By Maddie Durso
Wake up. Go to school. Practice. Homework. Sleep. This is the routine of many student-athletes at BHS. Sports are a huge commitment in many people’s lives and participants are getting plenty of physical activity from it. So why do we still make athletes take physical education classes? Students who are athletes should not have to waste precious time in a physical education class.
Athletes already receive much more physical activity from their sport than suggested. According to choosemyplate.gov, children between the ages of 6-17 years old should be getting 60 minutes of physical activity every day. The hours put into practice, games, and training far exceeds this number for high school athletes. Since athletes are already obtaining the required amount of exercise per week needed, they should not have to waste time in gym class receiving just a little bit more of it.
Student athletes get home, on average, two or three hours later that a regular non-athlete. Students in high school are already stressed enough with the amount of homework they receive and being an athlete takes away time after school for it to be completed. Often this results in athletes staying up very late at night and not receive the proper amount of sleep.
If athletes didn’t have to do P.E. class they could use this time to get homework done in a study hall or even take another class that would help them in preparation for college. This time would be more beneficial to athletes than going through a physical education class.
“Having to do all of my homework after three hours of swimming is a big inconvenience,” said Addy Novak. “A study hall could really help me out and save me some time, so I don’t have to stay up late at night doing my homework”.
P.E. classes are still very necessary for all high schools. These classes should still be offered to athletes, but not mandatory. Some athletes might enjoy the benefits of the accelerated P.E. class that is offered at Batavia High School, but others might want to use the time they would receive from a study hall to get further academically.
Others might argue that P.E. classes are good for athletes because they are getting a little bit more of physical activity in every day. However, this can lead to overworking of certain muscles or bones. Most athletes, especially multi-sport athletes, are already working their muscles and bones more than they should. Adding another P.E class to the equation can possibly cause a strain or injury like shin splints due to the overuse of bones and muscles. Athletes definitely do not want an injury that could greatly affect the rest of their season just from a P.E. class activity.