I've personally seen how many high schools around the country give special treatment to their athletes. I've seen class credit given for football practice, baseball players skipping class to hang out in the gym with their coaches, and cheerleaders getting passes to leave school by their coach to go eat lunch. Some friends of mine have even lost college scholarships due to poor grades and low SAT scores. To some, school has taken a backseat to sports and this shouldn't be the case. I feel it is my duty to encourage all of you coaches out there to stop giving your players special treatment and let them focus on their studies during school hours. If this doesn't apply to you, congratulations as you are one of the few doing the right thing and putting your players education.
If you know a player on your team has poor grades or skips class often, it should be your duty to meet with them face to face and tell them the importance of being in the classroom. If they don't listen and poor behavior continues then punish them by sitting them out a game. This will get them to realize that their is more to life than just sports, and sports won't take them everywhere in life. Education goes longer than athletic ability for most.
I just wish there were more players like Myron Rolle, the football player from Florida State University. He graduated with a dual major from FSU in just 3 years and was awarded the Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University. He has bypassed the NFL draft to study at Oxford. Rolle has aspirations to open up his own cancer research center in the Bahamas eventually. Myron Rolle truly is a Student-Athlete and is a great example that every young person should try to follow. Take action, do some research on Mr. Rolle and make a powerpoint for your team to watch. Show them about what this great athlete has accomplished in the classroom as well as on the field and you will forever change some lives for the better.
I think this is a really great post for coaches and athletic directors. I agree with everything you have said and it is visibly true. High school faculty and coaches don't realize the impact that these issues actually have on their athletes. This just gives the athletes the mentality that they can get away with anything and think its okay. And the example with the player Rolle, is definitely something that should be shared.
ReplyDeleteI also think this is a very good post. Some people don't realize that they are a student first. I saw the same thing back in my old high school. Granted not everyone was doing the "hang out in the gym with the coaches" thing, there was definitely a gap in student/student-athlete performance in my classes. I felt horrible for putting more work in than some student-athletes and they received the same or better grade than me.
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