Title: Balancing Academics and Athletics: Insights and Challenges for Student Athletes. How does the decision to prioritize education over pursuing your dream impact the mental health and overall well-being of athletes? As an athlete myself, choosing between my dream and the reality I live in was one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever faced. Like many kids who fell in love with a certain activity with no limitations to their dreams, I always envisioned myself becoming the best football player in the world. Perhaps, that might be a bit too much, but is it out of reach? However, as I grew older, I had to face reality since, in a country like Lebanon, such opportunities are limited. Also, I would always have been criticized for pursuing my dream …show more content…
The essay, written by Andrea Rivera, offers a first-hand narrative of her struggles juggling the rigors of both academics and athletics as a student athlete. (Rivera, 2024) describes her difficulties with studies and athletics in the paper, She talks about how she nearly failed several of her classes while preparing for a major tournament. She tried to keep a strict schedule, but the pressure to succeed in sports caused her to skimp on homework and receive worse grades. After the championship, Rivera finally made the decision to temporarily put her education first, realizing that she needed to concentrate on her schoolwork and raise her academic standing. She draws attention to the potential detrimental effects on mental health, as well as the sacrifices and stress that come with putting athletics before academics. Andrea Rivera's personal story is engaging and accessible in my opinion because her narrative humanizes the topic and highlights the challenges experienced by student athletes in juggling their participation in sports and academics. Her story highlights the difficulties and sacrifices that student athletes face, which can have a serious negative impact on their mental health. It is consistent with the notion that giving …show more content…
With the heading "A 20-year study of suicide among athletes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association," According to the study, which examined data gathered between 2002 and 2022, the percentage of student athletes who died by suicide increased from 7.6% to 15.3% between the previous ten years and the current ten. In particular, there was a rise in male suicides from 31% to 67% and a rise in female suicides from 9% to 21%. According to the study, student athletes experience extreme stress while juggling their obligations to both athletics and academics, which contributes to the increased suicide rates. High expectations and the pressure to do well in both areas can cause anxiety, sadness, and failure phobia (Whelan et al., 2024). Regarding this source, I consider the figures to be concerning and suggestive of a serious problem. The study offers convincing proof that the strain and stress experienced by student athletes might have detrimental effects on their mental health, possibly even resulting in fatal repercussions. It emphasizes how important it is to focus on the mental health of student athletes and attend to their well-being. By offering scientific evidence to back up the idea that student athletes may experience mental health problems as a result of juggling their
Most student-athletes grow up as very innocent lads bedecked with tremendous talents and become very promising in sports. Thus, they become rays of hope for their families, neighborhoods, and schools yet to be determined. Like the lamb in William Blake’s poem The Lamb, they are fed “by the stream & o’er the mead; gave…clothing of delight, softest clothing, wooly, bright…making all the vales rejoice.” (Smith 24) Then they are exposed to the life of hard work in which only the fittest survives. This makes them ready for the different challenges in the sports scene.
When I was accepted into the University of Oklahoma, I was not aware of the tradition or prestige that the football team carried. Moreover, I had no idea about the honor it was to don the crimson and cream in the arena of athletics. And, I never envisioned rooming with them. I enjoyed sports, but I loved reading and writing more. Initially, I was focused on building a collegiate career that one day would propel me to my goal of studying law. Yet, the more time I spent interacting with the athletes, the more parallels I noticed between their personalities and mine. Their diligence, perseverance and compassion were all traits that I could identify with since they were reflective of me. For the most part, the majority of the athletes were hungry to achieve and they desired knowledge at all costs; a combination that still resonates with me today.
This semester has been really tiring. It has been really stressful for me lately with all my classes. It is hectic preparing for finals, finishing up end of the year projects, as well as practicing for state soccer. It is not easy being a 4.0 student athlete. It’s probably the most stressful thing for a high school student. Some people think that the athletes have it easy but they don’t. We have to work hard to earn our spot. We constantly have sports as well as school on our mind. It is especially hard for someone who wants to become a college athlete. They are trying to do everything possible to become the best athlete possible. They are in the weight room a lot trying to become stronger. Some may even have more than one sport to go to in one night. Going from the weight room to school to one sport practice to the other and then home to do homework is enough to overwhelm someone. You would think that the work load would start to slim down towards the end of the year but not in Mr. McGee’s Honors English. Of all the texts we have read this semester, my favorites are Carry Your Own Skis by, Lian Dolan Arthur Ashe by John McPhee, and Dreams by Langston Hughes.
Athletes in times of difficulty can be important role models.” This shows that sports are in fact helpful because they can grow children into being important role models for the rest of society. Studies have shown time and time again that playing sports can be beneficial to children and we also believe this to be true. Many people still think that sports cause “too many injuries”, or coaches “are not fair enough”, but adolescents will experience these things all throughout their lives because injury can happen anywhere and they will not always be the best at what they are doing. Sports are beneficial to the youth because they can teach children and teens important life skills, help them maintain a fit and healthy lifestyle, all while improving their mental health.
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.
Everyone has experienced some type of stress in their life. Whether it has been from work, school, or troubles at home, stress is stress. If anyone had played sports in high school, you know the challenge of balancing school and sports. Imagine that stress, then multiply it exponentially. Everyone knows that college is a much more rigorous version of high school. The only reason some athletes made it to college is due to scholarships for their performance on the field. If they don’t perform well on the field, that scholarship might get cut. This makes practicing the athletes main priority. However, college athletes have to concentrate on their grades so they don’t drop out of college. These athletes know they may not make it to the pro’s, so they know they have to have a back up plan. This back up plan is called a college degree. So college athletes have to concentrate both on sports and classes. Sounds kind of challenging. This is why I believe student athletes should be allowed to miss classes occasionally due to their sport. Athletes are under much more stress, are required to attend practices and classes, and complete their homework. This is simply impossible to do, at least for a human. I believe that this is an important topic because it affects all college athletes.
1 in 4 people will be affected by mental health issues at some point in their lives. Depression affects 20-25% of Americans ages 18+ in a given year (CDC.) Student athletes are students who go to school but participate in athletics at the same time. Student athletes are at a higher risk due to having different stress factors that normal students don't have to go through during their college or high school athletic careers. Major events would be the death of Madison Holleran.
Amanda Ripley’s idea that athletics are a distraction in “The Case Against High-School Sports” sparked within me the question of whether all people are equally distracted by athletics in an environment which is heavily focused on academics. The author states, “During football season in particular, the focus of American principals, teachers, and students shifts inexorably away from academics.” I can clearly remember a day last May in high school where I had a late football practice and two AP test the following morning. I recall waking up very tired, sluggish, and upset that I did not get a last minute chance to look over my materials. I remember feeling like I had maybe taken on too much, but I knew I would be alright because I had prepared
However, what this argument does not take into account is that athletes have an abundance of pressure put on them that most non-athletes don’t ever experience. Hence, the saying, “go hard or go home”. A recent study emphasizes this fact as McClatchy notes, ”The researchers monitored mood levels of 465 collegiate athletes over three years and found 6.3 percent of the athletes met the criteria for clinically significant depression and 24 percent were considered ‘clinically relevant’ “ (2016). Studies like these prove that athletes are not blind to the idea of depression, but rather experience this disorder themselves. Anxiety has a huge role in depression. As sportsperson, there is constant effort to become an awe-inspiring player. As the stakes of the game raise, so does the anxiety. Some want a scholarship, some want to show off what they offer to a team that got a scholarship, and some are professionals. Regardless of whether it's grade school sport or a professional sport, failing at personal goals one set is down right depressing. Kearns and Hwang state that, ”While it’s not clear whether the source of challenges to a student-athlete's mental well-being is the same as those non-athletes, collegiate athletes are known to encounter unique stressor that the general population doesn’t have to deal with, such as the demands, relationships with coaches and missed scheduled classes” (2014). Pressure is something everyone experiences. However, athletes experience some of the same pressure that of non-athletes and then some. Being on a sports team is demanding to time and the idea of being “superior”. In athletics, coaches are everything. For example, If a coach likes how a person attributes as a team player, then that person will get a chance to shine. However, if the coach is not very fond of one, then the chances of opportunities are not very
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).
Parents and teachers have preached that getting an education is important since students first entered Kindergarten. Although there is proof that athletes have endured success from both pathways, academics and athletics, it’s the financially safe and most logical choice for a student athlete to solidify his or her future after athletics. Becoming a professional athlete is a high-risk high reward situation but receiving a college education lowers that risk. A college education could potentially increase the knowledge further to enhance their athletic abilities intellectually also (Clary Dec. 13, 2009). Most of the time if the athlete is good enough to go pro it’s likely that they have athletic full–ride scholarships from major college programs. With college expenses the way they are today one might argue that this is a better deal especially if the chance of going pro remains after the athlete graduates from college. After retiring from...
“All I have to do is pass: A discursive of student athletes’ talk about prioritizing sport to the detriment of education to overcome stressors encountered in combining elite sport and tertiary education.” Psychology of Sport & Exercise. Mar 2014, Vol. 15 Issue 2, p180-189. Web.
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
As stated in my introductory paragraphs, both authors examine the academic motivation of student athletes, but focus their arguments on different aspects. Since both authors agree on the fact that athletics make big impacts, it makes it harder to choose one argument over the other. Both Flynn and Herbert D. Simon’s have similar ideas in which they discuss, but they add their own opinions. Both authors have a strong agreement but the way they present their ideas are completely diverse.
He sprints up and down the court, as sweat pours down his face and on to the hardwood. The player’s legs are in severe pain, and he is out of breath, yet he continues to run, utilizing every last portion of energy that he maintains. He desires to better himself, not necessarily for his own benefit, but for the benefit of his team. He knows that every single member of the team, including himself, must work as hard as they possibly can on the court to reach their potential and achieve success. Organized sports teach athletes some of the most powerful moral values and life lessons that any individual can attain. Despite the opposing opinion that students who take part in organized sports suffer academically due to time deprivation and focus misdirected away from the classroom, involvement in sports teaches young men and women to maintain imperative values, such as hard work, selflessness, and commitment, which ultimately improves student-athletes’ academic performance.