Essay Sample on Sports vs. Academics : Are They Related?

Growing up people always tell you it is important to stay active and to play sports, but as you start to get older and things become more busy students normally choose one or the other; sports or academics. Some students choose based on their parents, others choose based on athletic vs mental abilities, but why do we have to choose? Students should be able to participate in what they are passionate about and while many people think that athletes don’t care as much about school as their sport this is simply a stereotype. Many student athletes have an enhanced education in response to conditioning their brain more than the normal person.

As an athlete you are asked to be able to focus and engage on one thing which many teens struggle with. You are also expected to anticipate certain responses and have a game plan before they occur. In order to be able to complete these tasks you have to engage your prefrontal cortex (Zimmer). Many sports hold practices every day, which in turn leads athletes to condition their prefrontal cortex for a few hours a day. In addition to having practices, student athletes also have to go to school. During the school day students engage their stem, cerebellum, and cerebrum. The cerebrum is the most important since it is responsible for memory and reasoning (Ford). Once again, students go to school five days a week which leads to conditioning these certain parts of your brain almost everyday. By choosing sports or school, your brain is conditioning one specific part of the brain meant for one certain task, but by being involved in both sports and academics you strengthen many different parts of your brain. In response to conditioning these parts together the brain as a whole gets stronger which can lead to better understanding and focus which helps enhance students' learning.

In my experience as a student athlete my grades have never truly suffered as much as I thought they would. This might be because coaches and school rules say students have to have certain grades to play which helps motivate the students to get their grades up. In addition, having a lot of work piling up as well as having to maintain practice and game schedules cause people a great deal of stress; in order to keep stress away students try to stay on top of their work. In many counties there is also a rule that in order to play in the game the athlete has to come to school; this helps their attendance record as well as their grades. Even though all of these things set student athletes up for success, the one thing that helped me keep my grades is something my coach used to say, “as a part of this team you become a student athlete and as much as we all love the sport your grades are more important because student comes first for a reason”. As schools set up ways to help students be successful they are actively learning which will help better their grades and future education. 

While being a student athlete students are more motivated to be at school and complete their work which leads to a higher attendance record and GPA. In 2012 there was a study of 35000 student athletes that showed results of higher attendance and grade point averages “student athletes were present in school about three weeks more per year than non-athletes and boasted higher grade point averages by as much as 0.55 to 0.74 points” (VanTassel-Lopez). I have also seen student athletes from my high school come to school more frequently than those who do not participate in a sport. Student athletes are also more likely to graduate because of their motivation and confidence within the schools, “Approximately 86 percent of NCAA Division I athletes graduate from college, according to the NCAA...the Federal Graduation Rate is only 64 percente” (Robinson). Overall student athletes are more likely to have higher grade point average and higher graduation rates because of the enhanced education they receive. 

Many people say they choose sports or academics because together they take up too much time, but when put together these activities can teach people a great deal. Many student athletes have good time management skills because they have to keep their work turned in as well as going to practices and games. Ask any student athlete and most of them will say they have a love hate relationship with their sport, but they keep coming back to it because of the discipline they have built over time(Moon). While student athletes are busy most of the time, many of them have no regrets and will consider their time as a student athlete one of the best times of their lives. 

In conclusion, student athletes have a higher grade point average and attendance record due to their enhanced education. Student athletes were more motivated to go to school and stay on top of their work because of their busy schedules and sport rules. Even though student athletes are always known to be busy they learn a great deal of responsibility, time management, and discipline. Student athletes even have a higher chance of graduating because of their active education due to the conditioning of their brain. As a student athlete many people believe you should focus on school or sports, but you don’t have to choose. Being involved in both aspects you have a higher chance to be more successful and to receive a stronger education. 

Source Cited

Ford, D. J., .ti-avatar{fill:#00558c;}.ti-avatar2{fill:#fff;}.ti-avatar3{fill:#82c341;}Training Industry Logo Emblem AvatarDefault Training Industry Avatar Donald J. Ford, Reeves, K., Newton, E., & Strycharczyk, D. (2021, June 7). How the brain learns. Training Industry. Retrieved November 20, 2021, from https://trainingindustry.com/articles/content-development/how-the-brain-learns/.  

Moon, J., College, L., King, B., R, F., Masterson, K., Whitfield, M., Gabriel, E., Barton, M., Caldwell, K., Tobias, C., Patterson, K., Hamschin, H., Davis, M., Calle, J., & Cummings, L. (2019, October 15). The Love/hate relationship between athletes and their sport. The Odyssey Online. Retrieved November 20, 2021, from https://www.theodysseyonline.com/the-love-hate-relationship-between-athletes-and-their-sport. 

Robinson, Nick. “Academics of College Athletes vs. Non-Athletes.” The Classroom | Empowering Students in Their College Journey, 5 Nov. 2021, https://www.theclassroom.com/academics-college-athletes-vs-nonathletes-16678.html. 

VanTassel-Lopez, Crystal, et al. “How Does Playing a Sport Affect Your Grades?” CrystalandComp.com, 30 May 2014, https://crystalandcomp.com/how-does-playing-a-sport-affect-your-grades/. 

Zimmer, C. (2019, May 21). The brain: Why athletes are geniuses. Discover Magazine. Retrieved November 20, 2021, from https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/the-brain-why-athletes-are-geniuses.