While arguing about the effects of sports and athletics on the academic achievements of students, the outcome is usually against the sports and athletic interests of students. It is believed that students who are more inclined towards sports and athletics seldom perform better in their academic pursuits.
I strongly oppose this argument. In my opinion, students who participate in sports and athletics are better than those who don’t. But there are certain limitations that sports and athletics enthusiasts should adhere to. It is a well-known fact that in order to survive in today’s world of technology and competition, studying is a must. At the same time, there are certain benefits of being a sportsman or an athlete.
First of all, sportsmen and athletes have better health (and as such, they live longer) that can be counted as a plus point for the nation because that way, the nations can invest more in human assets. Secondly, apart from the skills of any particular sport or activity, sports and athletics also inculcate special qualities in the performers like the ability to lead, to take and follow orders, to work as a team, to perform in a systematic manner, and to mingle with people and the society. Thirdly, a sportsman or an athlete will learn such habits that might be helpful to him/her in his/her future life.
Habits such as moral conduct, determination, competitiveness, belief in one’s self, feeling of pride, and motivation are bound to be found more among sportsmen and athletes than the regular students. It is noteworthy that such qualities can be developed or acquired more easily during adolescence. Moreover, such qualities will instigate a student to perform better in academics as well.
But in spite of the entire aforementioned plus points, the fact remains that academic performance is also equally important. Sports and athletics should not be mixed up. I will try to provide an option to this in the ensuing paragraphs.
I believe that being a sportsman or an athlete can affect academic performance only if the time allocated to the sports or athletics coincides with that of the school. But if a student doesn’t interfere with the school timings and indulges in the sport of athletics after the school hours, there isn’t any chance of his/her academic performance being hampered in any way.
The after-school recreational activities should be divided into two parts, good ones, and bad ones. Sports and athletics come in the good ones whereas the bad ones include viewing television programs, indulging in bad habits such as smoking and drinking, attending parties, playing online games, etc. The bad recreational activities undoubtedly have a bad impact on academic performance but keeping in mind the benefits discussed earlier in this paper the good ones help in developing the personality of a person.
Another point to be discussed is the scholarships awarded to student-athletes. The scholarship scheme started by the governments of different nations to help student-athletes is an encouraging gesture. But it should not be forgotten that such schemes come with certain conditions and academic performance is one such condition. A student has to attain the desired level in order to avail of the scholarship. So it becomes all the more important for student-athletes to perform better in their schools.
I would like to suggest to all those students who are sports and athletics enthusiasts that they should not mix their studies with their passion for sports or athletics. Or more significantly, they should not pursue their passion for sports and/or athletics at the cost of their studies.
It has been observed that girl students are usually not encouraged to follow any sport or athletics. Some kind of fear engulfs the parents. I would also like to suggest that this is a wrong notion. Parents should encourage their daughters also to take part in active sports and/or athletics. This will help the girl students in developing the aforementioned qualities and they will be able to perform better at school. Parents should understand that if their daughters have such qualities in them, their position in the male-dominated societies will be stronger and they will be able to face the world more confidently.