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Get Scouted Scouting CareersPeer Pressure Can Erode Academic Focus, Unless You Are in a Supportive Group.
In this, the fourth and final installment of our Athletic-Academic series, we examine how student-athletes can overcome peer pressure to achieve stellar grades.
High school student-athletes aspiring to play at the college level face a tough gauntlet of obstacles to overcome. With all the distractions available to them, being an accomplished athlete while maintaining good grades and remaining socially active can be pressure-packed. Priorities can get skewed along the way.
Of all the distractions they encounter, however, peer pressure may be the hardest to safely maneuver around. Parental involvement is of course essential, but if the kid has the “power” in the family, putting friendships on the table as a bargaining chip for academic gains will only happen if the kid sees and understands the potential benefits involved.
So, let’s have some straight talk:
1) Unless your parents have enough money to pay cash for your college education, the bill will most likely fall on you. It’s a lot of money. Maybe not today, but sooner or later, you will be the one paying for your college education. Think about it.
2) The higher your grades and standardized test scores (SAT or ACT), particularly in your core classes, the more free academic money you will earn to pay for your college. And good performance in the classroom is exactly like sports. The more your prepare, the better you will be when crunch time arrives. Putting in the work every day is the smart way to prepare.
3) Your competitive athletic career will end in a few years. You will be employed for about forty years. With that in mind, which of the two areas, athletic or academic, deserves most of your attention now? When the crowd applause and the adrenalin rushes end, you will be left with one thing – your education.
4) Allowing your friends to disturb or distract you from studying is the same as your parents walking in during a practice session and talking to you about about taking out the garbage. It can wait. At that moment, you have more important things to do. Your friends will get the point.
5) How much time do you spend each week practicing your sport? If you put half that amount of time into your studies, you could earn twice as much academic money as athletic scholarship dollars for college. That’s one heck of a return on your investment.
6) Turn off your phone while studying. There is nothing your friends need to tell you which is more important than the money you will earn from getting A’s and B’s your core classes. They can wait.
7) If your friends give you a hard time about studying instead of returning their texts for two hours a night, tell them to: A) get a life, B) agree in writing to pay for your college education and you’ll be happy to answer their texts.
8) In a matter of a few years, the extent of your athletic career will be watching from the stands. If you earn a good education, you should be able afford better seats. Simplistic? Maybe. But it’s the truth.
9) A good way to get your parents off you back about grades is to take full responsibility for your academics. Make a plan for studying at home every night. Work the plan. Produce the grades. If you do these things, the noise coming from your parents about grades will end.
10) Smart people aren’t nerds, geeks or stuffs. Smart people are just smart. They’ve figured out that in less than ten years, they will have to be earning a living in the real world.
All that said, there are very good peer groups as well. These groups are academically competitive and they set up academic alliances to help one another get better grades. Good things come of this type of association with others. They focus their attention, and time, on doing something productive which will pay huge dividends for themselves over time. Their careers will get off to faster starts. They will be asked to get involved in very interesting things with very interesting people. They will understand better how the world works as a whole instead of having a myopic view of things. And, they will be able to enjoy the better things which life has to offer.
Peers can be helpful or harmful. It takes a mature person to see the difference and to make the right decision about which peers are the best life choices to make. Life choice? Yes, because your life is in the balance. When you look back someday, you will either be proud or embarrassed about the choices you made at this stage of your life. They may not seem significant to you now, but they will have a definitive influence on the options available to you in your future. Consider your choices carefully. Look ahead. See yourself five, ten, twenty years from today. Where do you want to be? What type of people do you want to be associated with then? The answers should be clear.
National Scouting Report is dedicated to finding scholarship opportunities for athletes who possess the talent, desire, and motivation to compete at the collegiate level. We’ve helped connect thousands of athletes with their perfect college.