The myth of the student athlete

A principal receives a call from a parent regarding one of her son's classes. She conveys her concern to the principal over the fact that her son is failing this particular class. When you first hear this, the first thought is that this parent is doing the right thing. She is calling the principal to see what she can do at home to encourage her son to work harder in this class to achieve success. That is not the case.

The parent was calling the principal to ask that her son be removed from the class in order that he might not fail. She was concerned that if he failed the class, he would give up in his other classes and become ineligible to play football in the fall.Sadly there are many parents who are like this woman. Academics takes a back seat to sports. They want their children to be athletes first and foremost. In their minds sports is how their children will get into college. The reality is that very few athletes from this particular school go to college on a sports scholarship.

Most of the students who attend this particular school usually attend a local community college in order to get their grades to the point that they have a chance at getting into a four year college. Those who had success in sports at this particular school were simply "big fish in a liitle pond." They were successful at the level in which they played but did not have the athleticism to succeed at the next level.

Now before anyone thinks that I am pointing fingers solely at the parents or the athletes themselves, I would like to share a few thoughts about a system that sets student athletes up for failure. I attended high school from 1974 through 1978. The Virginia High School League at that point in time required a student athlete to maintain a C in all of their classes. There were seven class periods at that point in time. Also if a student athlete dropped below a C in any of their classes during the particular sports season they were participating in, they were ineligible to participate until their grade returned to a C.

These rules remained in place until the early eighties when parents from some of the larger schools began to complain because many of their children were ineligible because they would not try to keep up in the classroom. The Virginia High School League caved into the pressure and changed their standards. the student athletes were only required to maintain a passing grade which meant they could pass the class with the lowest possible D and still compete in sports. When many schools switched to block scheduling that meant that all they had to do was pass four classes with the lowest possible D to be eligible to play sports.

This was not good enough for many of the parents. they did not believe that their children should have to pass all of their classes in order to participate in sports. Once again the Virginia High School League caved into the pressure and changed the rules to accomaodate these parents. The new rules state that a student athlete is only required to pass three out of four classes with the lowest D possible.

The message being sent is that academics does not matter. Mediocrity in the classroom is becoming an acceptable standard. This would be bad enough but mediocrity does not end in the classroom. Once a student accepts a mediocre effort in the classroom it wont be long until he or she  accepts a mediocre effort in the particular sport in which they participate. This then carries over to every area of their life. What results is the school systems graduating students who are not ready to step out as adults and accept responsibility. They do not understand why they can't keep a job or they are passed over for promotions. They believe that it is the fault of their superiors.

What is the answer? I beleive that we must turn back the clock to a time when academics mattered. A time when parents supported the system that was in place and challenged their children to work to achieve success. Sports are very important in the development of a young person. They teach teamwork, cooperation, discipline and the need to do your best, not only in the particular sport but also in life. But when the sport takes precedence over everything else then we fail every student athlete that participates without expectations of responsible actions.