Winning a Trophy and a Degree!

Farmington fifth grader Kyla Gallagher as one of the winners of an annual essay contest sponsored by the Farmington Rotary Club in collaboration with West Woods Upper Elementary School. Her teacher is Lauren Palermino. Read her winning essay "Winning a Trophy and a Degree!" below. 

By Kyla Gallagher

Did you know that Shaq, after playing seven seasons in the NBA went back to college? Could you imagine that at the age of 29, the legendary NFL linebacker on the Ravens, Ray Lewis went back to college to earn his degree?  You may think that was dumb or a waste of time for athletes who are making millions of dollars, but actually it’s really smart.  They know that having an education is just as important as playing sports.  That’s why I think students need to maintain good grades to play on a sports team.  Students will become more responsible, have a better chance of going to a good college, and have a career after sports if they are lucky enough to play professionally.  As a result, students should maintain a good grade average to play on a sports team.

Being on a team and having good grades forces responsibility.  A lot of the time you’re rushing to practices after school and forgetting all about your homework.  You need to make sure you’re able to squeeze in enough time to do your homework by not wasting time watching TV or playing video games.  You also need to make sure you have enough time to study for mandatory tests, prepare for school fairs, and complete school projects.  If you stick to a schedule you will be able to exceed at every school activity thrown at you, including practicing your instrument or participating in team fundraisers.  I remember seeing my friends at our soccer practices or siblings’ practices doing their homework even after being home for over an hour.  If they had an organized plan before going to practice they would have finished their homework in time.  Therefore, creating a good plan and sticking to a schedule that fits both your schoolwork and sport activities will make you become more responsible.

As you become more responsible, your academics will probably improve.  This along with ability in sports will give you an even better chance of going to a good college.  You might be the best soccer player in the world, but if you have terrible grades your chance of getting scholarship offers from numerous colleges is unlikely.  If you have good grades you have a greater chance of going to a good college because more colleges will be interested in you.  If you got a scholarship, it could save you and your family lots of money.  Colleges are very expensive and if you have good grades and you’re good at sports you might even be able to go to college for free!  Can you imagine how much candy you could buy with all the extra money?!  Finally, going from high school to college can be very different.  One of the differences is that college assignments can be much harder for many students.  If you study hard from elementary school through high school, you will be better prepared for challenging college work.   I remember when I was at one of my soccer camps in the summer and one of our helpers from Manchester was the best female soccer player in the state.  Since she had such great ability in sports we expected her to get a lot of offers from schools for scholarships.  After talking to her mom, my dad and I learned that she would have gotten more scholarship offers if she had good grades - but she didn’t.  As a soccer player myself, I learned a good lesson.  Not only do I have to play hard in sports, but I also have to study hard in school if I want to be accepted to a good college.

Not only will you have a better chance of going to a good college if you keep good grades, you will also have better career options after sports.  Less than 2% of college athletes end up making it to the professionals, which means most won’t be able to make money or have a career playing sports.  If you do happen to make it as a professional athlete, you could get injured and not be able to play anymore.  You would to have to find another job if your sports career ends unexpectedly and having a college degree will help you do that.  Lastly, you can’t play on a professional sports team forever.  You will have to retire sooner or later and move on with your life in a different career.  You might think you’re going to be too old to do anything when you retire, but actually professional athletes retire at a young age, usually in their late 30’s or early 40’s.  That gives you at least twenty years to have another career.  It is very important to maintain a good grade average even if you are a successful athlete because you will need to have a career that lasts long after playing sports.

Now do you think Shaq and Ray Lewis are smart?  I certainly do!  They realized that getting an education is just as important as playing sports.  Maintaining good grades teaches you responsibility, gives you a greater chance to get into a good college (maybe even for free!), and prepares you for a career after your sports life.  So if you’re on the baseball mound, or soccer field, or basketball court, don’t forget to study! 

What are you waiting for?  Start studying!