High school athletes have always dreamed of becoming professionals.

Their lifetime dream has built up for the moment to be drafted and make their debut in the sport that they have always played and watched.

However, one question still needs to be answered.  Should high school athletes be allowed to skip college and head directly to the professional leagues?

College has always been highlighted as a must for education.  Although the professional leagues don’t particularly allow the player to receive a necessary education, the athletes are usually given a very generous amount of money over a period of time.

“I think it’s awesome for them, but they are also skipping out on an education. Plus there are drawbacks for them like what will they do after they are done with their career and have no education,” said sophomore Jordan Boyd.

College is also a great path to take. While playing the sport the player loves, he/she also profits from the great education that will be provided alongside.  Although this path doesn’t provide the generous amount of money right away, the athlete could just stay with their sport through college and head to the professionals later.

“I think it’s dumb because they should have a career to fall back on if things don’t work out,” said freshman Mike Giordano.

People’s judgment may differ as time passes.  Maybe if the player is really good he or she should be able to skip college.  Conversely, others may think that the players shouldn’t be able to skip college because of past experiences such as suffering a career-ending injury.

Overall, this still seems to be a hot topic, and may still be in discussion for a while.

Sometimes decisions are vital to think about. Will the athlete be able to work for after their career if they didn’t go to college?  If he/she does go to college, will they be missing out on a huge payday?

Sophomore Women’s Varsity Basketball player Shelby Haynes also said multiple scenarios could be discussed, but that it is really the athlete’s decision.

“I feel like if they are good enough they could go, but they are missing on a real important education,” said Haynes, “I think they should be required to take at least a year.”