Across the United States of America, approximately 55% of students participate in extracurricular sports activities. (Koebler, Jason. "High School Sports Participation Increases for 22nd Straight Year." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 02 Sept. 2011. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.) Academic performance, popularity, and physical fitness are all directly affected by involvement in athletics. Overall, and contrary to popular belief, those students who participate in athletic activities often have higher physical, mental and emotional abilities than their non-participating peers. Stereotypically student athletes are portrayed as popular but unintelligent and unmotivated to excel in academics, seeking only the glory that comes from excelling on the football, baseball or other sports field. This portrayal has led to the term “dumb jock,” which is how student athletes are often portrayed in Hollywood and by media. For example, Danny Zuko in the movie “Grease” was cute, adored by girls and idolized by boys, but stupid, highlighted by the scene where the school coach unsuccessfully tries to teach Danny how to play various sports. Similarly, the television show “Friday Night Lights” portrayed high school football players as the envy of all whose glory days ended as soon as high school was over. It is also not uncommon to hear rumors of colleges, where successful sports programs translate into money, overlooking cheating by star athletes or going so far as undertaking efforts to assist a star athlete in achieving a particular grade level just so the athlete may remain eligible to participate in sports. However, students all over the country often defy the stereotypical depiction of the “dumb jock” or athlete who has to have behind-the-scene hel... ... middle of paper ... ...mparison of Athletes and NonAthletes at Highly Selective Colleges." Research in Higher Education 45.16 (2004): 557-602. Web. 7 Oct. 2013. Boyd, Charles E., and Steven M. Ross. "The Influence of Participation in Junior High Athletics on Students' Attitudes and Grades." Physical Educator (1990) Web. 7 Oct. 2013. Miller, Kathleen E., Merrill J. Melnick, Grace M. Barnes, Michael P. Farrell, and Don Sabo. "Untangling the Links among Athletic Involvement, Gender, Race, and Adolescent Academic Outcomes." Social Sport (2005): 178-93. Web. Pallerino, Michael J. "SAVING OUR KIDS." Sporting Goods Business (2004): Web. 7 Oct. 2013. Schafer, Walter E., and J. Michael Armer. "Athletes Are Not Inferior Students." Society6.1 (2004): 21-26. Web. 7 Oct. 2013. Stegall, Ryan. "A Study in The Grade Point Averages of Athletes vs. Non- athletes." (2012): 1-19. Web. 7 Oct. 2013.
Sports play a large part of an athletic student’s life, weighing heavily on one’s identity. In his essay, “Cut”, Bob Greene relays how he and several others are cut from their middle school sports team because “[they weren’t] good enough” (Greene 58). Because of this cut, Greene and his peers end up pushing harder than ever in other areas of their life. He notes, “an inordinately large proportion of successful men share… the memory
Typically, the average day of a high school student consists of seven long hours of school; followed by an extracurricular activity. According to the National Federation of State High School Association (NFHS), as of 2014, there was a record high of nearly 7.8 million high school student athletes in the United States. Two experienced authors from The New York Times have contrasting views on athletics in schools. Amanda Ripley, the author of The New York Times bestseller, The Smartest Kids in the World, argues that sports should definitely be removed from high schools across the country. On the other hand, Donte Stallworth, former NFL player, is determined to keep children involved with sports. The main focal point for both Ripley and Stallworth
Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X. Day, Robert Funk, and Linda S. Coleman.
College sports are a major revenue producing industry. Athletic programs and their student-athletes can achieve national recognition and generate millions of dollars in revenue for their university. Colleges use this revenue to invest in players, pay for their education, and provide state of the art training facilities, which are used to improve their athletic performance. As revenue driven colleges begin to prioritize athletics, the emphasis on the quality and standards of an undergraduate education are diminishing. Compromising their academic acceptance requirements, universities have now found that the educational ability of their newly accepted student athletes are inadequate, to say the least (Gurney). The same universities must then spend millions of dollars to provide these athletes with “learning specialists”, who in turn helps them to meet academic requirements and maintain their eligibility (...
Many students in college are not strictly going to class; they are also walking onto a turf or court. Those students are also known as athletes. Athletes who are passionate about the sport they play usually get noticed by a higher education institution. Those higher education institutions usually give that athlete money to play for the college or university. Being given money is beneficial, but that money is being given for athletic ability not academics. So, which one would a college student work harder for? Athletics even though is helpful for paying for school, has a negative influence on academics.
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...
Anderson, Daniel R., Aletha C. Huston, Deborah L. Linebarger, Kelly L. Schmitt, and John C.
"College Athletic Programs Undermine Academics." Student Life. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 27 July 2011.
High school athletics leave a major impact on everybody that is involved with them. It also can even leave a mark on people who aren’t associated with them. There are many conflicting opinions on whether high school sports are a positive or negative influence on a student’s life. Athletics in high school can have an effect on the community as a whole. In H.G. Bisssinger’s highly regarded Friday Night Lights, high school football is accurately portrayed as the most important thing in Texas; it receives much more attention than academics. Football players are often treated like celebrities; yielding confidence, and at the same time creating pressure.
When applying to University there are multiple steps which lead to many frustrations and stress. Everyone from the top student to the student who is forced to apply, deals with these frustrations. In my experience, I threw things, abused my computer, and my eyes may have watered from the frustrations of course. Not only is the process hard, filling in every form, obtaining letter of recommendation, but the four years that you spent trying to come up with the information you are providing was hard.
Participation in sports has proven to increase self-discipline and self-esteem, and can teach athletes to learn from their mistakes and move on (Issitt). Athletes playing team sports also develop the ability to work well with others and use teamwork in their everyday lives. Teammates form relationships that are strengthened over a common passion and goal. These relationships can last long after high school is over (Chen). These social skills translate into better communication used with an athlete’s family, peers, and in the community. Likewise, “A 2006 study in Maryland found that student athletes are 15 percent more likely than non athletes to be involved in their communities and to take the time for civic engagements, including participating in voting and volunteer activities” (Issitt). The same study also concluded that athletes are far more likely to be comfortable with public speaking than non-athletes. This study provides concrete evidence that high school sports can help to gain mental and social skills that will be used later in life
Gerald Mahoney, Ann Kaiser, Luigi Girolametto, James MacDonald, Cordelia Robinson, Philip Safford, and Donna Spiker
Ellis, B.J., Bates, J.E., Dodge, K.A., Fergusson, D.M, Horwood, L.J., Pettit, G.S., & Woodard, L.
It has been known a proven fact that participation in high school sports encourages better moods, self-esteem, and a higher level of academic achievement. This has been proven through various studies, one of them being a study done in New York. In 2006, the Carnegie Corporation of New York discovered that students benefited from participating in high school sports. An improvement in grades, confidence, and personal health and welfare were appreciably noted in ...
In high school I was the most predictable student in the entire student body. When teachers would take roll, they could always count on one thing: me not being there. My grades were horrible. My accumulative grade point average was below 1.0. I had no interest in school and kept junkie friends. These so-called friends would often skip school and would pressure me to do drugs. I was already puffing away on cigarettes by the time my junior year rolled around, and my future looked pretty bleak. During my senior year, I decided it was time for a drastic change. I took a brave step and tried out for the Camas High School Cheerleading Team. I made the team and became a student athlete. I was destined to graduate. Through my experience, I believe that involvement in athletics improves academics by providing students with better physical and mental health, thus insuring the athletic student a successful future.