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Meeting the Demand
Athletes, Sports and Grades
By Shel Franco
Let's face it, not every student has the internal academic barometer that Harmic has. While basic grade requirements for play will keep many teen athletes on the field, they won't push lackluster students onto the honor role.
"When you're getting by on the skin of your teeth, that's not good," says Mary Harmic. With 20/20 hindsight in her favor, Harmic would do things differently this time with her oldest son. She says she would have put a stronger emphasis on school and left her son with these words of wisdom: Sports aren't going to make you money.
That's a hard lesson for teen athletes to learn, especially when they are immersed in new stories about high school prodigies and multi-million dollar contracts. They are much less likely to read about college athletes with 4.0s and degrees in high-demand fields. While there isn't much media coverage about that, you and your teen athlete might be surprised to find out that high grade point averages and equally high career aspirations – off the field – are nothing new to upper-level athletes. The fact is that most athletes will never get paid a dime to play their sport of choice, and that's really OK.
"By taking advantage of all the valuable lessons learned naturally on the playing field and applying them to all aspects of life, student athletes can remain one step ahead," Lancaster says. "This is the true gift that sports gives back to every athlete – professional or amateur."