Being a student-athlete can be a challenge. Finding a balance between being a great athlete and being a great student, is asked of all high school athletes, and there are standards to keep up grades and turn in assignments during the season to maintain GPA requirements for sports.
Coaches encourage athletes that being a student comes before athletics, but students have expressed the struggle of keeping up with assignments and school work during the longevity of a season. Soccer player Beckham Schwartz expressed the balance of being a student and athlete, saying, “To balance my academics and athletics I make sure to split my time between the two to not fall behind in my academics.”
Schwartz isn’t the only student-athlete passionate about his sports and grades. Baseball and soccer player Colton Froman recognizes the importance of being a great athlete and student. Froman shares,
“It can be a little stressful at times to keep up with school work especially if we have games away but I just find study periods and I stay focused when I need to.’’
Coaches have also echoed how importance of maintaining high academic expectations, especially when students start thinking about their future and who they want to be.
Froman notes the expectations of his baseball coaches by saying, “My coaches want and expect my GPA to be at least a 3 and the players to be good students because school always comes first.”
Wilsonville embraces a culture of having its athletes keep up academic integrity. There are many resources for student-athletes such as life classes and access.
Schwartz embraces the opportunities of being a student-athlete but he knows academics come first- stating,
“I think oftentimes to get opportunities in the future in sports you need to have a great academic resume and try and study in things you are passionate about.”
Many athletes have dreams of continuing to play in college. All colleges have many requirements with GPA and test scores, so in high schools, coaches set many expectations to set their athletes up for success.