Student Athletes

Imagine dedicating twenty plus hours a week, or around 3 hours a day, during the school year to something other than school. Student athletes go through this every year, every season.

Student athletes deserve to either receive less homework than students who do not participate in sports, or to be allowed an extended period of time to complete assignments. There is not enough time in a day for student athletes to live a healthy lifestyle while still being able to complete schoolwork. It is nearly impossible for students participating in sports to have a social life, finish schoolwork, and get a good night sleep. At some point you have to eat dinner and spend time with your family as well. It is unfair for student athletes to be expected to accomplish tasks in the same amount of time as students who do not participate in sports. The lives of students should not suffer from playing sports; they should be enhanced. Teachers need to be more lenient with student athletes by working with them to figure out a way for them to complete assignments without bogging them down too much each night. Personally, from playing sports all throughout high school my biggest downfall has been the lack of sleep. I only get about 5 or 6 hours of sleep a night because there is not enough time to accomplish my homework at a reasonable time while still sitting down to eat dinner with my family and spend time with my friends for a short amount of time. I’m sure that I could cut down on the time that I spend with my friends, but I don’t feel like I should have to sacrifice that time. Overall, teachers need to be more aware of the fact that student athletes do not have time to complete hours of homework each night. An agreement needs to be met between student athletes and teachers to help with these homework struggles.