Link between Sports and Academics

The topic I chose to study for my report is inequality in college athletes regarding academics. The first article I read was, Class and Cleats: Community College Student Athletes and Academic Success by David Horton, which was published in New Directions for Community Colleges. The second article I read was, Are Athletes Also Students? The Educational Attainment of College Athletes by Dean Purdy, Stanly Eitzen, and Rick Hufnagel, which was published in Educational Researcher. I chose to study this topic because there is apparent inequality between student-athletes and non student-athletes in aid they are given academically.

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.

Transition: Now that we have explore the negatives of our current physical education system lets

Many people argue that competitive sports raise numerous amounts of pressure on the youth making them distracted from things such as their education and because it can cause severe injuries, but some people argue that youth should play competitive sports because it teaches major life lessons that can help with many different aspects of their future such as college, getting a job, and many more. Playing competitive sports also improves your physical strength, another physical aspect of playing competitive sports is decreasing your chance of being obese or having disease. If you don't prefer to play competitive sports there are alternative options such as biking or walking to school. In an HT Health article “Sports Seen As Key Weapon in Fighting Teen Obesity” it says that in a study with 1,700 kids, ten percent walked or biked to school 3 ½ days a week,, in the study they found that biking or walking to school lowered the risk of being obese by 33%. I argue that kids should play competitive sports because of the important life skills taught through these sports and the physical benefit of playing sports. In this paper I will explain how communication, time management, and lowering the risk of being obese; supports my claim, “Kids should play competitive sports”

Physical activity has not only physical benefits. It also has a very big impact on social-emotional and cognitive aspects of child’s live. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “The development of a physically active lifestyle is a goal for all children. Traditional team and competitive sports may promote healthy activity for selected youth. Individual sports, noncompetitive sports, lifetime sports, and recreational activities expand the opportunity for activity to everyone. The opportunity to be active on a regular basis, as well as the enjoyment and competence gained from activity, may increase the chances that a physically active lifestyle will be adopted.”

This will impact on a child or young person’s intellectual development as they will be more alert and ready to learn, physical activity is also likely to encourage social and emotional development as schools will provide sports clubs and after school activities, giving children and young people the opportunity to socialise and progress in self-esteem.

The impact of college athletic programs on academics has always been a controversial and contentious topic. It seems that athletic programs have some contemplative effects on academics of colleges and universities. Different people have different ideas about how college athletic programs should be carried on. College presidents, administrations, student athletes, parents of students, and athletic trainers are along with these people who point out different facts about the fallouts of athletics on academics. A bunch of people suggest that athletic programs should be dropped from college system, while another group suggests that athletic programs should be taken care with more advertence. An analysis on the effects of college athletics on

Participation in youth sports in the United States is on the rise. “Organized youth sports are highly popular for youth and their families, with approximately 45 million children and adolescent participants in the US” (Merkel, 2013). There are many benefits for children that can be attributed to sports such as: physical activity, learning motor skills, sense of belonging, stress relief, and many more. With childhood obesity on the rise recreational sports has never been needed more than it is today. “Over the past three decades, the incidence of obesity in children has tripled, with one of every three children being affected” (Merkel, 2013). Obesity has many long-term health problems related to it such as: diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure cancer, asthma. We can attribute this health problem to changes in our society over like increased technology, increased crime rates, fast food and isolated suburban neighborhoods. Sports and other physical activities are needed to keep children from causing further damaged to their future.

Physical activity also has benefits for children's social and emotional development and cognitive development. These benefits include being part of a team and making friends through group sports, which have a major impact on social and emotional development. The effect of obesity on children is closely linked to many bad health habits such as diet, smoking and drug use which in turn can affect a child's academic performance (Goran et al., 1999). Physical activity, if encouraged at a young age, can reduce the likelihood of children developing these behaviours and focus on their academic performance and cognitive development. As children in this age range are in their fundamental development stage, it is important that educators and parents alike, teach children about the importance of physical activity at a young age in order to prevent health and social well-being problems in their adult years.

Sport is healthy, as more and more research shows. For example, sport ensures that certain substances in the body are released, which have a significant effect on the brains. These compounds support brain functions and increase the ability to decision making process. Research has shown that elderly people who on a daily basis have a medium to heavy physical effort of at least 30 minutes have a better cognitive performance

A. What was studied? (theoretical framework) The time allocation for physical education school-based physical activity is often replaced with other classes in an effort to increase children’s academic performance. However, a growing body of literature suggests that physical activity either had no effect on academic performance or that it enhanced it..

In 2008, 30.2% of youth ages 6 to 12 were active to a healthy level through sports(“Facts”). This shows that some kids are getting the minimum amount of physical activity. To raise this level, all kids should include sports in their daily life. All kids should be engaged in sports. Regular activity is required for good health and high school athletes are more likely to attend college.

It’s an interesting concept; a college helping students prepare for professions that they’re aspiring to pursue. So why leave out a segment that generates millions of dollars for some of these sports celebrated schools? It seems to make logical sense. Some may argue that a sports degree is just as valuable as a degree in History, Religion, or Dance, if not more practical. Furthermore, a degree in sports wouldn’t pigeonhole students to only becoming an athlete, but open doors to professions within an industry that is worth and generates billions across all the different sports.

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.

The most significant challenge I have faced was balancing my academics and sports. I have been involved in the boy's soccer program at Palm Desert High School since my freshman year and each season has proven to be a test for me academically. I must say that attempting to balance my school work and soccer during my freshman and sophomore year has taken a toll on my academic achievement. It is unfortunate, however, I learned many things that will benefit me in the future. It was difficult because stress and anxiety amounted on top of all the school work and assignments that needed to be completed with the little time I had in my hands. Each season lasted around four months and during those four months, I accumulated bad habits. I procrastinated