To play a high school sport, a student-athlete must be passing six of seven for-credit classes, and when taking challenging courses and participating in multiple activities, that can be difficult.
More and more coaches are beginning to give their players time to finish homework and ask teachers questions in lieu of traditional practice.
JV softball coach and history teacher Ms. Andrea Eagle has done just that. She recognizes that “balancing school and sports can be very challenging, especially as students get a bit older and take more challenging courses.”
That’s why she tries to make time in the practice schedule to allow athletes to get the academic help they need.
“If there’s any chance we have, like downtime before a game … it’s opportune to come inside and do a study hall.”
She said it can give players an opportunity to take care of some schoolwork.
Eagle recognizes that trying to get schoolwork done at home can be difficult due to the higher number of distractions, and thinks it can help the students to be able to work on assignments while still at school.
While Eagle sees that the time can help athletes, she also understands that it is still the responsibility of the individual athletes to get their work done, and believes it should not necessarily be mandatory. She realizes that the ability to do study halls like this can vary from program-to-program and schedule-to-schedule.
“It is on the student-athlete to make sure that they are taking care of their schoolwork,” Eagle said, “and take ownership of their grades and academics.”