Every student athlete knows that there is a struggle between grades and sports.  It doesn’t matter if it’s them or a teammate slipping up, it affects everyone.  Student athletes need to set aside time designated to their studies, and we all know that time management is a vital part of playing for a team.

No matter if it’s a 69 failing grade or a zero, poor grades cause the team to lose players, and then they become stressed.  The added pressure can affect an athlete’s performance in both class and practice.

A good solution to this is having homework time as a team. My coach makes us study for the first half hour of practice if our grades slip below a 75, but are we really doing our work?

This solution only works if every athlete participates.  If coaches give us time to get caught up on work and assignments, we need to take it.  

Some athletes only care about their sport and throw away their grades, this shows that they aren’t successful at balancing school and sports.  This sometimes will resort to them becoming ineligible to play.

According to KRQE Sports, 36% of high school athletes across New Mexico fail at least one class.  It may not seem like a large number, but 36% is almost four out of ten athletes failing.  Even one F can bring down an athlete’s GPA and affect them being accepted into colleges they desire if they don’t bring their grades up.

Many high school athletes end up not being able to go to a Division 1 school that they wanted to attend just because of poor grade performance.  You’d think that this would be enough to scare student-athletes into getting good grades, but it isn’t that simple.

Many athletes simply can’t make the time.  This further proves my point that if players are given an opportunity to study, they need to take it.  

Even if it’s just a quick worksheet while on the bus, that can help bring up your grade.  Time is time, and we need to use it.  

Athletes’ schedules are crazy busy, but we still need to remember that our studies are the priority.  Student comes before athlete, and we need to remember that.