, sports demand time commitment. Apparently, academics and sports run linearly and either would consume the time of the other. Such would be the argument put forth by the claimants of the negative effects of sports on academic performance. The opponents to the positive correlation of sports and academic performance ground their arguments largely on the time commitment that the two require claiming that sports would consume a student’s time for study hence affecting their academic performance. Proponents of a positive correlation between sports and academic performance summon an extensive range of evidence showing that students who participate in sports perform well in academics. The proponents’ arguments are fetched from the proven benefits of exercise which improve a student’s overall well-being and motivate their academic performance. Opponents would, however, argue that the studies that find athletes and sports persons good at academics do not show how such correlations occur in that other factors could be the actual causes of the correlation and not sports in themselves. Regardless, opponents to the claim that sports affect academic performance positively cannot deny that sports affect the overall well being of any human being. As such, there is no denying that sports affect academic performance positively where a balance among the two is maintained.

The question I seek to answer with this study is “Do the occurrence of sports-related injuries negatively affect a high-performance student-athlete’s academic success, specifically in terms of their overall grades?”. Specifically, I will explore its connection to absences from school and the phenomenon that students who are consistently physically active in a sport achieve better grades. I believe that the academic benefits of participating in athletic activity are negated by the demands and risks of participating in a high-performance sport.