Long ago, sports were just a leisure activity. Something to have fun with. Maybe to help instill a few values like teamwork, hard work, etc. There was some friendly pride with other schools involved. Some excelled and played in college and a few even professionally, where the stakes were high and the competition intense. School sports are now void of that innocence.
Sports are no longer just a distraction. They are the focus, often impeding the work of teachers. To make a team you often have to play AAU or offseason leagues Many teams hold practices that run several hours long several nights a week, if not every night. Many teams now require time for film viewing or workouts on weekend, or even practicing. By the time athletes get home most night's they are already physically and mentally exhausted - yet they are somehow supposed to do homework and study - of course, there is no time for freetime. It is even worse on nights when there are games. There is no quality time to study after school. The game goes late. If it is an away game, students supposedly can do their homework on the bus. Of course that will never happen. By the time the students are done with the game and home, there is no time to study, and if the student does study, it will likely be very unproductive or cut into their sleep - leading to tiredness and sleeping in school the next day, which make the next day that much more unproductive. And the next day there is probably practice. This repeats and the student gets more and more worn out, grades keep dropping, and soon they are falling way behind other students.
More emphasis is often put on sports than education (even if it is not admitted). It is sad that at most schools a student can participate in sports with a low GPA- sometimes as low as a 1.0 and usually no higher than a 2.0. I think it is a privilege, not a right, to participate in athletics. In fact, I think it is a responsibility. You are representing the school and trying to prove you are the better school. You are the best the school has.
The most disturbing thing is parents that pressure their kids in sports. To become involved in many sports these days, you have to give up your weekends, spring breaks, vacations, summers to dedicate their lives to sports. Children are being robbed of their childhoods. Even the most important things are being destroyed. Not just education, but practices and games often cause families not to eat dinner together regularly, instead forcing people to pick up fast food. (Causing not only family breakdown but overweight children.) Many parents put so much pressure on having one type of talent -athletic talent- instead of letting the children develop their real talents and interests. It seems every parent thinks their kid is the next superstar and they have to spends loads of money and time traveling, attending camps. training, to get the most out of their kids. It is no longer fun. And coaches that get into education so they can coach make it their life, working on it year-around. Teachers are often hired not because they are the best educator but because they can coach. The coaches make it sports become a job. Everything revolves around it. Getting good grades is necessary so you can stay eligible. The more practices the better. Even if it cuts into education. No more spring break, no more summer break, or Christmas vacation. We have to stay in town for our sports. Much of school sports is just politics anyway, so you have to be in a certain family or group to get on a team or play. School sports is no longer a positive pursuit. It isn't fun, it is overwhelming. The primary goal is winning. Sports are winning. And education is losing. Sports are a great, great thing. I am a HUGE sports fan. But in our hypercompetitive society, they are losing their meaning.
1 comment:
You also pointed out to me that Tipp's high school wrestling team had practice on Christmas day. Barely believable!
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