The Value of Athletics
- Athletics is the area in which students learn skills and learn about themselves in a way no other area of school experience can provide. Some would argue, that to win in life a person needs the experience of winning in competition. Athletics provides this opportunity on a daily basis as students compete for a place on the team, an individual competes for playing time, and the team competes for victory. Through this process the student athlete learns to overcome obstacles and adversity in preparation for the obstacles and adversity they will face after their athletic career is over.
- The greatest need in the working world is cooperation and teamwork. Athletics provides training in this area as teams compete to win. Student athletes learn that the team depends upon them to do their job in order to succeed. Again, this learning is then carried over into the working world after graduation. This experience gives the athlete job skills that would be difficult to learn in another setting. Properly orchestrated athletic programs do much to enhance lifelong success of students.
- Winning on the field of play, teamwork that leads to success, and the lessons of hard work, perseverance, and overcoming adversity all require some form of character. Athletics is the ideal place to reveal and build character in students. Character building is the heart and soul of an athletic program. Winning a game lasts until the next game, a championship lasts a season, but character lasts a lifetime. Therefore the central part of an athletic program and the part that will make a difference in a student’s life is character. There is no better place to teach and experience this than in a well designed athletic program run by coaches who model character, care about all students, and expect excellence.