Sports participation is perhaps seen as a determinant in the high academic achievement of students.

Playing a sport with a team is arguably one of the most fun and rewarding, experiences available, but what if doing so actually hampered one's education? Researchers Chun Cheng Chuan, Aminuddin Yusof, and Parilah Mohd Shah were intrigued by the matter and published, “Sports Involvement and Academic Achievement: A Study of Malaysian University Athletes”. These authors theorized that “sport involvement, despite boosting social skills, leads to a decrease in academic success among students” (12). They are credible due to their credentials as well as their appeal to ethos and logos. The authors’ substantial appeal to ethos strengthens their article immensely, and one main appeal to pathos makes the article especially strong in an emotional sense.

The Atlantic article, “High-School Sports Aren’t Killing Academics,” by Daniel H. Bowen and Colin Hitt make a statement on the sports programs in schools. They oppose the thought that participating in sports programs results in a student’s academics suffering, but instead believe sports programs provide academic benefits. Their article targets the article, “The Case Against High-School Sports”, by Amanda Ripley who argues that participation in sports at school cost students’ academic success. The duo constructs their argument around Ripley’s claims and counter her points to strengthen their own. Their argument has a mix of supporting information and points that weakened Bowen and Hitt’s claim. This is due to the methods and evidence they provided which didn’t appear as convincing when trying to persuade readers.

A prominent reason why high school sports is detrimental to academic accomplishments of students is because of how sports act as a powerful distractor to education. When a student starts to play sports in school, their mindset shifts from being focused on learning to now focusing on improving at their sport of choice. Sports are just another thing that consumes the time and attention of people. This simple fact clearly presents a problem because it means less effort can be dedicated towards academics. A perfect example of how sports teams magnify this effect of reducing academic effort is presented in the article “Why Student Athletes Continue to Fail” when it explains “Tight-knit student athletes will seek ways of fitting into a culture that they perceive as neglecting academics (by defaulting into majors of dubious merit and spending less time doing homework), knowing that their habits are observed by teammates” (Oppenheimer). Clearly, this statement demonstrates that school sports create an environment where students feel pressured to adopt a callous attitude towards academics. Since sports teams form a strong bond between the members of the team, the impact of peer pressure is emphasized because each student wants to behave like the others simply to feel connected to the group.

Also sports help kids with their grades.” According to a 2013 evaluation conducted by the Crime Lab at the University of Chicago, Becoming a Man--Sports Edition creates lasting improvements in the boys’ study habits and grade point averages. “ (“ Bowen & Hitt”). Sports are the number one reason for a kid who is thinking about dropping out to stay in school. Think about it if you need a 2.0 to stay in sports and you struggle in school but, you love sports and want to do it in college you will stay in school to achieve your dream. Also with sports that helps me is you don’t get time to procrastinate because if I know I have a game tomorrow and I have a big essay do the day after that I will do it tonight because I know I can’t do it after the game. Which is why most people who aren’t in sports struggle with procrastine. “Neish (1993) that found positive correlations between high, medium, or low levels of involvement in extracurricular activities and students’ GPAs and involved students attained higher GPAs than did students who were not involved.”(“ Lumpkin & Favor”). This proves again that sports truly do help are kids in school.

“Sports teaches you character, it teaches you to play by the rules, it teaches you to know what it feels like to win and lose-it teaches you about life.”(Billie Jean King) Most students from first grade to twelfth grade say that sports are a big part of their life and make them who they were meant to be in a positive way. Some people might argue that students in sports or extracurricular activities have lower grades than the other students, but it's the opposite way around. Sports improve your performance in school because they strengthen your concentration ability and leadership traits.

A concussion is defined as “a complex pathophysiological process affecting the brain, induced by traumatic biomechanical forces” (McCrory, Johnston, & Meeuwisse, 2005). Based on current research, findings show a relationship between academic performance and student athletes suffering from post concussion symptoms (Baker et al., 2015; Ransom et al., 2015; Swanson et al., 2017; Wasserman, Bazarian, Mapstone, Block, & Wijngaarden, 2016). More specifically, researchers have found that concussed student athletes had difficulty returning back to the classroom. Surprisingly, some reported having problems with vision and the severity of the concussion also effected

In the article “The Case Against High School Sports”, Amanda Ripley provides solid reasons on whether sports have a negative effect on students’ academic progress. Along with solid reasons, Ripley gives the audience live examples to support her claim. Ripley claims that eliminating sports is the best way to improve students’ academic progress because students will have a larger emphasis on intelligence.

Jan Kievlen, Positive Climates for Learning Specialists at the York Region District School Board stated that, ""When parents remember why they are enrolling their child into a sport, it helps them to keep the focus on the development of the character rather than just ‘winning’. It also is important to keep the sport ‘fun’” (tvoparents.tvo.org, 2011). One may believe children play sports just to have fun in their free time, but it also has a positive impact on them. ““Children’s participation in organized extracurricular activities has been associated with positive short-and-long-terms outcomes”” (Guèvremont, 2011). Therefore, extra-curricular activities should be mandatory in a student’s life because it helps them gain new skills, exercise and is a stress reliever.

Sports play a major role on our lives, which could be as simple as if we watched or play it. Although, not everyone has so much passion for the love of sports for many reasons. These two articles talk about how playing a high school sport, can harm or benefit you. In the article, “The Case Against High School Sports,” by Amanda Ripley claims that high school sports cost too much money, and the academic is more important. On the other hand, in the article, “Psychological and Social Benefits of Playing True Sport,” by U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) claims that playing sports can actually be the best thing for students. I believe that playing a high school sport can benefit students, and teach a few things as they grow up into the world.

The second source states that students who participate in sport programs are more than likely to gain a good amount of "Sportsmanship" because most High School sports are recognized for their "Potentional Educational Benefits. The National Federation of State Highschool Activity Association promotes this to gain better chances of the youth having a more positive outcome as well as expanding their horizons of educational oppurtunities.bBut there are more things to depend on for education just than sports like "Have Sports Teams Brought Down Americas Schools?" by Elizabeth Kolbert stated, American high schools spend more time wasting money on sports than on more significant subjects such as Math or Language

Each and every year, millions of students will participate in high school sports. In the same year, there will be millions of people questioning whether or not sports will benefit the students education. “The number of participants in high school sports increased for the 25th consecutive year in 2013-2014 with a record total of almost 7.8 million, according to the annual High School Athletics Participation Survey conducted by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)”. High school sports are a huge part of a student’s education, but many believe that they will take away from the student’s academic education. We all have to take in and understand the full affect of

Sports participation is something that is looked at closely in todays society because of the amount of participants there are in sports today. Social classes and participation is heavily influenced by the way people live their lives, where they live, what country they live in , and perhaps most importantly, the socioeconomic class they may fall into. In some understatements, sports may serve as an identifier of what social class a family or individual may fall into, simply by looking at who we are dealing with and what sport this individual may play. As a student in a sport sociology class we find trends in countries worldwide when comparing certain sport involvement and social class. Throughout this essay I will have three arguments that will support my point about social class and participation in sports. My first point will be how economic resources affect the middle-class, second will be how social capital affects middle-class sports, and lastly lower-class and participation in sports.

Sports are embedded in many American schools in a way they are not anywhere else. One element of our educational system consistently surprises them, “Sports are a huge deal in American schools,” says Earl Smith of the New York Times. The positives have always outweighed the negatives in the case against high school sports. As Sato Kai state, “The benefits of sports as part of the education process are abundant and sometimes beyond quantifications,” According to many academic specialists, sports offer formative and life long lessons such as: discipline, responsibility, self confidence, and accountability. These skills can furthermore excel your later life and give you a greater chance of being employed in a high level job. Participation in high school sports helps your later development as an adult and teaches you life long skills that can't be taught elsewhere.

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.