Athletes need higher standards

Loyal visitors to J's World probably know the Alaska School Activities Association is frequently part of, or the basis for, my weekly rambling. I have, in the past, been - dare I say - critical of some decisions made by ASAA.

But as many of ASAA's decisions of the past led to many people scratching their heads and asking why, this time the association took a giant step in the right direction.

In its board of directors meetings in Wragell early last week, ASAA approved a series of rules aimed to raise academic standards. My only complaint - this should have happened sooner.

There is a stronger relationship between athletics and academics, that most people outside of the athletic community want to believe. They would rather focus on the stereotype that athletes, for the most part, is made up of a group of idiots. This bologna couldn't be further from the truth.

There are idiots in every are of life. There are idiots in athletics. There are idiots in your office. There is usually at least one idiot in your extended family. Most just hope they are not that idiot. But the idiots in athletics are more easy to recognize, considering they usually have a number on their jersey. And that recognition can feed the stereotype.

With the academic standards currently in place, and those of the past, aren't we, in at least one way, inviting some of these athletes to be idiots?

By giving a person a minimum, some will simply strive for that mark. With the current standards in place, ASAA requires athletes to attend just four classes and have a D-minus average. Is that where we want our athletes to be? Do we want them to be just D-minus students?

Many high schools in the Mat-Su Valley have already lifted those standards and require that a student-athlete must have at least a 2.0 grade point average to participate. That is closer to where it should be.

Athletics, for the most part, is built on goals and expectations. There are individual goals. There are team goals. Academics is no different. Give the student-athletes something real to strive for.

"I believe if we raise expectations, most kids are going to meet them," Wasilla assistant principal Dan Michael said.

Michael is a former high school, and college student-athlete and coach and has seen the balance of academics and athletics first hand, from multiple perspectives.

"At Wasilla, we have a belief our student-athletes are our models for decorum and academic performance," Michael said. "They're the ones who represent us, and we hold them to higher expectations. With the perks come the responsibility."

Athletes are the students in the school more visible to the public. The idea that athletes get special treatment, in terms of academics, is, for the most part, false. There is always an exception to the rule. But that exception also feeds the 'big dumb jock' stereotype. If anything, athletes are more scrutinized, when it comes to academics - especially in college. Daily study halls and constant evaluation of academic performance is normally required.

There should be higher expectations for all students. Athletes, members of the band, those in Future Farmers of America or Business Professionals of America, or students who aren't involved in any group and just attend classes.

Life is not about achieving mediocrity.

Jeremiah Bartz is the Frontiersman sports editor.