Franklin Marshall

Mrs. Thomas

UWRT 1103-020

16 April 2018

The Effects of Sports on Education

Growing up it was school and sports, not much else. In the fall school started

back and so did football. In the winter it was basketball and in the spring, it was

baseball. I would wake up, go to school, go to practice, come home and work on

homework, and then it was time for bed. I would wake up the next morning and do the

same thing over again. Even in the summer or during weekends and breaks, I would still

have workouts, practice, or games. It seems rough now looking back on it, but it wasn’t

bad at all.

I grew up in the small town of Walkertown, North Carolina, where everyone knew

each other and there wasn’t much to do so playing sports is just what most people that I

grew up with did. I still got to be with my friends all day at school and during practice. It

never gave us much time to do anything else, and it kept us out of trouble. We wanted

to make good grades so that we could stay on the team and play with our friends, and

of course so that our parents wouldn’t constantly be on our backs. It was just how life

was as a kid. It gave us an extra set of responsibilities. We knew we had to get our work

done and be above average students and outstanding youth so that we could succeed

in both the classroom and on the field or court. It helped me grow up and develop as a

person. Everything it taught me will stick with me throughout my life and I believe will
make me a better person. Playing sports taught me valuable life lessons. For example;

good discipline, teamwork, time management, and leadership were some of the things I

learned.

Playing sports is just something a lot of people do growing up. A few can go on to

make a living off it, but sports are a big part of the world. No matter what sport, or team,

most of the world revolves around sports, either as a player, coach, or just a fan. Sports

are a big business. But how does it affect people, especially kids and teens? School is

also a big part of life as well as a big part of school. Does playing sports go well with

going to school? Does playing sports help students, or does it create a burden? The

point of this paper is to answer the question, does playing sports affect your

academics?

Growing up I was a little bit biased. I couldn’t really see a student being

successful without playing sports, or at least being involved. Everyone I knew, even

myself, played sports and succeeded in school. It seemed that the people that didn’t

play sports, didn’t do as well in school. Now that I am older I see that not everyone that

plays sports does well in school, and not everyone that doesn’t play sports does bad in

school, but after my research, I still believe that playing sports has a positive effect on

students.

There are many different ideas and opinions on how playing sports affects

academics. Throughout them all, it seems that it has a different effect for different

people. For some people it can help, while for some people it could have a negative

effect. All around I believe sports can only have a positive affect and help people grow

as a person and a student. Martin Van Boekel, who has a PhD in Psychology did a
study on the cognitive and social factors that influence student learning. Explained in a

survey he did states that “Participation in school-organized sports encourages students

engagements in their school community. Through participation students develop skills

that are related to sports they are engaged in, and skills that can translate outside of the

sport”. Boekel also conducted research that surveyed over 130,000 students to

determine the effects of participation in school-organized sports on academic

achievement and students’ perception of family support. This survey found a positive

correlation to participation in sports and GPA. Students have more of an incentive to get

good grades if they are playing sports.

Just because some students don’t play sports doesn’t mean they don’t want to

go to college or they don’t want to succeed in college, but student athletes are more

inclined to make good grades and succeed in school. In high school, students must

make good grades to make a team or to stay on that team. If a student is trying to get

into college, or even more play their sport in college, their grades are going to have to

be outstanding. Playing sports, being involved, and having good grades will give a

student a better chance of being admitted into a college than other students. Colleges

don’t just look for students with good grades and a good GPA. Colleges want students

who are well rounded and who were very involved throughout their life. Robert McGill

Thomas Jr. discussed in a New York Times article about a study that, “The report found

that an enhanced sense of popularity and increased participation in other extracurricular

activities was experienced by athletes in all of the groups”. I was told by everyone

growing up, my parents, teachers, principals, counselors, etc., that the more involved I

was in sports, clubs, community service, etc., that the more likely I was to get into the
college of my choice. This and getting good grades of course. Playing sports doesn’t

just help people become better students, but it helps them become better people.

One of the main reasons I believe playing sports help students, is because it

builds character and morals, and helps them become better people first and foremost.

Playing sports allows people to grow and gives them a sense of hard work and

responsibility. As a student athlete in high school I was responsible for making good

grades, staying in shape, staying out of trouble, showing up to practice every day, and

being the best person, student, and athlete, I could be. Student athletes must work

harder than anyone else in school. Playing sports is a big commitment and requires a

lot of time, in addition to the demands of class requirements. Many people believe that

playing sports and going to school is a negative thing, but I believe for most people it is

a good thing. The things that playing sports can develop in a person outweighs the

potentially negative effects of playing sports.

Playing sports can instill things like leadership, sportsmanship, time

management, hard work, discipline, and teamwork. All of these traits are important for

people to have throughout life, school, and their careers. Dr. Rakesh Ghildiyal, who has

a Masters degree in Psychiatry wrote an essay on the Role of Sports in the

Development of an Individual and Role of Psychology in Sports. Ghildiyal explains that

“Sports in psychology and life helps develop team spirit, leadership skills, fairplay, never

give up attitude and focus. Sports is a great leveler, helps us know our strengths and

abilities, understand process and result, the value of planning, earnestness and

sincerity, observation and analysis”. Sports can teach people to be good leaders and to

lead other people towards a common goal. Leadership is a trait that is very important to
have as a person. Leadership will make people successful in their life and in their

careers. Being a good leader can lead to success. Teamwork is another important trait

taught by sports. Teamwork is one of the biggest traits taught in sports. Without

teamwork there is no such thing as sports. Teamwork is important all throughout life.

You need it in school and in your career. I am majoring in Civil and Environmental

Engineering and without teamwork I would not be able to accomplish this. Playing

sports has taught me how to work with others and get along with others towards a

common goal or task. Vince Lombardi, who was one of the most successful NFL

coaches of all time once said “Individual commitment to a group effort-that is what

makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” Teamwork

and leadership are qualities taught by playing sports that help build better character and

morals.

Along with leadership and teamwork, sports can teach individuals to have better

time management, discipline, and work ethic that can lead to a positive effect in the

classroom. Having to be at practice everyday by a certain time is one way sports

teaches time management. One of my high school coaches would repeatedly tell our

team “To be early is to be on time, and to be on time is being late.” Everyday after

school during football season I had to make sure I was on the practice field at least

fifteen minutes early. On top of having to be on time, sports require you to balance out

school, life, and sports. This leads people to become more effective with their time.

Having to manage several things at once taught me to always make the most of my

time and to be smart about it. Lastly playing sports taught me how to be disciplined and

how to always work hard. Hard work isn’t easy, and playing sports opened my eyes to
that. I learned to never give up and to always give one hundred percent no matter what I

do. It is important to work hard and be disciplined in school, in life, and in our careers.

Hard work can lead to success and happiness with whatever you are working towards.

Leadership, teamwork, time management, discipline, and hard work are traits that

sports can teach and will make people become better students and better people.

Along with teaching important traits which lead to better character and morals,

sports making me a better person kept me out of trouble. I am not saying that all

athletes are good people and that all non-athletes are bad people, but sports provided

people with an escape and it gives a lot students a reason to go to school and/or

continue their education. Student athletes being busier than others, keeps them from

being bored and keeps them from getting in trouble. When a student has to go to

school, practice their sport, and then do homework, it doesn’t leave them much time

during the week to do much else. They don’t have as much time or motive to go and get

in trouble. Martin Van Boekel who I quoted earlier also concluded that “The positive

factors students take from their school sports participation are important because these

factors can transfer to their academic and social sphere in a meaningful way”. One of

my favorite shows is the Netflix documentary Last Chance U. This show follows a Junior

College football team that gives some college football players a “last chance”. Big

named college football players who have gotten in trouble, or had problems

academically and have gotten kicked out of school, come to this community college to

play football and get a second chance at going to a big college to play football. This

show isn’t all about football though. A big part of this show follows the players

academically, showing their struggles, and accomplishments, in the classroom. A big

character in this show is Brittany Wagner, who is the academic advisor for the players.

She works hard to keep the players on track so that they can graduate from the Junior

College and move on. In an interview about the show and the players she worked with

Brittany Wagner stated “I don’t really take the mindset of ‘I need to mold them into

talking like I think they should talk, acting like I think they should act.’ I take the mindset

of "Let’s allow them to be who they are, and make them better, make them grow within

who they are." You have to allow people second chances, because what’s the

alternative? If we’re not going to educate them, if we’re not going to get to know them

and better them in some way, then what’s the alternative? We’re just sending them back

to the environment they came from to be a product of our system.” Playing sports

provides opportunities like no other to some people.

All over the country there are examples of how sports have given an opportunity

to someone who was in a rough situation. Kids that grew up in rough neighborhoods or

a rough home can escape that through playing sports. For some people the only reason

they go to school is because of sports. In high school I knew kids that only came to

school so that they would be eligible to play. In the study that Robert McGill Thomas Jr.

wrote about in his New York Times article, participation in athletics decreased the

dropout rate. Along with helping students stay in high school, playing sports is the only

reason why some students go on to college and pursue a higher education. As in the

show Last Chance U, the only reason those students were in college was because of

football. Playing sports was the reason most of these guys were staying out of trouble

and in a safe environment. Even though school wasn’t a strong point for a lot of them,

sports were the only reason they were in school and becoming better people in the
process. Playing sports allows students to have opportunities and to become

successful.

There are many arguments on why athletics can have a negative affect on

students though. Sharon K. Stroll, who has a PhD in Physical Education, along with

Jennifer M. Beller, who has a Master of Science in Physical Education, both wrote in a

chapter in a book about sports in school stating, “Research indicates that an athlete’s

moral reasoning becomes more ‘masked’ the longer he or she participates in

competitive athletics” (20). They believed that athletes morals are worse than some

non-athletes. Now in some cases I can see where some people can believe this. People

believe that athletes will go to whatever cost to win. There are a few that will cheat and

play dirty in order to win, but I believe most athletes use hard work and dedication in

order to succeed. Some people also believe that playing sports takes away too much

time from school creating a negative burden. Yes, in many cases playing sports may

cause student-athletes to have to miss class, but the students are still responsible for

making up the work, making them more responsible and requiring them to work harder.

The only downside that I see sometimes to playing sports in college is that athletes are

sometimes steered away from the major they want to go in just so they can play their

sport. Monica Pazmino-Cevallos who has a PhD in Sports wrote in an article about

student-athletes time commitment that “Twenty-two percent of student-athletes reported

being advised not to major in a particular academic field by either athletic or academic

personnel because of their athletic participation”. This is that athlete’s decision though.

It is their chose to play a sport and it is also their choice to major in what they want to.

There are some negatives to playing sports and going to school, especially in college,
but for the most part I believe that the positive effects of playing sports heavily

outweighs the negative effects.

Playing sports is good for everyone. Whether its little league, high school,

college, or as you grow older and playing in a slow pitch softball league, playing sports

is a great way to make friends, and to be around a select group of people that you

choose. Sports have made a positive impact on many things including the economy,

creation of jobs, national and community unity and pride. it creates role models, it helps

people and kids get active, it is a way to express emotions, and it brings people together

and supports people. Along with all of the positive impact of sports, I believe that playing

sports has a positive effect on students. In many ways playing sports can help people

grow and in turn become better students. I know for me, I was a better student and

person because of the lasting impact that playing sports left on me.
 Works Cited

Van Boekel, Martin, et al. “Effects of Participation in School Sports on Academic and Social

Functioning.” Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, vol. 46, 2016, pp. 31–40.,

doi:10.1016/j.appdev.2016.05.002.

Gerdy, John R. "Chapter 2: Do Sports Build Character?" Sports in School: The Future of an

Institution. N.p.: Teachers College, Columbia University, 2000. 18-30. Print

Jr., Robert Mcg. Thomas. “ATHLETICS; Playing Sports Doesn't Lift Grades, Study Finds.” The

New York Times, The New York Times, 16 Aug. 1989,

www.nytimes.com/1989/08/16/sports/athletics-playing-sports-dosen-t-lift-grades-study-

finds.html.

Ayers, K., Pazmino-Cevallos, M., & Dobose, C. (2012). The 20-hour rule: student-athletes time

commitment to athletics and academics.(Report). VAHPERD Journal, 33(1), 22.

Grimit, Nicole (2014) "Effects of Student Athletics on Academic Performance," The Journal of

Undergraduate Research: Vol. 12 , Article 5.