Student Athletes In College Sports

People grow up referring to athletes as “jocks”, which is thought of as a student who can do a lot on the sports field, but not as much as the rest of the student body in the classroom. As athletes move on to college sports it is considered to be even more true that to college athletes, academic success comes second to their athletic success. This is a false perception that may be true for bigger (division one) schools but the stereotype is the complete opposite for division three athletics. Division III athletes are, in the truest sense, student athletes due to a different coaching philosophy, the absence of athletic scholarships that reward field performance over classroom performance and a culture that recognizes these students will pursue careers off the field and aren't seeking pro sports contracts.
The way a coach talks about academic success can impact how athletes perceive the importance of school work. For example, a coach's attitude toward grades in the classroom can make a huge difference toward how the team views the importance of their school work. This work ethic that is built from being a student and an athlete are both
Only having the chance to have an academic scholarship helps you a lot as an athlete when it comes to being able to put your school work first. For example, you do not need to stress about losing your scholarship due to poor performance or a career ending injury. This allows your mind to be at ease when you can easily focus more on doing school work rather than watching film, or being able to leave practice early to not miss a class rather than your coach not letting you leave because they are in a sense paying for you to be