Are you an athlete and you are wondering whether to continue doing sports in college or university? Well, if the answer is yes, hold on because this article is for you. Being an athlete is the most important gift that you were given because of the reasons I will share with you in a bit. Below are a few of the benefits that come with being an athlete in college or university.
Opportunities for a scholarship.
It is considered to be the most significant benefit that comes with being an athlete in college. Let’s face it, college or university education is very expensive in the United States. And that explains why very few students are able to pay tuition fee without help from loans and grants. And not all that apply for these loans and grants get them. To even make it worse, when they get loans, they are supposed to pay it soon after completing the studies. But when you are an athlete all these problems are solved for you. There are organizations and companies that will be more than willing to cater to all your education needs all through. And the more you are good at what you, the more sponsors will look for you.
But there is a catch, you must uphold good character, remain on top in the game of athletes and your grades must reach the set threshold. Those are three things that you need to keep in mind and uphold them all the time or else the sponsors will withdraw their scholarship. And you would want that, believe me.
Good academic performance.
Several studies have been conducted across the country to determine the probability of athlete students to succeed academically as compared to the general students. And most of these studies have confirmed that the percentage of athletes that graduate compared to the general students is higher. There are two main reasons why you as an athlete you are likely to perform better than your colleagues who are not athletes.
- The first one is the fact sports involvement has a high influence on mental cognition and concentration. It, therefore, implies that a student that participates in sports is more likely to absorb academic knowledge faster and easier than a typical normal student.
- Secondly, because of the pressure put by the sponsors about academic performance, the athletes have no choice but to work hard to meet the minimum grade set. The fear of having their scholarships withdrawn makes athletes student to work diligently in order to succeed academically because it is one of the requirements set in order to continue to enjoy financial aid.
Good health.
When you are an athlete in college some health problems such as obesity will never be in your discussion. It is worth noting that millions of students in universities and colleges in the US today are overweight. It is a problem that has come with a number of illnesses such as heart problems, diabetes and many more. Being overweight is mainly contributed by not taking part in physical exercise.
But when you are an athlete, you will be taking part in physical exercise every day. Which means that you will keep feet and enjoy a long healthy life even after completing your course at the University. The fact that you will have gotten used to exercising, it then implies that even if you will not be active in sports after college, you will still be doing exercise which is good for your body.
Adopting good values.
One of the values that you will have to adopt is discipline. Athlete students are required to show the highest level of discipline. At first, this is hard for many students because it means there will be no ‘fun.’ But in the long run, one becomes a more responsible member of the society because of the good character molded while in college or university. Another important value adopted is time management. Lateness is not compromised for athletes which helps them later in life.
Developing leadership and cooperation.
There are many forums that are planned by various organizations offering sponsorships that aim at putting leadership values on the students. Such skills turn out to be very helpful later in life because they can be entrusted to lead people. The fact that athletes interact with each other on the field, it makes them understand the importance of corporation which plays a significant role later in their life.
Job opportunities.
When you are an athlete in college, you have more opportunities to make money than other students. If you are an outstanding athlete, you will even start earning money while still in college. While others are in class waiting to graduate and get employed, you could be making thousands of dollars. It is also worth noting that while other students focus on careers based on their course, you will have a variety to choose from both based on the course you took or on your sports activities.