3 minute read
Nothing to Sweat About: Athletes balance school and sports
Nothing to Sweat About
RE-LEARNING SCHOOL AS A STUDENT ATHLETE AND THE POWER A COACH HOLDS
Advertisement
By Joe Wagner
Many students are having to readjust to what schools require of their students, and athletes might be struggling even more as they get back into the groove of juggling full-time school and sports. Balancing an academic career and an extracurricular sport can be a very stressful and challenging task to undertake. Being an athlete in sports means having to participate in practices, attend competitions, working out with the team, along with a variety of other activities. Each of those activities are essential to creating a successful and close knit team of athletes. The Oregon Schools Activities Association requires that students maintain above a 2.0 GPA average and to not be failing any of their classes. Many coaches are trying their best to make sure their athletes are performing at the highest level they can be, while also having to change their methods of encouragement. “We have to look at attacking the athletes’ process for school… During the time kids were out of school they learned not to do school,” Athletic Director Don Lien said. Many students struggled their way through online school managing to stay afloat, abut many weren’t able to hit that mark. “The grade was a product… Being a proactive student in class, where you’re owning your education… Anybody that does that in high school should come out with a passing grade,” Lien said. The incredible amount of work it takes to be a high level athlete can be very taxing for an individual. As a result of the heavy workload, some students may benefit and become better students. “They have to schedule themselves in a different way,” head coach of the track and field team, Bryan Wadlow, said. “For me personally, athletics kept my academics in line because I knew I had certain commitments.” When a student begins to fall behind academically, it can be up to the coaches to help push the athlete back up to an acceptable level, or even beyond that. The coaches keep tabs on athletes, making sure they are where they need to be. “I think it’s actually beneficial to have a schedule and expectation,” Wadlow said. Having expectations set by a role model can really make a difference in how effective an athlete is at succeeding in school. Currently, coaches are trying to be more understanding of athletes and students alike, recognizing that it may be jarring to be faced with deadlines and a normal amount of school work in comparison to last year. Coaches have had to take a step back and reevaluate how they approach their athletes. The mental health of athletes has begun to take precedent in the plans coaches have for the year. “All of our coaches have been coach counselors,” Lien said. “When a kid comes to practice with everything that’s going on, maybe family stress, social stress, and school stress, then they’ve arrived at practice and they’re supposed to have a clean head to focus on sports… That’s not happening.” And it could be devastating for an athlete to be removed from their sports. For some it’s an integral part of their mental state. “I would say, us adult coaches in this building, we want to be here to give a safe place for our students, our athletes,” wrestling coach Bryan Barker said “And allow them to be here because we have a lot of students in this building that the only time they feel safe is when the bus picks them up in the morning,”. Former girls volleyball coach Kelli Backer said, “It’s the worst thing for a coach to have to cut athletes.” But it’s important for athletes to know that their grades do matter in the long run, and the success of athletes after highschool is the number one concern of coaches.
WE DON’T WANT TO FLIRT WITH D’S... WE NEED KIDS SHOWING PROGESS TOWARD STRONG C’S. “
Activities Promote Health and Well-being. Mental and physical health are improved through activities.
A study of nearly 140,000 Kansas high school students... revealed that “athletes earned higher grades, graduated at a higher rate, dropped out of school less frequently, and scored higher on state assessments than did non-athletes.
Famous by Word of Mouth!
