Posts Tagged ‘college sports’
Outstanding Freshman Athletes
Every year college athletics are blessed with fresh talent from young faces. This year, a number of freshman across the country have really stepped up to contribute in great ways to their new found college teams. Being a freshman college athlete myself, I understand the feelings that come with the beginning of a new team. You need to find where you click among your new teammates, and how you can contribute in the best way possible. For all the freshman studs, or maybe high school seniors that are aspiring to be studs themselves, here are your role models.
Freshman basketball star Anthony Davis is a member of the #1 ranked University of Kentucky men’s basketball team. As a freshman, Davis leads the number one team in scoring, rebounding, and steals. Davis also leads the entire nation in blocks. A Chicago native, Davis earned high honors being one of 30 finalists for the 2012 Naismith Men’s Basketball player of the year award. Freshman Nic Moore of Illinois State has earned high honors in his rookie debut as well. Moore averaged 7.7 points a game this year as a freshman.
Beginning with the current season, freshman baseball stud, Taylor Gushue is a force to be reckoned with. As a member of the number one ranked Florida baseball team, Gushue hit his first homerun on his first pitch ever in college. Also, freshman Jordan Stephans of Rice University has already earned himself a most outstanding player award.
The first female stud is Rachel Updike for Missouri gymnastics. Updike won three event titles in Missouri’s season opener this year. Missouri University is stocked with freshman this year. Another stud, Kelsey Roth of Missouri softball is worth mentioning. In February, Roth earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors as a freshman!
You can’t talk track or cross country without mentioning the name Shelby Houlihan. This Iowa native is in her freshman year at Arizona State. Houlihan was named Conference Player of the Year as a freshman!
In conclusion, freshman athletes can contribute just as much as a senior athlete, all it takes is a lot of hard work and some natural talent.
-Speedy G.
I’m reading Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing
Is Priority Registration for College Athletes Fair?
Priority registration for athletes is a struggle most athletic department of colleges and universities around the country face. Personally, I have been an athlete at a Division III school where there was no priority registration for us and been at a Division II school where their athletes did register for classes early.
Registering for next semester’s classes is stressful no matter who you are. Athletes are not the only ones who are busy, of course; many students hold down jobs, are involved in clubs, and what not. To be fair, many athletes are also doing the same. An athlete is told by their coach to block out three, sometimes upwards of four or five hours a day to devote to practice, depending on toughness of coach and level of competition. This is a major commitment and should be factored in when considering the fairness of athletic priority registration.
Some non-athletes may argue that no one is forcing an athlete to play their sport. These student-athletes do become representatives of their schools. A strong athletic department makes money for a school, creates more competition between first-years and transfers, which in effect gives admission officers more applications to then choose a smarter student body. A more direct way that student-athletes positively impact their school is simply bringing in money through selling out seats. When a student-athlete plays a sport, they bring in their family and friends to buy tickets to the game as well as spending money on food for the day. This may seem small, but even at a small DIII school, if each student-athlete across all sports bring just one person to their school, a significant profit would be made to be used throughout the athletic department which could go to a better gymnasium which all students benefit from.
When an athlete does not have priority registration, they are left taking courses that overlap with practice, games or tournaments. If this becomes a problem with many students on a sports team, which tends to be the case particularly at smaller schools where there are less course choices, a sports team’s performance is hindered and could fall apart. This not only brings down the spirit of a school but also a school will lose money. At the very least, they would be losing the money spent on the equipment, coach’s salary, referee costs, tournament costs, etc.
Overall, the need for student-athletes to be given the right to register earlier than the rest of the student body is largely dependent on the circumstances surrounding that particular school. Some aspects to consider: Are other students getting priority registration such as tour guides or other students working for the school? How many options for classes does each major offer? How much does the school rely on their sports departments? Would a stronger sports department positively effect admission trends? You decide.
-TravelBug
I’m reading Human Sexuality Today
