According to the Program Philosophy and Benefits from the MIAA Coaches Handbook, “In the education of 63% of the young people attending MIAA member schools, athletic participation is a critical component.” Being apart of an extracurricular as a student is vastly important to the development and personal growth of the teenager. Students who join a sports team have a big list of long term benefits. The MIAA Coaches Handbook continued to state, “Within a high school sports program, young people learn values including: discipline, teamwork, sacrifice, accountability, sportsmanship, leadership and many other characteristics.” Being a student athlete is a great way to grow up “as comfortably as possible.” Now let's break this "Student Athlete" phrase down.
The Student:
Student athletes first priority is always academics; the passion of the sport they play will force them to balance both sports and academics. In order to be a student athlete, one must see if they are academically eligible . For MIAA, Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, rules the following as what make you eligible to be a student athlete in Massachusetts:
- Students must fulfill a certain number of credits, which is the number of class they are enrolled in.
- Students need to pass the course from the previous year in order to be eligible for playing a fall sport.
Along with those rules of eligibility, most high schools have their own rules. For example, if the student is absent from a day of school, then the student is not eligible to participate in that days practice or the following days game. Similarly, at some private schools they require that the students maintain a certain GPA. One major difference between private and public schools is that private schools can implement rules as they see fit.
The Athlete:
A student athlete is passionate about the sport(s) they play. They know they have to be responsible for all their school work getting done; moreover, they also know how to be responsible for their sport(s). For example, along with all their school work, they need to make sure they have: a change of clothes, change of shoe, protective equipment (if needed), water, a ride home, a good night sleep, eaten a healthy meal and worked hard. If students want to play a sport, they have to understand the level of commitment that is required.There are also different levels of teams such as: freshman, junior varsity and varsity. Most varsity teams have practices and games 5-6 days a week. To determine which team is the best fit for the student the coaches hold a tryout. Once placed on the proper team, athletes go to work.
Student athletes have a lot to balance between school life, athletics life, family life, work life, and social life. They are up until late hours of the night finishing homework after long bus ride from an away game. They balance Friday nights basketball game and their freshman semi formal. They miss class and still have to get all their work done. They spend their weekend traveling to tournaments and practicing. Student athlete are no joke; they are hard working kids who will stop at nothing to do what they love. Ray Lewis once said, “Don't walk through life just playing football. Don't walk through life just being an athlete. Athletics will fade. Character and integrity and really making an impact on someone's life, that's the ultimate vision, that's the ultimate goal - bottom line.”
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