Education needs to be placed on the forefront, while athletics should come after, regardless of how good the athlete may be in his or her choice of sport. Unfortunately, this is a drawback for some athletes – having to maintain their eligibility. Some students maintain great grades during high school and possibly are awarded a scholarship to a school of higher learning so to speak. When all too often, the only reason they are awarded to go there is to play the sport they excel in. These actions can and will play an important part in the athlete’s future, if they do not have a back-up plan in academics. I remember not too long ago, a few high school graduates that were awarded scholarships to college to play football. I had asked one of the students what study they were majoring in. They said to me they did not know, they were going to be in home economics course to start. I think all too often, some colleges focus on the person as a whole. With this continually happening year after year, one would have to ask themselves how smart the children are in our society, or does it even matter as long as they can throw the ball seventy…
Author: This document was written by Jacob A. Riis, an excerpt from his How the Other Half Lives. The author views that most people do not realize the tremendous amount of poverty surrounding them. They do not realize how the “other half” of the population; meaning the poor, manage to make it through a living. Riis wants to describe the living conditions of the lower class to create Americans an image of how the poor has many difficulties.…
College athletes are some of the hardest working individuals around. Athletes have a routine that includes brutal practices, intense games, and difficult…
Throughout my four years as an Amos Alonzo Stagg student-athlete, not only have I enjoyed every minute of playing, but I have learned from it as well. Some of these traits that have been given to me due to being involved in extracurriculars have improved my personal development and can prove to be useful in the future whether it be at college or the workplace. Some of these include working well with others, time management, and will to want to be better.…
In the short story “Becoming a Student Athlete”, Terry Telphy discusses some of the issues he encountered during his Freshman year in high school. He had a problem balancing being a great student and being a phenomenal athlete. He proudly revealed he excelled as a football player by committing extra time and effort to make sure he would make the team and be an impact player on the field. The summer before entering 9th grade, obviously he could balance the heavy load of being an athlete, but when the semester started and homework started piling up, he no longer could put all of his effort into sports and little into school. Terry wanted great things to happen in his life — He wanted to graduate high school, go to college, and did not want to…
I interviewed Ben Cleveland, who is the head Athletic Trainer for Oklahoma Baptist University. Athletic Trainers are not technically a field in leadership studies, but this interview was very beneficial to be because I want to be an Athletic Trainer at the high school level. This interview just reassured me that being an Athletic Trainer is truly what I want to do with my life. Before talking about how Ben views leadership, one has to know and understand his background and where he is coming from. Ben is originally from Mobile, Alabama and earned his undergraduate in Science in Athletic Training from the University of Alabama soon after that he obtained a Master’s of Science in Physical Education at Florida State University. Ben started as an assistant athletic trainer at Trevecca Nazarene University for seven years before accepting the job here at Oklahoma Baptist University.…
As a result school administrators and educators are notified which student athletes possess a concern towards academics. Further analysis can lead to intervention programs and assistance from the schools towards the individuals who are at risk with the imbalance of motivation.…
For many college athletes, the lure of playing pro sports is intoxicating. Dreams of fancy cars, luxurious homes, tailor-made suits, voluptuous women, and the mental images of a crowded stadium chanting their name is enough for any collegiate athlete to think about abandoning their education for a chance at stardom. When the dreams are solidified with million dollar contracts, think immediately is replaced by impulse. Left behind in the frenzy is the much needed college education that no one seems to care about any more. An athletes only hope is to complete a college education first for what life's lessons has to offer later when hard-knocks is the final exam.…
Many people fail to realize that college athletes give most of their time to the sport that gave them a scholarship. They have time built in their schedule just for classes and study hall. Woodrow states, “success in graduating athletes then constitutes supporting evidence” (paragraph 4). He also states, “the success or lack thereof is universally measured by comparing athlete graduation rates to general student body rates (paragraph 4). There really shouldn’t be a comparison between the two because the general students have way more time to their studies than athletes. Some big time colleges have strategies on how to improve the graduation rates for athletes. Southhall states, “as part of the strategy, the NCAA strives “to ensure the academic commitment of student athletes and to increase the likelihood that they will earn degrees (paragraph 10). He also states, along these lines, in 2005 the NCAA formulated a tool called the Graduation Success Rate (GSR) for Division I Schools (paragraph 10). This means that they are committed to getting degrees regardless if they are an athlete or not. Robst states, “Many feel that participation in sports inhibits students ' ability to do well in the classroom (paragraph 1). This means that people think since you participate in a sport that you can’t make the grades. Participating in sports in college and making good grades is all on the…
Being a college athlete myself, I have lived the struggle of trying to maintain grades, while going to practice and games during the week. Imagine trying to keep a job during this hectic schedule. It is hard for college athletes to find extra money to get a pizza or go see a movie. It is especially hard for athletes coming from tough backgrounds. Two out of every five Division I athletes come from single parent homes and athletics are their only opportunity to provide a future for themselves and their families. It is not easy for these students to get jobs because their schedules are already full. For example, many division I football teams practice twice a day. A day for a division I football player could look like this: practice-6 a.m., class-9 a.m., class-11 a.m., and practice-2 a.m. By the time they are done with the second practice of the day their day is practically over. They still have to eat dinner and possibly do homework. This leaves no time to get even a part-time job. It also raises the question of how these athletes obtain extra spending money? If you are an athlete like Johnny Manziel, who…
Since it seems like the universities and NCAA are unwilling to examine their case college athletes are taking matters into their own hands. At a Northwestern University, a Division I college in Chicago, these players became tired of not receiving any compensation aside from their scholarships and they made a decision that made the NCAA realize they were serious. They were aware that suing for compensation could be a losing battle they took the next step. What these players decided the best thing to do was unionize in a way similar to employees and demand the rights that they deserve. After their coach told them that they were unable to do this they took the issue to the National Labor Relations Board (NLBR) and what happened next was a giant…
“Don't walk through life just playing football. Don't walk through life just being an athlete. Athletics will fade. Character and integrity and really making an impact on someone's life, that's the ultimate vision, that's the ultimate goal - bottom line; according to " Ray Lewis (Brainy Quotes). Those words are true to all student athletes.…
College athletes (student athletes) are some of the most astounding and prestigious people. From having ridiculously large amounts of school work and having to study for quizzes and finals at the end of the year to having to study their play books in their sports and having practice on top of that. Although many…
It requires a lot of discipline to maintain your grades in the classroom while spending time on your sport. The free time a student athlete gets is very limited, it is imperative to balance your free time with the time it takes to be successful in the classroom. It is very possible that someone will have to travel for their sport and the classwork doesn't stop the normal student does not have the requirements that a student athlete has as far as practice and travel many times students have to balance work and classwork the student athlete has to balance the sport and their classwork. Multiple times games are scheduled on weeknights and it is a requirement to miss a class. To travel to the game. It is the student athletes responsibility to make up any homework or take any tests prior to leaving on the trip. This is one example of the dedication it takes to maintain your grades while you were a student athlete. The athletic scholarship is dependent upon the student athlete maintaining a certain GPA. Going to class and being a good citizen are some of the other requirements that are needed in order to maintain your…
Student athletes should appreciate and take full advantage of the opportunity they have to do what they love and to get education for a reduced amount or even for free. In the article “College Athletes Should Not Be Paid Because a College Education is valuable.” James Shulman says that college athletes tend to not to do as well as their classmates in the classroom. Which shows that these students are not take full advantage of what they have the opportunity to do. This shows that people who play sports in college generally care more about their sports career more than their academic…