Dear Editors,

In the April 12 edition of The Oracle, Nicole Brigham’s article entitled, “Finding a Balance,” talks about the topic of students being overworked by sports and academics.

Fennville High School’s Wes Leonard is not the only person to die of an enlarged heart while playing sports. Hank Gathers, another athlete who passed away due to the overwhelming stress on his heart, played basketball at Loyola Marymount University in California. Gathers died during a game at half court from a heart-muscle disorder called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Playing sports teaches many student-athletes how to properly manage their dedication, health and accountability. I am a student-athlete who plays Varsity basketball for the Lady Spartans. I remember going to practice every day starting at 3:30 and going until 5:30 or 6, depending on what the coaches had in mind for practice that day.

The first few weeks of practice at the beginning of the season, we went for three hours no matter how much homework we had to get done before the next school day. From my point of view, I hated staying up until one, or sometimes two o’clock in the morning just to finish work or to study for a test, but I knew I had to get it done in order to keep my grades up to be eligible to play.

Students who play sports make their own routines in order to get their homework done, hang out with friends and even find time to just relax. WS came up with Spartan Time to allow students to get homework done and speak to teachers about make-up work, so they wouldn’t have to do it on their own time, like late at night. Student-athletes can also do their homework during lunch or free time that they may have in their classes.

No one forces students to play high school sports, if they don’t want to.  Many choose to do so because they are dedicated to getting better and to compete with teams from other schools. Many students who play sports are accustomed to completing homework assignments or studying for exams, because they are expected to keep a certain GPA that is required by the Virginia High School League. It’s difficult to excel in both sports and academics if students don’t choose to put the effort needed into getting their work done and on time. I know for myself, I find time to do my work but I also get to enjoy playing basketball at the same time.

Many students complain that teachers hand out too much homework. Others complain that classes are too hard while they are in the season of the sport that they are playing. If students are stressing out over the amount of work during season then how will they survive in college?

I recently visited the Naval Academy and I was told by one of the professors that students go to class for an estimated seven hours, then head to practice. It’s almost identical to the high school rules. If students are becoming stressed because of the number of sports they play then they shouldn’t be playing more than one or any at all. For AP students, they should think about what they wish to do other than homework before signing up for the class since AP teachers hand out an enormous work load.

Student-athletes are faced with many choices during high school; but they should only be accountable for the things they wish to be successful in.

Sincerely,

April Robinson