April 13,2015
High school students will gladly boost importance of grades over their schoolwork, but most don’t fully understand the seriousness grades are to the athletic world. Even though daily grades affect GPA, which is what colleges examine while recruiting student athletes, many students do not care about the outcome of their academic future. Extra curricular athletes are loaded down with homework from all subjects, just as much as the non athletic students are. Instead of school being their main priority, student athletes allow their sport to overpower homework time, and lower their GPA through all classes.
GPA is important to getting accepted into a desired college. For example, Sam is passing all seven of his classes, and is looking for a school to offer a basketball scholarship. He soon is accepted for A&M freshman year to play the game. Because Sam was motivated to complete his schoolwork and maintain his grades, he was easily snagged by the university to improve A&M reputation. While John is an amazing football player, he is also a struggler when it comes to his GPA. Because he focused more on sports rather than his homework, he was denied by Alabama University because of his mediocre 2.0 average. Student athletes are exhausted after practices, games and even scrimmages, and would prefer to kick back and relax with the oh-well-I’ll-do-it-tomorrow attitude. If all athletes were dedicated to school work as much they were to the sports they participate in, then extra curricular activities would be less frowned upon, and would serve a bigger and better purpose. Work ethic of every individual athlete is expected to be balanced, or even dominate, the amount left on the field or court, this is what provides the negative or positive about participating in extra curricular activities during the school year.
The overall grade in the class is supported on attitude and effort, which determines whether extra- curricular activities are a good or bad idea to students. For example, if an athlete is incapable of keeping up with his/her grade, the teen soon finds that he is ineligible to play his sport. The no-pass-no-play rule is like a beehive full of swarming bees, pesky and annoying. Yet it shouldn’t be blown off or annoying because it is dangerous and risky to mess with. If students are able to balance both extra curricular activities and school, then the activities performed outside the school day is beneficial for the student’s health. However, if the student proves to be lazy with the school work ethic, eventually the situation could lead to innapropriate intentions and records.
Many students in athletics have a one track mind and never see the whole situation, usually depending on the type of student involved in the activities whether it is a good or bad thing. The reward for playing sports is a privilege, and it is earned in the classroom.