In 2012, Nike released a product and with it, the following advertising slogan was unveiled, “Life is a sport, make it count!” While the product in large part fizzled, the catchphrase continues to inspire athletes of all ages to stay busy with physical activity. For many senior athletes, this motto serves as a central theme in the decision process to pursue a sport at the college level. Although there are many critical crossroads that occur during the senior year of high school, none is more challenging than the resolution to invest the significant amount of time that is required of a college athlete. While there are numerous ways that a student can make “their sport count,” most credit the decision to the financial benefit package, prestige …show more content…
With that being said, playing a sport in college offers a student the opportunity to earn a significant portion of their education costs. As an additional bonus, athletes are occasionally offered more elaborate living arrangements which are school funded. Besides freedom from the obligations of tuition and room and board, athletes usually receive other perks such as fashionable team gear, quality sports equipment, and the privilege to use sophisticated training facilities. No matter the physical and emotion toll that athletics may impart on a student, the monetary benefits make it a compelling …show more content…
Mia Hamm, arguably the best female soccer player of all time said, “Somewhere behind the athlete you’ve become, the hours of practice, and the coaches who have pushed you, is a little girl who fell in love with the game. Play for her.” Surprisingly enough, this simple reason is at the very core of the decision process for numerous stars. Many seniors find the impending end of an athletic career overwhelming and they seek out opportunities to continue their passion at the college level. As a result, the love of the game attracts them to compete at a higher level, and for those, the daily grind is worth the effort that an athletic commitment
College sports are a major part of American culture. College athletes devote hours upon hours a week to their sports training, but unfortunately, sports can take up a lot of time and distract from other important activities. This can harm academics, as athletes have to balance sports and academics, especially at a college. Participating in sports is almost like working a part-time job and having to balance school too which can be difficult to do, and focus may be rendered on one task and not both. Furthermore, athletes will be on scholarships too, which is why college athletes should not be paid.
What a lot of people do not realize is that a college sport is just the same a pro sport but with students. Playing a collegiate sport requires a lot of time and effort from a student. Athletes, spend on average, 43+ hours training or playing their sport. People, at most, work 40 hours a week. Athletes do not have time for a job but some are expected to be able to pay for food or expenses they might have such as, uniform fees, equipment fees, and all others that may apply.
Depending on what sport you play some student athletes play multiple sports in college. Students are sometimes able to take some classes for free which means free credits to go on your college resume. Even though the free credits are nice to have and good to take advantage of, it means more homework and time spent in the classroom (Arnett 1). There is already so much stress on college students if they are just there to do their studies, and then throwing sports and practice into their schedules makes it very difficult for students to succeed. Balancing work, school, and sports is so difficult for students to do and succeed in all 3 (Dellenger 1).
However these benefits do not outweigh the amount of revenue generated by college sports. According to a report by the National College Players Association, “the average scholarship for a football, basketball, and softball player is $3,285 per year”This means that even with scholarships many college athletes still struggle to pay for basic necessities like food and housing. Additionally, while College athletes do receive Healthcare this is often limited to injuries That occur while playing the sport they are not covered for the other medical issues that may arise in the future. While for education, its certainly a valuable benefit it does not compensate College athletes for the time and effort they put into their Sports. These so-called benefits that these college athletes get does not help them in the long run nor with things that will actually help them during their time playing their Sport and
However, despite the high value of a free education, college athletes are often exempt from attending classes and held to low academic standards, both of which greatly diminish this value (Richter). The exemption from attending class and the low academic standard is a large disadvantage to each student-athlete individually because without receiving a full, authentic education the majority of college athletes who do not become professionals in their sports after college are left without the skills that they need to start a career that relies on academic knowledge (Richter). This also allows college athletes to fall deeper into debt because of the fact that college sports usually do not allow enough free time to obtain a job to pay for personal expenses
College tuition is a big expense, as many people know, but for some people this expense may be covered by receiving a scholarship for academics and/or athletics. As a grade 12 student athlete I have been paying more attention to tuition and scholarships lately, one thing I have come to realize is; not every college or university athlete receives compensation for playing. College and university athletes typically struggle in their programs and deal with a lot of stress because of how demanding their sports and studies are, it's also extremely hard to effectively time manage and get everything done. Another thing to highlight is how difficult it is to become an athlete in a post secondary setting. An additional thought that comes to mind is what
“College athletes don’t have to worry about student loans, paying for textbooks, the cost of on-campus living, and meal plans” (McCauley). These student athletes are still going to college, hence the name college athletes. They are not professionals, and this is not the big leagues. A scholarship can take care of a big portion of the cost to go to college. Even if it doesn’t cover the whole cost, they are still paying a lot less than a regular student going to college.
In the article, “The Secret Life of Tiger Woods” by Wright Thompson, the author explains the life of champion golfer Tiger Woods after his father’s death. The article “Are parents ruining youth sports? Fewer kids play amid pressure,” by Michael S. Rosenwald illustrates how fewer kids are doing youth sports due to the constant pressure of feeling not good enough. Both of these articles explain how growing up with sports have affected the lives of many, however, I believe that the quest to become an “elite athlete” is not worth the many sacrifices it requires people to make. Many people give up so much in their life to become athletes, but ultimately it results in regrettable long-lasting problems which would never have happened if the sacrifices
While some believe that athletes should have their own choice at making a decision to go pro straight out of high school, they should not do so because they will not be able to manage their million dollar contracts respectively. Speaking of contracts, the NBA should eliminate guaranteed contracts for rookies drafted in the first round of the NBA draft. They should do this because a careless high school kid, could just go into the draft not knowing, or caring on how much they are going to make, with the lack of experience on handling millions of dollars. This is very unrepsonsibible for a teenager, and not only for the high school athlete, but also for the basketball association as well. This is because of there noncommitment to have these players
Paying College Athletes This essay I’m going to talk about paying college athletes and why we should pay them a little bit of money. I think we should pay college athletes a little bit of money. I have some facts and reasons why we should to back up reason why we should. Here are my facts and reasons to support my opinion about this topic.
College sports is one of the best-known entertainments around the world. But for the athletes, they are students first then athletes second. For college student-athletes, there are a variety of scholarships and grants to help pay for college or college debt. However, some critics say that student-athletes should be paid a salary like pro athletes would, with help from scholarships or grants. The authors of, College Athletes are being Educated, not Exploited, Val Ackerman and Larry Scott, argue that student-athletes are already paid by free education and other necessities.
II. Athletes are already paid through scholarships and should be going to college primarily for an education. A. In a USA Today College article, points out that athletes are already paid through scholarships, experience and education (Marshall, Blake).
Sean Gregory accurately and truthfully informs parents about the very small probability of receiving a significant return from expensive youth sports. Gregory’s odds are confirmed by the NCAA itself reporting that on average roughly 6.3% of high school athletes advance to NCAA Division I, II, or III. Indeed, Gregory is correct and creates a successful argument about the outcomes of this
Did you know that depending on the sport, students who play sports in college most likely have less than a 2% chance of becoming professional athletes? At middle schools, high schools and colleges across the country, everyone is arguing over whether or not students with failing grades should be allowed to play sports. In my opinion, a good education is so very important for our country’s youth, especially the athletes. Not a lot of kids are good enough to play in the top college sports programs in the country. But even those who are, still have an astonishingly low chance at making the professional leagues.
Colleges are scouting or looking at kids from the age of ten years old. For March Madness (college basketball tournament) a student athlete would miss up to six days of class that they would have to make up later on, due to traveling and having to be with the team. Football player dedicate 43.3 hours of their own life to college sports. Whether it’s going to the weight room, film sessions, or just putting some type of work for the team. It is also more common for athletes who play football or basketball to go pro than in any other college sport.