The Importance Of Student Athletes In High School Sports

It goes without saying that athletics are enormously influential in the social sphere of high school. While academics are more impactful on one's future, immediate popularity is something numerous teenagers covet. Countless students try out for sports every year for multiple reasons, one of the most prevalent being the aspiration of becoming a school celebrity. While that is indeed an excellent benefit, the reason I initially joined the tennis team was to have a group to be a part of. But there was always this one thought that loomed over me. Why does it mean more to be on the baseball team than it does to be a member of the tennis team? Whereas students would gather and attend football, basketball, and baseball games to support the school's athletes, the tennis benches remained empty all spring. My teammates, too, realized that our sport was not favored. Naturally, we harbored resentment towards members of the admired teams. Though belonging is a natural human desire, malicious actions are easier to perform once a group has been formed. Mob mentality blinded our team and caused us to behave in ways that we would not dare alone. It is my opinion that the envy experienced by my team is an inescapable feature of society; I will present and examine this feature and what is says about our world, but I'm going to begin by reflecting on the spiteful activities my team conducted.

In “The Case Against High School Sports,” Amanda Ripley, a journalist for The Atlantic, states that America is spending more money on high school sports rather than on academic purposes. “High School Sports Aren’t Killing Academics, “ written by Daniel Bowen, a postdoctoral scholar at Rice University, and Colin Hitt, an assistant professor at the University of Arkansas, discusses the benefits that come out of sports programs to improve the classroom and the school’s social capital. Co-founder of a sports recruiting social network, Kai Sato’s article “The Case For High School Sports,” focuses on how school does not just involve scoring well on a math test but to educate us to be productive in what lies ahead. Ripley’s article discusses how

High school sports make student athletes strive for better success in their education. Sure some Schools have a minimum G.P.A requirement of 2.0, and to get that all your classes have to be “C” or better. Well that’s better than letting them have a 1.0 and letting them play. It makes them have something worth studying for, For example my friend Bryan Garcia does not like school or work but he is always looking for ways to make his grades better so that he may play with the John F. Kennedy soccer team. Also not all the states in the United States of America have a G.P.A requirement to play in a sport activity, twelve out of the fifty states in the USA require a G.P.A to play."A High School Athlete 's GPA Vs. Average High School Student 's GPA." Everyday Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2016.”Sports participation is associated with higher GPAs, lower dropout rates and stronger commitments to school compared to the average,non-athlete high school student”. Also they made a study for Kansas in 2008-2009 between athletes and non-athletes,Academic Performance Of Athletes And Non‐Athletes, and Page 41. COMPARING THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES AND NON-ATHLETES IN KANSAS IN 2008-2009 (n.d.): n. pag. Web.”high school athletes earned higher grades,graduated at a higher rate, dropped out of school less frequently, and scored higher on state assessments than did non-athletes”. Student athletes have a greater chance of graduating with a 3.0 or more. They are more

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.

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

From the outside looking in, collegiate athletes live a life of luxury. They have the opportunity to perform the sport they love in front of massive crowds, and some are provided an opportunity for free schooling. Although this is undoubtedly true, outsiders are not capable of comprehending the true hardships associated with college athletics. Although they are granted acceptance and often a scholarship to their school of choice, they are not truly granted the opportunity to utilize their school’s academic resources to their fullest potential due to the immense amount of time that they are expected and required to devote to their sport. These activities include film review and playbook studies, team meals, traveling to and from games or

There has been many occasions where high school teachers have to make a hard decision when an athlete is failing, what should they do. I believe that no high school athlete deserves any help from their teachers in order to play. They should be able to complete the circumstances needed in school if they truly wanted to play the sport these athletes are in. If this idea was allowed in high school what will happen to these kids later on in life like in college, will they be able to accomplish the goals at that point when it matters most?

As a student who has participated in high school sports and taken multiple AP and honors level classes, I know the challenges that accompany the standard school schedule. Practices and games for the basketball team took up over three hours of my time six days every week. During school days, I had to leave my fifth period early when I had games, taking away from my valuable learning time. This forced me to try to learn the material that I had missed during the time I was participating in an event that allowed me to represent my school district. This, accompanied by the homework of all my classes, led to my loss of sleep. During my freshman year, I went to bed around 12 A.M. every night and woke up at 6:30 A.M. the next day, allowing me three

A 2016 study by the NCAA revealed that there are nearly eight million students who participate in high school athletics in the United States, yet only 480,000 of them will compete at NCAA schools ("Probability of Competing Beyond High School"). Of that approximate 16% who become a student-athlete, an even smaller percent will graduate and become professional athletes. For example, data from the 2015 NFL Draft demonstrates that there is less than a 2% chance of playing in the NFL. During the 2015 Draft, there were 72,788 NCAA football participants, only 16,175 of those were draft eligible for the 256 slots which equates to a 1.6% chance of being drafted to the NFL. According to the NCAA, of the 256 NCAA players selected in the 2015 NFL draft 236 were from Division I FBS institutions, 17 were from Division I FCS programs, two were from Division II programs, and only one was from a Division III program. Student-athletes from the power five conferences accounted for for 200 of the 256 draft picks (SEC=54, ACC=47, Pac-12=39, Big Ten=35, Big 12=25) ("Probability of Competing Beyond High School", 2016). With there being a small percentage of playing professional sports after college, the importance of a college degree has become a priority for many student-athletes.

Dean Clark Carter, I am a junior student here at Charleston Southern University. I write in regards to an issue I have noticed on campus and would like to bring to your attention; should student athletes receive special academic treatment? I believe that CSU should hold a student forum about this issue so that all students gain knowledge about the topic, can share and debate opinions, and create possible solutions.

In my current school, St. Jerome’s, I participate in almost everything sport and activity that I can and enjoy participating in. Through my future years at Hill-Murray, I know that all the activities and sports that I participate in at St. Jerome School will be overtaken by the immense amounts of homework that every high school student endures, but others have managed, and so will I.

College athletes are put into games that are not only televised nationally, but sometimes even worldwide. They gain acknowledgement similar to famous figures that any other person would covet. What goes unnoticed is the life behind the player. How’s their school grades? What do they do with their time? Being a student athlete means that person must manage time between school work and a busy sport schedule. This person also must fulfill the academic requirements of a student athlete to be eligible to play. The requirements are set at a 2.3 minimum GPA and 16 completed core classes. Of those 16 classes, ten must be completed before the start of senior year, and 7 must be completed with english, math, or science classes. Transfer students are

As we all know, it is every high school athletes dream to go forth and play at the college level, or perhaps even the professional level. There are over 48.9 million students enrolled in public schools in grades pre-k through 12th grade, and another 5.3 million students enrolled in private schools. Of those in public schools alone are 14.8 million high school students in grades 9th through 12th. (nces.ed.gov) Among those high schools are 7.7 million athletes competing not just for victory, but for scholarships as well. (bangordailynews.com)

Throughout the history of college sports, athletes have been viewed as “student-athletes.” However, in the last two decades, universities have placed an emphasis on athletes and the sports they play, rather than their education and well-being. School has not been coming first, and this has caused a struggle for athletes to become eligible to make grades. For example, the University of North Carolina had paper classes where the football players would get credits, but did not need to show up for class; they only had to complete one paper and most got A’s or B’s.

A lot of people throughout the world go into college thinking that playing a division one sport would be something that would be a really significant thing to do and that it won’t be so difficult to do, as the individuals who are getting recruited and going to play a college sport to play the game. In college athletics today, teams are practicing and working out usually around five times a week. Student athletes have to manage their time between all their school work, practices, and sometimes even a part time job on the side. Not only is it a lot of stress put on these particular students, as they have a lot to do throughout the week juggling between all these aspects of being a college athlete, but it is a lot of sleepless nights as well.