The importance of balancing sports and academics.

One of the primary concerns for parents is whether their children can effectively manage the demands of youth or high school varsity sports alongside their academic responsibilities and social lives. Viewing this challenge positively, parents can see it as a chance to equip their children with essential skills for adulthood, particularly in achieving a work-life balance. Student-athletes have the opportunity to develop critical life skills, including time management, energy allocation, and resource utilization. To support their young student-athletes in navigating these multiple responsibilities and the significant time commitments involved, parents can adopt various strategies tailored to the student-athlete experience.

Sports should be viewed as co-curricular activities. Ray Lokar, a trainer from the Positive Coaching Alliance in Los Angeles, addressed a letter from a concerned parent regarding their son's declining grades and participation in hockey. In his reply, Lokar emphasizes that the term "student-athlete" inherently prioritizes the student, indicating that academic responsibilities should take precedence. He further discusses the misconception surrounding the classification of sports as merely "extracurricular" activities, suggesting that this perspective undermines the integral role sports play in a student's overall development.

Many individuals perceive extracurricular activities as obstacles to academic success, rather than recognizing them as essential components that can enhance educational outcomes, according to Lokar. This misunderstanding stems from the belief that sports are merely supplementary, implying that anything deemed "extra" must detract from necessary academic pursuits. In contrast, schools that integrate sports as co-curricular activities often witness improvements in both academic and athletic performance among students. In this context, sports can serve as a valuable resource for enhancing a student-athlete's academic capabilities. Lokar notes that contrary to common assumptions, student-athletes frequently achieve their highest academic performance during their competitive seasons, when effective time management becomes crucial. Research indicates that student-athletes tend to excel academically while engaged in their sports, as the structured demands of competition foster better focus and productivity. Furthermore, participation in athletics provides a physical outlet that can enhance concentration on academic tasks, as physical activity clears the mind. Lokar emphasizes that instilling a connection between athletic practice and academic diligence can significantly contribute to a student's overall development.

One approach is to treat sports as a reward. This strategy effectively prioritizes academics while also assessing a child's dedication to their chosen sport(s). If a child is truly passionate about their sport, they will likely strive to maintain strong academic performance to retain the opportunity to participate. In my own experience, my mother did not pressure me into sports, but there was a clear understanding that my studies took precedence and that sports served as a reward for my efforts. She never discouraged my athletic pursuits, yet she emphasized that baseball was secondary to my academics. Also, she motivated me to explore other interests and supported my academic endeavors, enabling me to be among the first in my family to attend college. I am grateful to my mother for prioritizing academics and viewing sports as a privilege.

Secondly, a crucial aspect of supporting our children is helping them establish an effective time management system. A straightforward approach is to encourage our student-athletes to utilize every available moment. Opportunities for productive use of time can often be found during breaks, lunch, or while waiting for transportation after practices and games. Although cultivating this habit can be challenging, maximizing free time is essential for both student-athletes and adults in their future endeavors. Additionally, equipping our student-athletes with a planner can be beneficial, as physically writing down goals and commitments tends to reinforce their importance more effectively than digital entries. Encouraging our student athletes to utilize and write in their planner should aid them in taking advantage of every second of their day and holding them accountable to their commitments. 

Finally, we as coaches and parents should capitalize on our student athletes’ competitiveness. A key component in most of our student-athletes is their drive and we have the ability to nurture and guide their competitive nature on the field/court and use it as a vehicle to develop them as a person. Our student athletes are competitive by nature and when we challenge a student athlete to see themselves as competitive– not only in their sport, or in the weight room, or in their workouts, but also in the classroom and in their  community, being a good son or daughter. We find they are more motivated to perform in different areas of life. By challenging our student athletes this translates to higher performance in everything they do. Recognizing the competitive spirit of a student athlete and asking them how important it is for them to be successful in the classroom as well in their respective sport is a great tool to help motivate them towards other areas of their lives.

In conclusion, there are various other strategies to assist our student athletes in their success in the classroom, their respective sport, and in life. Our goal as parents and coaches is to find the strategies and solutions that work best for our student athletes. Along with applying the correct strategies for our student athletes we should also, assist in aiding them in developing appropriate goals, mapping out priorities, and setting clear expectations for their endeavors.