Persuasive Essay: School Athletes Should Be Required to Pass All of Their Classes to Play Their Sports

According to the CDC, 57% of high school students played on at least one school or community sports team in the past year. Sports are a big part of many teenagers’ lives. However, sports are not as necessary as keeping up on schoolwork and trying to get good grades. School athletes should be required to pass all of their classes to play their sports because sports aren’t a dependable career, sports shouldn’t be allowed to be a distraction, and having high mental health helps high physical health.

To begin with, sports aren’t the most reliable career, so student-athletes need to have a backup. “Fewer than 2 percent of … student-athletes go on to be professional athletes. In reality, most student-athletes depend on academics to prepare them for life after college. Education is important. There are more than 460,000 NCAA student-athletes, and most of them will go pro in something other than sports.” (DIVISION I) This shows that student-athletes need to put some focus on the student part of their title.  In addition,  From High School to pro tells us that only 1/16,000 student-athletes go professional (Georgia). This shows that not a lot of student-athletes can rely on athletics to secure their future.

Additionally, sports shouldn’t be allowed to be a distraction from school. Furthermore, Sports Psychology says, “All the hype and distractions leading up to a big game can be overwhelming for athletes, coaches, and even parents” (Edger). If a student isn’t capable of keeping up with work as well as doing a sport, sometimes they need an outside force to require them to set their sights straight. Sports Psychology Today also says, “One mental key is to stay focused on your own plan and not get caught up in external distractions” (Edger). If we keep academics as the main focus, and sports as a supporter or a hobby, then students will have a much more successful life.

Moreover, high mental health in non-athletic situations increases physical health in athletic situations. “Schools provide an ideal context for prevention, intervention, positive development, and regular communication between school and families,” (National Association of School Psychologists) and  “poor mental health can lead to poor physical health or harmful behaviors” (WebMD Editorial Contributors). This shows that if a student-athlete focuses more on school, and thereby improves their mental health, their physical health will improve.

But, some people may say that school athletes shouldn’t be required to pass their classes because sports can be an important way to release the stress that accumulates from school. For example, “Sports help you manage stress. Exercise causes your body to release endorphins, the chemicals in your brain that relieve pain and stress. It also reduces the levels of stress hormones, cortisol, and adrenaline” (https://www.facebook.com/WebMD). This is evidence for some people to prove that sports are more of a solution than a problem. However, most people don’t take it into account that sports are stressful too, and on top of having lots of stress from school, it can still be too much for student-athletes to handle. According to RISE (Research, Innovation, Scholarship, Entrepreneurship) “Recent statistics indicate that 95% of male and 85% of female athletes report higher stress compared to 52% of non-athlete students.” This shows that sports can be more of a problem than a solution if there is already an issue with stress coping.  Furthermore, WHYY states that “Coaches look for students with good grades, not only playing ability. It is to one’s benefit to have good grades.” This shows that having good grades is still in the student’s best interests because the coaches want someone who works hard.

To conclude, school athletes should be required to pass all of their classes to play their sports. Sports aren’t a dependable career, they shouldn’t be allowed to be a distraction, and having high mental health helps high physical health. So next time you hear someone complain about having to have good grades for their sport, remind them that student comes first in student-athlete.