An average day for freshman football player Greyson Felner consists of an eight hour school day, three hour sports practice, two hour homework load, and maybe, if he has time, an one or so hour block of free time. However, these are just statistics, and they vary far and wide depending on the particular student. This then begs the question: How does a student manage both school and sports? What are their universal thoughts and worries and joys in relation to this? When asked, each student athlete is more than capable of listing a slew of joys they experience in relation to being on a high school sports team. Emily Calhoun, a Freshman on the Varsity Volleyball team, laughingly admitted that, ”It's nice to be known around school.” She also took the time to explain that being an athlete in high school is probably the best experience she could ever have because her teammates became something like a second family. Calhoun, however, is not alone in her opinion. Freshman cross country runner Clark Bowden also stated that, “I loved running cross country. It helped me get through the first part of high school and I had a ton of fun.” These opinions are neither limited to person, nor are they limited to age. Senior Joel Choi says of golf, “It's a very time consuming sport [golf], but if you put in the right practice, it's very rewarding.” Even coaches understand the significant role that being on a sports team plays in the life of a student athlete. Madison Varsity Golf coach Derrick Rauenzahn denoted that, “... athletes find sports fun and enjoyable, and they actually reduce stress, and increase healthy social skills.” Nonetheless, along with these joys come consequences that many student athletes struggle to deal with. Many sacrifice... ... middle of paper ... ...deal about organization and time management. He recounted how playing sports helped develop him as a professional adult. “A lot of it comes down to students’ grit. It is well known that sports, and other extracurriculars such as band, chorus, and drama, help foster students’ grit development.” added Coach Rauenzahn in congruence with what being a successful student athlete boiled down to. Being a student athlete, although rigorous and strenuous, is completely worth the time and effort, because in the end, what is acquired from a high school sports experience is substantially more than meets the eye. A game that one loves becomes the foundation from which vital life skills are honed and gained. “There has never been something I have been more proud to be a part of. I am sincerely grateful and blessed to be a Madison student athlete.” Amber Liu (Varsity Golf, ‘16).
High school sports are approached with clashing opinions. Some of these opinions are positive, and supportive of athletics. “Athleticism, among many activities, offers teens a physical outlet to exert their troubles, anger, emotions, and other feelings” (Chen 1). This can be observed in nearly all of the football players in Friday Night Lights. This can also be noticed in the world today. “Athletics help high school students understand their own abilities and talents” (Chen 1). This piece of evidence is very accurate when describing high school athletes. Sports can make a high school student humble. As can be seen by the preceding information, high school athletics can have a positive impact on a student’s life.
According to Sheed, “Schools and colleges also teach something by their very natures, which is that you are now playing for a whole community and not just yourself” (498). Typically, what Sheed is saying is that sports have brought peers, schools, students, and even communities together to share and engage in one thing they love, sports. The people that are not even engaged in the physical aspect of sports are still brought together. They are able to cherish their favorite teams and show pride as their team endures the road to glory.
A common denominator that successful people share is the involvement of playing a varsity sport in high school. Every high school in the United States is different, however all encourage students to get involved. Most commonly, students decide to join sports. High school sports can cause profitable effects because students live healthier lives, achieve higher grades and learn life lessons.
All college students sitting in classrooms today face challenges that can impede their success. A challenging course schedule, competing demand for the student’s time, and college readiness are all factors that can hinder a student’s performance in the classroom. Moreover, these challenges also have the ability to impact the student’s overall student development. While most students share a common set of stressors, there are certain groups on campus that face pressures and challenges that are not shared by the majority of their peers. Student athletes are such a group. Joshua Watson (2005) noted the positive benefits of participating in intercollegiate activities, but also noted that such participation can lead to issues of “maladjustment, emotional illness, and psychological distress” (p. 442).
There is never enough of anything in the life of a college student. there is never enough time to study, or enough food, or enough money, or enough time to sleep. But, if that student becomes a college athlete then all of the “or’s” change to “and’s”. Even though there are many struggles of a college athlete they are not going away. As the youth of America watches their older counterparts excel in many college sports, a dream to become an athlete at the collegiate level is sparked. This dream is fueled through high school sports and then disseminated by high school counselors. Counselors who are quick to remind that sports do not bring home a paycheck. Neverless, this dream of college sports thrives and is present in the mind of every high
Being involved in a school sports team can help students develop skills like teamwork. When Junior made the basketball team, Junior said, “My coach and the other players wanted me to be good. They needed me to be good. They expected me to be good. And so I became good.”(180). Alexie is trying to show that playing a sport and working with a team
Sports are a crucial part of an individual 's character. Counter arguments made against having sports at schools are getting more and more public. The arguments make people, think again about having students play sports. Sports are useful because they give players skills they can use on and off the field: strength, leadership, and confidence.
Colleges demand a well-rounded resume that students are trying to fulfill so they can get accepted to the college or university they desire most. “We know schools and families are embedded in society and are responding to its changing requirements and demands, with respect to the competitiveness to the college admissions process, the kinds of skills needed to succeed in the workforce, and even uncertainties in the global economy” (NYU Study Examines), in a study, students from a big university admit to finding that students are becoming more stressed out because of college pressures while still in high school. Colleges are trying to find the students that can succeed in both academics and extracurricular activities. Once students get into college, student athletes can buy a book written by Carl I. Fertman appropriately titled Student Athlete Success – Meeting the Challenges of College Life, to help organize their priorities with their busy schedule. This is a work book that allows the college athletes relate to other college athletes that feel the same way they do. College has its own set of challenges that high school students usually do not face, so this book would help the students cope with these new challenges. In the first section, there is a heading that is labeled “What Student-Athletes Say” with a list of common quotes from student athletes themselves. For example “Sometimes I feel like student athletes have extra pressure and greater expectations placed on them than other students. Everyone knows who we are and people are looking at us to catch us doing something wrong”. (2), which shows how students that do participate in sports feel as though they have added pressure because they are so well known in most cases. Although they do commit to being more known than a regular student when they join a sports team, it is often not fair to the
For many years, college athletes have been in the spotlight for criticism. The number one reason for this criticizing is the low graduation rates from the athletes. The lowest graduation rates tend to come from football and men’s basketball. For most college students the top priority is to come to college and receive their diploma. In a survey that was constructed for college athletes and their experiences throughout college, it was also one of their top priorities to graduate from college (Potuto). Being a student athlete can have many benefits, but at the same time it can have many down falls.
First of all high school sports are not beneficial because it puts too much stress on the kids because they want to make their parents happy and want to keep their grades up or if they don’t they could get cut from the team . The pressure from the parents is sometimes too much. According to KCRA.com this statement is important because it highlights that they have to worry about not getting dropped from the team because they have to make sure grades are staying up and then they have to worry about their practice and being a valuable player on the team. According to helpguide.org this could lead to, a lot of stress and that could be bad for the student because they might get health
Many people think that sports can negatively affect how a student performs academically. In fact, in 2009, the University of California at Berkeley voted to ask the chancellor to stop funding the cost of intercollegiate sports, and use the money for other things around the campus that focus more on the “Academics First” resolution. “We look to the Academic Senate to represent faculty interests in maintaining the integrity of UC Berkeley as first and foremost a site of research and learning. At a campus ranked best public university in the world for its academic quality, academics must come first”. But there are also so many reasons why students should participate in physical activity and why athletics need to stay a very important part of any school’s focus, elementary through college level. Playing a sport helps you learn better time management, improve social and emotional skills, and your brain becomes more active.
First and foremost, being on a sports team can draw you closer to some people you never talk to. It can also create friendships and concoct new bonding moments for the players. By being a part of a team, the teammates are constantly around each other. Rather it be practice or ballgames, you are steadily surrounded by teammates. Of course, most already have peers on the sports team, but being around
Sports can help many at- risk youths. In order to participate in sports you need to be committed and willing to work hard. You also have to learn to respect others and accept that winning isn’t the only measure of success. Losing can build character as well. When youth participate in a sports they enjoy, they are less likely to engage in behaviors that are harmful or dangerous to themselves and others. It is for these reasons schools should strive to maintain athletic programs for their students.
Vince Lombardi, one of the most successful football coaches of all time, said, “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but a lack of will.” Although Lombardi was primarily speaking about success on the turf, he was also speaking about success in life. Aside from being a phenomenal leader on the field, Lombardi was a leader in all aspects of life and stands as a role model for many young student athletes. When student athletes apply this extraordinary will to their academics alongside athletics, the stellar character of these young adults is revealed. Unfortunately for these athletes, many people, especially educators, blame athletics for struggles within the classroom. A common controversy amongst parents, educators, coaches, and athletes is if education is severely affected by athletic participation. When the results of classroom performance aren’t proficient or greater, it is easy to blame sports because of their time consuming nature. This topic carries a lot of weight for kids ranging from middle school to graduate students because, for many, involvement in athletics is a crucial part of developing important life skills that cannot be attained through a classroom setting, and may be the student’s only method of social outreach. Sports serve as a sanctuary, an escape, a passion, and so much more to each individual involved. Athletics have the potential to negatively impact education, if you allow them to yet research shows just as many cases of sports having positive affects on education as cases of sports being detrimental towards education. The truth of the matter is that your education is your responsibility, and sports cannot be blamed for a lack of succes...
Sports programs have been an integral part of all schools. They support the academics of the school and therefore foster success in life. These programs are educational and help produce productive citizenship. They help students experience and build skills that may help them in their future, like interpersonal and time management skills. Education may kindle the light of knowledge, but sports help to maintain the proper physique. Sports are also an important means of entertainment and a use for energy after long hours of study. Sports increase a student’s performance not only in the classroom but also in their life.