Piva 1 Keegan Piva Trenton Judson English 1010 12/03/12 Positive Effects of Sports Everyday around the United

States there are high school students on the verge of dropping out. They think that dropping out and getting a job is the best thing to do. One study found that 63 percent of students who dropped out had earned a diploma or GED within eight years of the year they normally should have graduated (High School Dropout Rates). This shows that the students who dropout figure out that they need that education to have a better job. Another study done by Ralph B. McNeal, a PhD in sociology shows that students that participate in high school sports have a lesser chance of dropping out (McNeal 69). So if those students who had dropped out would have participated in sports, maybe they never would have dropped out. The study done by McNeal is just one example of the positive things that can come out of participating in sports in high school. I agree that participating in sports in high school has many positive factors because not only do the studies show that they are positive, I have also experienced the effects firsthand. Students participating in high school sports have a higher level of academic achievement than those students who are not actively involved in sports. There are many studies that have proved this statement and one was done by William G. Camp. He is a PhD in vocational and Career Development and he said in his study that, student activity level, produced a positive, significant effect on academic achievement (Camp 277). His studies just confirm my belief and many others that high school sports cause a positive influence on students grades. For me it had

Piva 2 a small but significant positive influence on my grades. Through my first three years of high school I participated in football and wrestling. In those three years I had a grade point average (GPA) of 3.8. Going into my senior year I got injured and was unable to participate in sports the whole year. I noticed a big drop in my interest to do as well in school. My senior year I ended with a 3.75 GPA. For me sports were a reason to do well in school. If I didnt do well then I wouldnt be able to participate because of the no-pass, no-play rule. That is if you dont pass your classes they will not allow you to participate in the sport. Once I got injured my need to do as well in school went down because I knew I didnt need the grades to participate. That is why I pushed to do well in my academics. I believe with any student athletes that this is the case. When the student has to spend extra time at school in those sports they have less extra time to do their studying. With the less extra time after school and sports the athlete is more likely to spend the time on studying and not other things such as TV or video games. This was another part of Camps study. He shows in his study the amount of time spent on studying and watching television. The students who were in sports spent less time watching TV and more time studying, which could be the result of needing to get the schoolwork done in order to participate in that sport. Camps study is a major contributor to helping prove that academic achievement is positively influenced by participating in sports. The numbers of students that are likely to drop out of high school are less when the students participate in some type of sport. This was the conclusion of a study done by Ralph B. McNeal. The results of his study show that, students who participated in athletics were an estimated 1.7 times less likely to drop out than were those who did not participate (McNeal 69). From this statistic in McNeals study it shows that sports are an important part of a students high school career. In general, according to the same study a student who participates in any

Piva 3 extracurricular activity was less likely to drop out. The rates for other activities were 1.2 times less likely to drop out showing that sports do help significantly. I believe that the reason that participating in sports has such a significant role on students is because it gives them something to look forward to. There is a good majority of students who may not necessarily enjoy school but when it comes to the sports part of school they love it. This gives them a good reason to come to school every day. These student athletes, who dont enjoy the classes, will enjoy them a little bit more if they have that sport to look forward to after class. For me sports did that exact thing. As I said before I did well in classes because of being able to participate in those sports after school. It was something that I looked forward to everyday and enjoyed doing besides just school work. If there were days that I didnt want to come to school, I thought about having those practices or games after school and that would motivate me. For other students it may just be something that they are more successful at. B.B. Brown and W. Theobald, writers for Cambridge and the University of Chicago, said for others, activities may be the only place to obtain success tied to the school context, in that such success would not be obtained through academic (Feldman 5). This shows that not everyone can achieve greatly in academics but if they have sports to excel in they will stay in school and attempt to learn the required material. Being able to participate in these sports is probably the difference between a student dropping out and them trying to stay in school for sports. It goes to show that participating in high school sports really does have its positive sides on a students life. Student athletes in high school are more likely to learn teamwork and important skills needed for everyday life after high school. A student athlete is more likely to pick up on these traits rather than a nonstudent athlete because they are forced to work together to get their team to achieve its greatest potential. To work together a team must use team work and the team must

Piva 4 bond with one another in order to want to achieve for each other. This is done by spending time with the other students on the team. Most of this time is during practices and having to spend many hours after school in order to build the team. As Feldman and Matjasko, two professors in Human Ecology at the University of Texas, have said in their work, During extracurricular activities, students are better able to get to know other peers and adults through personal bonding and mutual trust and commitment (Feldman 162). This statement and the rest of their research show that extracurricular activities help a student get to know others. This is done because they have more time during practices to get to bond and talk with the other participants. By having this extra time the students learn the important skills that are needed to interact with new people. They develop a social aspect to their lives that they have learned through sports and will carry on after high school. From building this social part of the team they begin to work together better and understand each other. This helps them begin to learn teamwork. As their coaches help them to learn different plays and moves they learn that everyone is needed in this team for their team to succeed. The athletes will then learn to trust others because when one student does his/her job and so does the other student then the team will succeed. Once the student athletes have learned to trust the other athletes they will then learn to commit to something. This commitment is gained because they dont want to lose their teammates trust and will commit to the team. If everyone is doing their part each student athlete should learn team work, trust, and commitment. These three things are very important things to have especially once they continue on in their lives and want to succeed in whatever lifestyle they choose. The student will have to be able to use all three of those traits in order to succeed in most jobs that they have. It is very important for students to be involved in these activities so they can learn to work as a team and to trust others.

Piva 5 Sports in high school also help students who participate in sports figure out who they are and what they like in life. As Penelope Eckert, a PhD in linguistics said, Being a member of a particular group structures what individuals do with their time and the kinds of values and norms to which they are exposed (Feldman 162). As Eckert said in her statement being part of a group helps form who an individual is. So when a student athlete is around others during practice they learn from each other what they like. The student will learn from others what kind of things that they like other than the sport that they are in. A lot of times the students will hang out with the other participants after the sport because they like common things. The students learn who they really are during these times and that carries on with them throughout life. One thing research has shown is that students who participate in sports are less likely to use drugs. Feldman and Matjasko said in their research that, When adolescents participated in 1 to 4 hours of activities per week, they were significantly less likely to use drugs or smoke cigarettes (Feldman 184). This statement shows that a good amount of time spent in an activity is a positive way that keeps the students away from drugs and cigarettes. Most school sports teams spend that amount of time if not more in after school activities. The reason the students are more likely to learn who they are during these school sports rather than during school is because in the sports they spend more time together. This allows them to get to know the other student athletes better and then begin to form their own opinions and beliefs based on what they have heard. This is the reason why sports are so important to help a student figure out who they are and will build their character in a positive way. The participation in high school sports can be a positive aspect of a students education in many different ways. Studies have shown that students who participate in sports tend to have a higher GPA than those who dont. This is only one great reason why students should participate

Piva 6 in sports. Some other great reasons are that the students will learn who they are and what they believe, learn very important skills needed to succeed in life, and also be less likely to drop out of school. This research is very important to society because some believe that sports take away from students academic study time and this proves to them that it actually benefits the students. With all of these different research studies done it can show to the naysayers that sports really do create a positive influence on these young student athletes. In fact students do better in school and in life because of these activities. Another reason why this research is so important is because parents around the United States care about their kids education and their academics. Knowing this information will help reassure and encourage parents that having their son or daughter play in high school sports is a very positive influence.

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References Camp, William G. "Participation in Student Activities and Achievement: A Covariance Structural Analysis." The Journal of Educational Research 83.5 (1990): 272-78. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27540397 Feldman, A. F., and J. L. Matjasko. "The Role of School-Based Extracurricular Activities in Adolescent Development: A Comprehensive Review and Future Directions." Review of Educational Research 75.2 (2005): 159-210. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3516048. "High School Dropout Rates." Welcome to the Child Trends DataBank. N.p., Oct. 2012. Web. 10 Nov. 2012. <http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/?q=node/300>. McNeal, Ralph B., Jr. "Extracurricular Activities and High School Dropouts." Sociology of Education 68.1 (1995): 62-80. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2112764