Ultimate Frisbee Journey

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).

By participating in Greek life, the students’ social circles are expanded. Because sororities and fraternities are specific to gender, religions, races, and even majors, those who participate in Greek life create lifelong relationships with people they choose to associate with by

Literature surrounding athletic participation and its impact on the college experience is well documented (LaForge & Hodge, 2011). Many scholars purport that athletic participation enhances the academic experience, while others argue that it creates a divide between colleges’ missions and student-athletes lived campus experiences. To support this claim, Lawrence, Henedricks & Ott (2007) found in their study that nearly one-third of faculty who responded to their survey indicated that they believed that academic standards are lowered to achieve success in the sports of football and basketball. One question that is often posed by

The NCAA believes “that a student-athlete is a student first and athlete second.” Student-athletes benefit more than from playing a sport that they love. The graduation rate is higher among the student athletes than the general student body. “NCAA studies show that student-athletes enjoy high levels of engagement in academics, athletics and community: have positive feeling about their overall athletics and academic experiences: attribute invaluable life skills to being a student-athlete: and are more likely to earn similar or higher wages after college than non-student athletes.”

Everyone knows that athletics are a big factor of any college. In some cases, the larger the university, the more athletics it may have to offer. Of course spending weekends and some weekdays watching your favorite sports event will cause a lot of fun, but what about damaging effects to your academics. Many college students have seen a tremendous drop in their GPA’s due to being caught up in a football game rather than a textbook. Some community colleges do have a small athletic program, but has shown to not have as many negative effects on a student’s academics. College is a lot different from high school, you are there because you want to be and it makes it more exciting because you want to learn. The teachers respect you and are open to any questions you may have.

Athletic programs in college have grown tremendously since they first began years ago, and now some believe that collegiate athletics have no place in higher education. Contrary to this, if one takes a closer look they see that college athletics do play a valuable role in higher education and should continue to play a part in the college experience. Students who participate in college athletics help carry out their school’s traditions, and by competing at such a high level they have the chance to put their school on the map. While competing, these people handle the load of a full-time college student and learn to be responsible and reliable. Some see college athletics as just a business, but truly they provide an opportunity for young adults to compete in the sport that they love, while getting an education and learning lessons that will last a lifetime.

I conducted an interview with Dr. Martinez, the current principal of Early College High School explained that many of clubs that the school creates have become co-curricular activities or “classes” for two reasons: it easier to fund and to find a coordinator. Up until our interview, I was not aware of this process. However, I have witnessed this first hand as soccer was once an actual school sport, but it eventually became a class. Furthermore, Dr. Martinez noted that it is easier to get an extracurricular activity approved through either CCC or OCC than the school’s own district. Although the students do get to take part in an activity they have some interest in, it is rather considered a class rather than an extracurricular rather than an actual class. This becomes problematic because when students begin to apply for colleges, they are unable to consider as extracurricular because they are taking part in the extracurricular during the school schedule and not outside the classroom. Jeff Brenzel, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions at Yale University, explains in an interview posted by CollegeBoard, he explains that many colleges prefer students that are well rounded such that they are doing well in academics and involved in an organization. However, he explains that they prefer students that are involved in a organization that they are interested regardless of how popular or how bizarre the organization. This then

College athletic programs should be kept as an important part of the athlete’s academic schedule, and student athletes are considered an important part the student body. Every university or community college’s admissions and scholastic excellence for student-athletes should be planned to encourage educational success and

Athletes in college receives a lot of attention, through their practices and performance on and off the field.be. They uplift the names of their colleges and give it a name that would otherwise not be acquired. They make their college mates proud of their college, and they may boost enrolment of many others, which would benefit the school. Athletics stand a position to earn a school other benefits, not only to the players but other students too. They may win study scholarships for their school mates by their exemplary performance (Owens et al 20).

College was a dream that was made possible by playing more than one sport. College is an easy transition for these athletes because it’s not that much different from their high school lifestyle. The routine is easier for them, they can manage their time with homework, practices and a social life at a stress free cost because of their time management skills. In the early stages of an athlete’s recruitment, many coaches are drawn to them because of their multi-sport abilities. Making friends comes easy to those athletes and they have the ability to become close to all of your new teammates and with the coaching staff. Athletes can go into this season ready to play, healthy body at hand, and fully confident in their success in this year. This was all possible because they played multiple sports. It laid down the path to their dream. And like everyone else they did everything possible to help them achieve

The students not involved with athletics made most of their friends freshmen year by living in freshman dorms. Jen Pascarelli, a middler physical therapy major, and not an athlete, said “I made most of my friends freshman year, I lived in White Hall, and everyone just left their doors open.” She also made many of her friends because of her major. “My major is so small, all of my classes have the same people in them, so we all get to know each other,” said Pascarelli. Most non-athletes spend the majority of their time in their dorm rooms freshman year, because they haven’t gotten to know the area very well yet, and are not able to go to many clubs and bars. The problem with this mode of making friends for athletes is the fact that very little time is spent ‘hanging out’ within

Sports are one the best television programs that anyone can watch for entertainment. Anyone at a young age until to their oldest time can participate in any way in sports. Some individuals can participate as athletes, coaches, fan clubs, and team managements, however, participating or joining teams can differ from pays or rewards. In college, students has been participating in clubs and sports to get involved in school for requirements or due to scholarships. Specifically, student athletes who plays sports in college seems to get the most attention in college due to their entertaining and competitive games. As fun as it sounds, the universities whom student athletes play for gain huge profits from revenues due to these events, yet the rise

While deciding where one is going to attend college, one may decide to look into extracurricular activities to get involved on campus. Sometimes one may ask an adult they look up to about what they think one should get involved in, many would agree that one should go Greek. After listing to other adults, one may decide to go through the recruitment experience and find their home in Greek life. Since joining a Greek organization one can see how people see it as a way to gain many leadership skills along with a great way to network. However one understands that everything one is involved in has something negative, like Greek life have so many opportunities to party which is the only thing that many people see when they think of Greek life. While exploring how Greek life is a good thing and that the bad that comes with it is nothing compared to the good. For many people including myself Greek life is a place where someone can be oneself and learn many things about who one is along with the sisters around you that push you to be the best person you

Jordan Larson (1955) speaks of this in his article “Athletics and Good Citizenship”, “I believe that athletics in our high schools, properly handled help to develop good citizenship.” The overall attitude toward high school athletics is extremely positive in these relating articles. Further and more recent research shows that females who participate in high school athletics and more prone to graduate from college (Troutman, Dufur 2007). Troutman and Dufur (2007) conclude that females who engage in interscholastic high school sport have higher odds of completing college than do their counterparts