7A – Part 1
Opportunity: There are thousands of student of
student athletes in high schools and colleges that have an extremely hard time juggling
classes with sports. Teachers who do not understand the rigors of playing
sports along with coaches who do not understand how demanding school is.
The who: Student athletes (High school –
College)
The what: Struggling to excel on and off the
field.
The why: Modern day teachers along with
coaches who do not understand the stresses put on student athletes to make it
in the class room and on the field.
Testing who: I believe everyone who participates
in any competitive sports whether in high school or in college has this need.
Whether the individual is a starter or back up, taking easy classes or hard
classes the stresses of being a student athlete can be felt.
Testing the what: A student athlete sometime during
their career will have a coach or teacher that sympathizes with the athlete and
the struggles that come with it. While there is tutors and help outside the
class room many of these occur a nighttime when the athlete is drained from the
day.
Testing the why: Twenty years ago schools and sports
were much different than they are today. High schools these days are strictly
focused on getting into college. Whether it’s trying to meet stricter college
test score requirements or getting as much exposure as possible to get an athletic
scholarship. These were all different back when most of the coaches and teachers
were in school. This makes it hard for them to relate to student athletes
nowadays.
Interviews: I interviewed three high school
student athletes and two Division 1 collegiate student athletes. The sports
included high school volleyball, women’s basketball, softball and collegiate
baseball and football. In summery all of the athletes agree that juggling
sports and academics is very difficult. Pressures from coaches to train every
minute they can in order to get a scholarship is just as overwhelming as teachers
pushing them to get grades up. Student athletes are constantly riding the line
between teachers and coaches.
Hello Isaac. The opportunity you describe here I think is really interesting, since it's what made me refuse keep playing volleyball when entering college. I totally agree with you, and consider that the pressure they put on the student athletes is too strong and disproportionate, since they are not professionals, and they mustn't be treated as such. Good work.
ReplyDeleteHey Isaac, i agree coaches always feel that their sport is the only think that goes on in student lives. And high school teachers think there class is the end all be all class and every student needs to spend 10 hours a day doing homework. Combing these two problems makes it even worse for student. Then when you add a high school job, or any other outside activity, high school ends up being more demanding then a 40 hour a week job.
ReplyDeleteAs a former student athlete I know how hard this can be to juggle but I also understand that school cannot be made easier for me simply because I play a sport. Unfortunately it is a choice that is made knowing how hard the process is. I know that in the last 5 years since I left high school they have made changes throughout school systems about how long students are allowed to practice. My questions to you would just be how would this opportunity be solved?
ReplyDeleteHi Isaac, I don't have any experience myself with being a student athlete but a few of my friends do and have told me how tough it can be. Sometimes school work alone is tough for me handle, I can't imagine having to juggle between getting good grades and perfecting your talent for a sport. I am interested to see how you would solve this issue.
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