Student Athlete Potential

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).

In the article, Class and Cleats: Community College Student Athletes and Academic Success, Horton first examines the statistics of evidence showing college athletes and their underachievement. There are many instances of concern about college athletes and their poor grades having an affect of their athletic responsibilities, though this belief is usually denied due to a student always being a student before anything else. This study researches the idea of the way that college students and college athletes view success. Many college athletes tend to state that success is passing all courses and being more successful in their sport, rather than academics coming first (Horton, 2009).

Depending on the sport that a child participates in, most sports require physical activity. Research has shown that “physical movement can affect the brain’s physiology by increasing cerebral capillary growth, blood flow, oxygenation, growth of nerve cells in the hippocampus, neurotransmitter levels, development of nerve connections, density of neural network, and brain tissue volume” (Donaldson 4). In other words, physical exercise causes short-term relaxation, improved concentration, enhanced creativity and memory, improved mood, and enhanced problem-solving abilities. Sport can help prevent drug and alcohol abuse by teaching young athletes to be aware of their body and how it responds to different stimuli and circumstances. Athletes learn to value what their bodies can do and to maintain those abilities (Jones 2). Being an athlete gives kids an acceptable reason to say no to drugs, alcohol, and other unhealthy behaviors when offered by their peers.

In particular, sports can improve how long you can concentrate in classes or doing homework late at night. Most humans may be considered a, “couch potato,”

When looking at the topic of academic success of African American student athletes you need to look at all the factors involved. The problems that African American student athletes face are much the same that all African American students at higher education institutions face but the student athletes have other stressors that the normal students do not have. Such as In addition to the daily student routine (attending classes, going to the cafeteria, and participating in social events), student athletes also have their sport-related activities (practicing every day, visiting the athletic trainer for injury treatment, traveling for away games, studying team plays) (Watt, Moore 2001).

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

The study revealed that these high-achieving African-American male student-athletes come from advantaged and disadvantaged communities; however, their education upbringings were similar (Martin et al 277-278). These student-athletes were more goal-oriented and clearly understood the importance of academic success (Martin et al 277-278). Moreover, these student-athletes were highly respected leaders and role models in other areas and possessed a positive mental attitude with great work ethics (Martin et al 279). As a result, these student-athletes tend to perform at an extremely high-level athletically due to the lack of academic stresses that come with the rigors of college life (Martin et al

As a student athlete, you might not be able to get into the pros in athletics. If you get beyond college in football, according to the NCAA in 2016 there were 72,788 football participants in the NCAA (NCAA). But of those 72,788 participants only 1.6% of them went pro (NCAA). That’s only about 1,164 college participants that move on to the Major Pros. Not only that but if you’re competing in women's basketball, only 0.9% of 16,589 players are eligible to play pro (NCAA). That’s about 149 players that are able to play in the pros. So if you don’t make it to the pros, you should meet requirements for other jobs. Even so, if you do make it to the pros, you might go broke after you retire. According to Forbes, “Sports Illustrated recently estimated

Only one and a half percent of college football players will have the opportunity to be on an NFL roster in their life. Yet, nearly one million high school football players have aspirations of playing in the NFL. The realization that so many high school athletes have dreams of playing a college or professional sport is concerning. However, the counter argument is students should be allowed to dream big and shoot for the stars. While I firmly believe that one should be allowed to have high expectations, he should be aware that it is impossible for him to fully achieve his potential.

The health benefits of physical fitness on brain health are well documented. The benefits range from improving memory and thought process to a reducing the chances of developing depression and illnesses such as dementia. Several studies have been released that show strong correlation between physical fitness and the overall health of the brain. According to a Harvard Medical School posting published on April 2014, researchers at the University of British Columbia have established that regular aerobic exercise that engages the heart and sweat glands have a capacity to increase the size of the hippocampus.

Physical activity in schools helps activate the brain, improve on-task behavior during academic instruction time.

The ability for high school sports to give athletes a break from the classroom allows them to clear their minds. Students have the chance to forget about the things that may be bothering them as well as allowing them to have fun for a bit. Research shows that the movement of the brain’s physiology has an effect on the way that a person does things throughout their life. In fact, a study shows that people who have been physically activity or have participated in sports when they were younger are happier because they have been releasing endorphins which releases stress. Stress is the leading cause of depression in the United States and by exercising, the rate of stress in which a person has can be lowered. High school sports does not just benefit a person's mental health but also a person's physical health.

I impacted a lot of little kids lives with my dedication, drive, and how I was always positive. Everyone is not always surrounded by positivity and leadership. Younger kids nowadays go to school for everything but education. Whenever I get a chance to talk to someone I always tell them how important education is. I didn't have a great academic start out when I was younger. But if I didn't change my mindset, my academics could have been way worse. Since I've been through the struggle, I can encourage kids and tell them that anything is possible when you give it all you got. In the end, I was still able to get into college and play on the basketball team there.

Physical activity is shown to increase academic outcomes when activities include areas of judgment, communication, and memory.(Intrator & Siegel, 2008, p. 4)

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.