Student Athlete Benefits

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.”

Academic success is important for both high school and college athletes. To be eligible to participate, athletes must maintain a certain GPA. Student athletes that don’t make school a priority, not only miss out on playing time, but also fail to prepare themselves for the next step in their life. For high school athletes, that means prepare for college while for college athlete, it means preparing to enter the workforce. Although, both high school and

“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.

Playing sports or even having the knowledge of them can result into happier and more social students. In the video Notebook: Kids and Sports, Katie Couric states, “Playing sports cannot only give kids more confidence, it can also give them more rewarding friendships” (Notebook). This implies that our school can be more successful if we have greater variety of sports kids can join. Although being happier and more social isn't the only benefit of being in sports.

Although sports may help increase levels of fitness and overall health, is it worth it if you end up breaking your bones anyways? Not to mention how some injuries would impact academics. Unless you want to pursue a career in athletics focusing too much on sports would do no benefits. Overall sports seem to have a negative effect on our youth participants. Not many realize how many injuries one can get, or how money wasted on sports impacts other students.

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.

Jolley, D. (2009). Academic Achievement Is Improving for College Athletes. In C. Watkins, Sports and Athletes (pp. 71-78). Detroit: Greenhaven Press.

Rebecca Lobo once said“Athletes who take to the classroom naturally or are encouraged to focus on grades should be able to do well in the classroom. I believe the reason you go to college is to get your degree. It's not a minor league or an audition for the pros.” many athletes should read these and apply it to their life because college isn't about trying to play in the pros if you're an athlete sure you can have a dream, but you need to also get a degree that should be the main focus not getting a tryout or an audition for the pros. Every year around one hundred seventy-seven thousand athletic scholarships is given out to those that stood out in their sport, whether it was basketball, football, or even baseball. The kids receiving these scholarships are given a free

Many athletes spend lots of hours dedicated to their sport of choice. They do this by practicing in their free time, team practice, team meetings, and traveling. Then, they have to study for their classes. This to me is like working a full time job with a heavy load ofn classes you have to attend to and do well. Dave Anderson stated, “College athletes spend an average of 43.3 hours per week dedicated to their sport” (Anderson 1). Also, Anderson stated, “This means that college athletes have to work 90 hours per week just to remain in school on their scholarship. This is the equivalent to working two full time jobs with a side job on the weekends just to pay their bills” (Anderson 2). Sports can put a lot of stress on a student’s school work achievement goals. People should know that college for student athletes demands a lot out of them and basically drains them physically as well as mentally. This is based on all the time they spend on sports and

With another year going by, fans watched another exciting NCAA Basketball Tournament and another football season filled with highlights and heartbreak. Many people think that the NCAA is as popular as professional sports. It’s a fact that it’s annual revenue can challenge this opinion. College football and basketball generate more than the National Basketball Association, a total of more than $6 billion yearly (Nocera, Joe). There is one major difference between the two associations, however. NBA players get paid for the all the money they help bring in, while NCAA athletes receive no compensation. Getting an education for free is not enough anymore; especially if the NCAA wants to act as a money making business, but not reward those who

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.

Interestingly though, a source that did agree with the evidence that athletes receive higher GPA’s in school than do non-athletes, went on the explain how athletics were degrading to the academic experience gained during high school. Hauser and Lueptow (1978) go on to explain in their article, “Participation in Athletics and Academic Achievement: A Replication and Extension”, that high school athletes do not gain as much during the high school years as do non-athletes, thus experiencing a relative decline in overall achievement. They seem to think hard work in athletics will cause less retaining of information learned in school in the long run. While Hauser and Lueptow (1978) explained in their article that this claim was backed by research done by others in the past, I was unable

They are held to a higher academic standard, resulting in higher grades (Logos). In most cases, if a student does not meet the grade requirement, they are not allowed to participate. This motivates students do not care as much about academics to work harder and get better grades. Schools that have strong athletic programs also have higher test scores. Participating in sports can help students find a place where they fit in It has been proven that student athletes have higher self-esteem, which leads to higher academic achievement. Sports are a great way to burn off steam and relieve stress after a long day of school. Not to mention, involvement in sports is a great way to make long lasting friendships and it makes school more enjoyable. Athletes are more involved in school activities and in the community. This helps bring the community together. Sports enrich and contribute to education.

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.