The Ball and the Book: Student Athletes Struggle to Prioritize

Senior and Co-President Louie Dane details the difficulties students face in balancing academics with athletics.

When it comes to being a student-athlete, Lab students are expected to perform well both on and off the field. Coaches expect performance, and teachers expect excellence. This brings up the question: What is more important— academics or athletics?

There are some strong opinions on this issue, ranging through all levels of competition. Collegiate, high school, and even grade school kids are being pressured to play sports and still maintain their report cards. Many teachers and academic instructors are inclined to support the pursuit of education over the “privilege” that is athletics.

We see examples of this in our own environment as well. Throughout September and October the members of the LMU Varsity Soccer team that were seated in 9th or 10th period classes were forced to miss class if they wanted to be a part of the squad.

“I constantly fell behind on my work and I struggled on tests,” comments Lucas Brody, a Lab senior enrolled in the 9th period AP Calculus AB class. “Because of the new schedule at Lab I was forced to miss AP Calculus twice a week to play in games. With a test taking up a period every week, this meant that I was only able to attend half the lessons.” Brody and four others were all in the same boat, trying to juggle their responsibilities in class and their duty to their team.

Predicaments like this occur in the lives of star athletes attempting to bypass collegiate education to make quick money in the pros. NBA MVPs Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett are just two of the large group of professional athletes who have put sports before their education. Because of these recognized jumps, NBA Commissioner David Stern implemented a ban that keeps high school seniors from signing with NBA franchises after their graduation. Since its inception in 2006, critics have branded it the “One-and-Done” rule, since players entering the league must be at least 19 years old and one year out of high school.

In this case, Stern and the NBA are prioritizing education over athletics and immediate success. Professional athletes usually don’t have careers that last any longer than 15 years at best, so the NBA and other professional sports leagues are discouraging a jump that will leave unsuccessful athletes without collegiate educations at the end of their careers. However, the argument against the rule is that it puts a superficial tag on collegiate education. NBA-bound athletes only go to college for a year to satisfy the requirement, not to study for a year.

Sports and Academics will always be connected. It is just a matter of what means more to the athlete. Sure, education is important, but there are only a precious few years where athletes are even physically able to compete. Why not play when you’re able to and learn when you can’t play?

Note: Lucas Brody, who was quoted in this article, has been accepted and will attend the University of Michigan and Louie Dane, the author, was accepted into the University of Maryland with Honors. Both are starters on Varsity sports teams.