Danielle Wagoner
Mrs. Dubois
App. English 12
14 February 2014
Sports Sacrificed in High School
Should sports be kept in high school or sacrificed for academics? Sports should be kept in high school because they are a good influence on students for success later in life. Sports keep students on track with their grades in high school and gives students the opportunity to have a good career after college. “About 300 thousand college students across the nation play interscholastic sports. Of these, many, if not most, are students who simply like to play. These students are usually the first ones cited by supporters of college athletics.” (Currie, Stephen pg. 28) Also, sports gives students an opportunity to stay physically active in school. By keeping sports in high school, students stay healthy, remain engaged, and learn sportsmanship.
If students stay healthy in school, it will lead to playing more sports. For example, basketball, football, wrestling, tennis, volleyball, golf, cross country, etc. will help enforce that one needs to study harder and do his or her homework. No good choices come from not doing one’s work. “Without their sports skills, athletes would never have been accepted by a college. A student who wishes to participate in college sports must take several required courses in high school, achieve a minimum grade point average, and score at or above a certain level on a standardized college admissions test.” (Currie, Stephen pg. 31-32) Eating the right amount of food whether breakfast, lunch, or dinner will also help students focus on their studies. Do not eat less because that may lead to throwing up or passing out after practice or getting sick during school. One should not eat more than necessary because that may lead to a tummy ache which will cause one to throw up and not feel good. Keeping sports in school would help maintain ones health and most importantly, the weight. Keeping healthy means less chance of getting sick and getting a disease later in life for an athlete. Encouraging people to join more school activities and clubs like KAYS and FCCLA, can have a positive effect on students already in sports to do well in school and study more. This will reinforce in students that they may actually like school and want to learn so they can have good grades.
When students have a purpose to keep their grades up, they will remain engaged in school and graduate. For example, keeping a’s and b’s as ones grades in high school. Going out for sports will enforce this and make one want to study harder and get his or her homework in on time. Students who participate in sports have a higher rate of graduation from high school. Encouraging students to go out for more than one sport, helps students learn to be a better person. The reason for this is that it causes students to think that they have to keep their grades up because they will have less time to work and will not get as much sleep with sports practices every evening. Another reason for encouraging students to go out for more than one sport in high school is that it will help students to figure out how to keep good grades once they get to college. Students that have good grades in college will most likely have a good career once they graduate. “Many coaches and administrators, however, believe that accepting athletes who are not yet college material can do much more good than harm. They argue that a college education may be exactly what the athlete needs to get ahead.” (Currie, Stephen pg. 32)
Along with getting exercise and developing physical skills during practices, students learn the values of good sportsmanship and teamwork. For example, in playing a game of basketball, when one does not pass the ball to his or her teammates, it gives the impression that one does not have very good sportsmanship like skills. Students can fix this problem with practice to learn how to pass the ball. Working together with the team during matches and games of any