Students should have good grades to play sports

The issue today is that many students who play sports are not academically excelling. This incongruence can ruin their chance of going to a good college and getting a professional job. Therefore, students must have good grades to play sports.

This essay was written by a student in Katherine Cohen’s 7th-grade English class at Greenberg Elementary in Northeast Philadelphia. The students were assigned the task of writing a persuasive letter. Some of those letters have been revised by the students and submitted to be published in various Philadelphia media outlets.

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Imagine yourself as a great athlete who has just graduated high school. You may be strong and fast, but what will people think of you if you received poor grades? The issue today is that many students who play sports are not academically excelling. This incongruence can ruin their chance of going to a good college and getting a professional job. Therefore, students must have good grades to play sports.

Athletes who play sports do not always get full athletic scholarships. Therefore, playing ability should not be fully relied on. If you do not play basketball or football at Division I or II levels, you will only receive half-athletic scholarships. Even if you play in Division III or Ivy League schools, you will not get genuine scholarships. There are not enough scholarships to give everyone full-athletic scholarships. For example, statistics show that there are 160,893 UIL (University Interscholastic League) participants but only 15,997.2 college scholarships. In this case, most athletes would not get scholarships, or a coach might give players half-athletic scholarships, so that more players will have it. Therefore, it is an imperative idea to get good grades so you can at least get a partial academic scholarship

Having good grades gives many financial benefits to students. For example, schools offer merit money, money received based on academic, artistic or athletic excellence. This would be a privilege to have especially if you are having trouble affording college. Having a half-athletic scholarship combined with the other half merit money can equal to having a full scholarship. However, this will only happen if you excel in both sports and studies. Thus, it is beneficial to have good grades to play sports.

Coaches look for students with good grades, not only playing ability. It is to one’s benefit to have good grades. The NCAA, or National Collegiate Athletic Association, will not allow students to play sports unless they meet the required GPA and standardized test score. This means that coaches do not have any other choice but to only accept the students with good grades. In addition, grades will portray your character. Peter Miller, Vice President of Admissions at American International College, refers to students excelling in academics as “less of a headache.” Your grades also prove that you are able to equally balance both academics and athletics. If you impress a coach with your good grades, there is a higher chance of being selected into a team.

Students should have good grades to play sports. Even if you are a great athlete, you will probability not get a full-athletic scholarship. Having good grades can lessen your stress about affording college. Since colleges and coaches would rather have students with good grades, always keep it handy. Considering these major facts, everyone should take this situation seriously and convince the government to make this a rule for every school/ state to follow. You should convince the government of Pennsylvania by sending letters to them.

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Sources

“College coaches prefer high school student-athletes who have good grades,” by Bill Wells, The Republican
“Should school sports require students to have good grades?” by Chris Blake, Demand Media
“Student Athletes” by DJo137, Teen Ink