A student-athlete is a student who fulfills their responsibilities in school, while also participating in an athletics program. According to NCSA, nearly 8 million students participate in school sports yearly. So there are millions of student-athletes all around the world who must fulfill academic and athletic commitments, but how would you go about doing that at Green Level? What level of effort, and work goes into becoming and maintaining your status as a student-athlete at Green Level?
First of all, good grades are a must-have to be a student-athlete. Wake County’s eligibility policies state, “Students must earn passing grades in 70% of the number of courses taken in the previous semester. Seniors must meet this requirement to participate in athletics during the spring sports season of their senior year. WCPSS also requires a cumulative overall grade point average of 1.5 or above.” The policy is different for freshmen.
“A student, upon first entering grade nine (9), is academically eligible for competition during the first semester on high school teams. All requirements must be met the first semester (Fall) for this student to be eligible for athletic participation the second semester (Spring).” (WCPSS)
If you fail to meet these requirements, you will be ineligible to participate in an athletics program until you meet the expectations. Remember, student comes first in the term student-athlete for a reason. Along with grades also come attendance, students must be in attendance 85% of the prior semester. An athlete must also be present for at least 2 periods to participate in athletic activities after school. For example; if you miss most of school and arrive last period, you still may not participate in a practice, game, scrimmage, etc.
After academic expectations come athletic expectations, to be a student-athlete, you must first be a part of a sports team, which is difficult. Especially at a school like Green Level, where we have top athletics programs in the conference (sometimes even state). Therefore, to be a student-athlete it is almost imperative that grind, and put in real work to improve at your sport. Green Level produces Division 1 athletes in many different programs, so you can’t join this activity if you are not willing to work hard. That means showing up to practices before school, late at night, on weekends, on days off of school, and more. Joining an athletics program is not an easy task to be taken lightly, it requires serious time commitment, and effort.
It was Kobe Bryant who once said, “You must work hard in the dark to shine in the light.” Which means putting in the work, and the hours outside of practices and games to perfect your sport. This means lifts, runs, skill workouts, and more on a daily basis. If you’re hearing all of this and thinking, “I’m definitely not doing that” then this is not for you. School sports, particularly in high school are at an extremely high level; especially at Green Level which is a 4a (soon to be 8a) school. Therefore, if you do not put in the effort, you don’t get the privilege of being a Green Level athlete, simple as that.
Although it is a lot of work, being a student-athlete at Green Level is incredibly rewarding. The companionship, memories, and competition make it all worth it. Being a student-athlete is great for several reasons; you can get scholarships from it, looks good on college applications, you can play the sport you love with your school companions, you get to compete across North Carolina, etc. Beyond these reasons, you learn real valuable life skills such as teamwork, time management, and perseverance throughout the season.
