Student or Athlete, Why not Both?

Lindsay Malkin, Staff Writer

 

Why do you drive on the parkway and park on the driveway? Some words in the English language convey the wrong message; student-athlete, however, is not one of them.

A student-athlete means just that: a student before an athlete. Many student-athletes wish it was the other way around, but it does not work that way. Although fun, being an athlete is a job for most kids. The time and effort put in affects performance and playing time. Simultaneously, with deadlines to be met and quality work to be completed, being a student is a job as well. The balance between the two is what makes student-athletes so versatile.

Abby Croell, a junior, said, “It’s definitely difficult to balance. You have to do your school work first, but being a passionate athlete, I wanna put in the work to excel in sports as well.”

Time management is the hardest aspect of being a student athlete. Many athletes have practice after school, often making their arrival home three hours later than other students. “A few extra hours would not only be helpful for completing my schoolwork, it would also help me get to bed earlier,” Abby said. Many times students are released early from classes for games, being expected to make up any missed work. Abby also said, “It is tough not being in class to learn concepts with everyone else, but I have to find my own time to make up anything I missed.”

abby cute

Grades cannot be put off by a student-athlete. CHSAA rules state that an athlete with two failing classes in weekly eligibility cannot compete in games for that week. Thus, grades of students are more important than the sport they play.

Sports are for fun, for passion, for building character. Playing a sport is a choice, just like playing in the band or performing in the school play. It is a choice that comes with responsibilities as well. Time management is the leading concept that causes student-athletes trouble, but it is also the most important skill learned.

Although it is stressful, being an athlete can create opportunities to make new friends, and learn valuable life lessons. In the end, the lessons learned as a student-athlete in high school are what will make these same individuals even more successful in their post-high school pursuits.