Risiglione 1

Kevin Risiglione

Professor Batty

English 101

30 May 2019

Time on The Clock: Student Athletes Battling Time

Everybody wants to be a part of something. Often, they don’t expect the work it takes.

The greatest humans were not afraid to sacrifice natural human activities to be at the top of their

field. What is worth sacrificing, what isn’t? Can one compromise on responsibility to meet other

expectations they or someone they admire have? Students have to prioritize their education at the

college level because nobody is going to hold their hand. Student athletes have a much harder

time because of the competitive nature of sports. They have to manage time for their studies,

attend practice, all while still taking care of their mental and emotional well-being. One proposed

solution to this issue is to arrange exclusive morning classes, that are for student athletes only.

This would free up their schedule for practice and other sport related activities.

In the beginning, school is practically mandatory. Students wake up, get dressed, maybe

eat breakfast, brush their teeth, and head out to school. Eight o clock, till around 3, that’s

typically the day they have. Some kids are playing a sport that requires them to go to practice

after school. These kids may choose, eventually, to play for the school they attend. Being part of

a sports team is not for everyone. A former amateur soccer player and coach of mine, Coach

Andrade, once told me, “You are able to have anything you want, only if you maintain a belief

that you are meant for this thing you want.” What I took from this is that if I stick with

something long enough, the desired outcome will be mine. The average athlete spends 3-4 hours
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a day, training to be a better player. Adding academics to this already grueling schedule, it seems

almost impossible to have any form of a “normal” life.

Student athletes are greatly admired by their peers and even some of their professors.

Seeing them in class is always inspiring because they have the will to show dominance on and

off the field. All the hours in training and time spent practicing is clear in the game. We know

about how good they are at shooting a ball or catching a touchdown, but what is not discussed is

the efforts they make to learn in class and at home. How is there time for school work after being

in lectures and at practice? Student athletes have a greater challenge managing time because of

all that is expected of them. Scheduling conflicts are one of the biggest challenges for student

athletes. Jabari Howard, a student at UC Davis and corner-back on the football team, told the

Huffington Post, how hard it is to manage time for school and sports. He explains, " Because of

our football schedule we cannot take any classes after 2:00 P.M. And after practice finishes at

around 7:00 P.M, catching up with school work isn’t always the first thing on your mind.

Traveling every other weekend can cause you to miss out on class time and a social life." He is

saying how tough it is to get school work done on time because of practice or traveling games.

With all the demands of higher learning, it is a challenge to manage what classes to miss or

whether one should skip out on practice. With the ruthless nature of finding a spot on the team,

athletes are stuck between the metaphorical rock and hard place. How is one expected to choose?

There are only so many hours in the day. Students today have to learn a key skill; time

management. This is act of organizing time throughout the day, or week, to carry out tasks and

meet certain deadlines. Time management is the key to achieving success in college and in life as

well.
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Some student athletes are only in school to get drafted in their sport. One and Done

athletes are athletes who are only in college for a year. They are limited by league age

requirements that force them to be a year removed from high school. Some athletes are not in a

position to add college expenses to the financial obligations of their family, though they must

still have a good academic standing to be a part of the team. The National Collegiate Athletic

Association, or NCAA, an organization which regulates athletes across over 1000 schools, stated

in an article about “one and done” athletes that it isn’t always the first thought to go to college

and play. They articulated, “… the astronomical compensations that beckon in the professional

league ups the ante for families and other third parties from the earliest spark of talent.” Meaning

that some student athletes are left with no choice but to go for the check. Student athletes would

benefit from early classes to have more time to focus on their future that will provide for their

family. The better their grades are the more they can practice and preform on the field to provide

for their families. They have to go to school and accumulate fees for education and such before

they can go to the pros.

A proposed solution to a student athlete’s challenge of time management is to have

classes as early in the morning as possible. Earlier classes would allow students to meet their

athletic demands without sacrificing their academic responsibilities. Other students could apply

for these early classes but, the athletes would have priority. Special permission codes could be

given to athletes that would benefit from the timing. With classes in the morning, students have

their afternoons free for practice. Teachers would be able to teach the same curriculum without

having to deviate from their original teaching plan. At Los Angeles Valley College, student

athletes can access “The Zone” for additional support. The zone offers tutoring in Math and

English every Tuesday and Wednesday. There is a counselor on site to aid students and provide
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supervision. With the help of The Zone student athletes can find the help they need and meet the

academic obligations that come before their sports.

Some people might argue that athletes should not be given ‘private’ classes so they can

play ball after class. Many students have other responsibilities that leave them no option but to

take classes in the morning. Many students are also working, some of whom have children and

must provide for their family. Working class students with children should clearly get access to

these morning classes over students that play a sport. However, I argue that student athletes have

been taken for granted long enough by learning institutions. Information gathered by Business

Insider, an outlet that covers all things concerning money, shows us that in 2018 alone, the

NCAA generated $1 billion in revenue (Cameron 1). Not a single dollar will see the pocket of an

athlete that contributed to the generating of that money. The least that can be done to mend the

years of negligence is to use the money those same students generate into improving their

educations so that they don’t have to live the rest of their lives dependent on a sport that will

forget about them after they are too old to play. Schools should not overlook the importance of

student athletes to their ecosystem.

College is nothing like grade school. Students are the only ones held accountable when

they do not meet their expected responsibilities. If they don’t meet a deadline, then there are

consequences. Time management is paramount to success in higher learning. Student athletes

should be able to go to school and practice without having to pick one or the other. They have

just as much right to an education as anyone else. They should be given access to early classes to

allow proper time management. Student athletes are not just athletes, they are students first,

athletes second. Once their bodies have passed their prime they shouldn’t regret having
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compromised themselves for not having the time in college, they should have the knowledge to

carry on living productive lives and contributing to society.

Works Cited

Andrade, Coach. Anecdote from Coach. 2016.

Cameron, Steve. “The NCAA Brings in $1 Billion a Year - Here's Why It Refuses to Pay Its
College Athletes.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 26 Mar. 2019,
www.businessinsider.com/ncaa-college-athletes-march-madness-basketball-football-
sports-not-paid-2019-3.
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"The One-and-Done Dilemma | An NCAA Champion Feature." NCAA.org - The Official Site of

the NCAA. 14 Mar. 2019 <http://www.ncaa.org/static/champion/the-one-and-done-

dilemma/>.

Uloop. “The Life of a Student Athlete.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 June
2013, www.huffingtonpost.com/uloop/the-life-of-a-student-ath_b_2963409.html.