The Importance Of High School Cliques

Collegiate sports have turned into a billion dollar industry and are probably just as popular, if not more popular than professional sports. College athletes put their bodies on the line to play a sport they love, many with hopes and dreams to one day make it to the professional leagues. Athletic facilities are the major money makers for all universities. Colleges bring in billions of dollars in revenue annually, yet athletes do not get paid. Some fans believe athletes should not get paid due to their sports level being “amateurish.”; however, this is far from the truth. There is much more to being a college athlete than just practicing and playing games. These student-athletes must practice, weight lift, go to meetings, travel, go to tutoring and study groups, all the while maintaining sufficient grades. This is very tedious work and is very time consuming. College athletes have a high standard to live up to (Frederick Web; Huma Web; Patterson Web ).

When watching a movie about high schoolers, there are usually many different groups of students who all conform to one social group only. Take the movie High School Musical for example. There is specifically one scene devoted to a song about fitting in with the “status quo”. There are stereotypical groups such as jocks, nerds, theater geeks, skater kids, and the popular kids in this movie and in other movies like it. Each of these groups can be broken down and explained more in depth.

The mindset that society thrusts upon most high school athletes can take away from academics and other opportunities they may have for their future. For many high school football athletes, they are primarily focused on one thing throughout their high school years: sports. Evidence 1: In towns such as Odessa in Friday Night Lights, players are swallowed up by the glamour of football and neglect most things not related to football, rather than balance sports with academics. “It was a phenomenon that Trapper had seen dozens of times before, a kid so caught up in it all that there was no room for anything else, another kid for whom nothing in life would ever be so glorious, so fulfilling as playing high school football. Trapper didn’t see the

That assumption does not fit meat all; I study on the way to and from games to earn that grade. There were many late nights in high school when I would get home from an away game and still have plenty of homework to get done, and I would spend many hours after late games doing homework or just studying. I spent many hours after practice, on the way to game and on the way home from games studying just so I can make that grade that I strived for. I believe that being an athlete really helped me want to succeed on my class work, having that desire to want to be the best and have great success. The title “dumb jock” is starting to be redefined in this generation. Many jocks have higher grade point averages than regular students that do not participate in sports. The average graduation success rate for student athletes that began college in the year 2003 was 79%. This rate has continually been the same for the past two years and continues to be the highest graduation success rate in division I history. NCAA President Mark Emmert stated that “The data continues to erase the perception of the so called “dumb jock”.

If children follow the example set by today's athletes, the definition would equal a sore loser. High school sports should be a fun way to physically express yourself as an athlete, but at the same time learn some of life's lessons, like sportsmanship, discipline, and respect. In today's society, winning comes before everything, but if winning requires neglect of good sportsmanship, then nothing is gained in the long run.

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.

Jack was a boy who wanted to fit in with everybody in school. It took him awhile to understand that cliques begin in middle school. Realizing that he got labeled as “nerd” for reading books and having glasses, he decided to change his appearance. Jack stated, “I figured if I wore clothes that were more like everyone else’s I could pass for cool, or at least not be made fun of” (Garrod, 2012, p. 180). Along with the wardrobe change, he also convinced his parents to let him use contact lens’ and went to the dentist to fix his yellow patched teeth. Jack noticed how his peers picked on him during school. Even if he thought someone was his friends he knew if he did something they did not approve of, they would turn their back on him. He did not

College athletes are known more because of their sports rather than what they are actually majoring in. College athletes put in immense effort and time towards the sport. They make the sport their main priority and manage their lives primarily around the team and sport they are playing. Many college athletes, especially basketball and football players are recruited to become a part of college level team. The athletes decide what college to go to by evaluating the prestige of the sports programs rather than the college itself. For many college athletes is a platform to play the sport they are passionate about. In addition to their passion for the sport, college athletes also put in effort and time towards their respective sports.

My brother was a typical jock in high school and he even started out playing football for the Jay Bulldogs. It wasn’t in till his sophomore year in high school that he admitted he despised football and all he wanted to do was join the wrestling team. That fateful not only changed my brother’s life, but it also

For example, a student for his/her senior year has been recognized as the MVP (most valuable player). Upon being recognized he has been chosen for a certain amount of money for college/university. Most college/universities (not including community college) cost a lot of money to pay, so the student must do well in school to get the awards and/or sign up for financial aid so that they can pay for tuition (along with a few other things). Jocks know this, and they must play well, as a team, to get the scholarship(s). This develops leadership skills and enhances certain educated factors in the system, if they think about it.

The stereotypes that male athletes face is tough. Dumb jock is an athlete that is really dumb, but everyone knows them because of their athletic ability. Many people around the world mostly classmates and teachers think that all athletes do not take their academics seriously or just do not know how to do the work. It was said that people think teachers just give out good grades to an athlete because they do well in the sport that they play. Fellow students and teachers say athletes cannot hold a conversation about anything else but sport and girls.

Jocks are more of the active students of the school when it comes to sports. They would take sports very seriously. Grades would be important to them but not as much as nerds. Jocks

The “dumb jock” stereotype we’ve all heard it used before and for some of us have even been called it. However in recent surveys across the United States has found that student-athletes grades are generally higher than

Surviving high school is no easy task. From the very first day of class, students are forced to find comradery in various social circles. These cliques can range from sports jocks, to math and band geeks, to school club members, and to the social outcasts who could care less about school. While there are more various types of groups, the most common are the jocks and the nerds. As far as everybody in the school in concerned, the popular athletes and the “wimpy” nerds are from two very different planets. However, while there are a lot of differences between the two as far as physical appearance goes, I had the honor of being part of both worlds, and I know for a fact that they have more in common than either would care to admit.

Best companion for sports: Jocks can be your best friends for your regular workouts. Their supportive cut helps you to keep you free from chaffing or rubbing of your thighs. The pouch at the front supports your male anatomy and can save you from getting hurt.