For many years, students have been encouraged to engage in extracurriculars and athletics. In a 2011 study provided by the Toronto Charter for Physical Activity, “comparing athletes to non-athletes showed that athletes scored significantly better on all standardized tests compared to non-athletes.” Furthermore, this study observed that athletes were at a seemingly lower risk for dropout, and had even fewer disciplinary actions.
Student-athletes are praised and recognized for their athletic abilities. These students receive active recognition from their early high school years to their graduation. Bellarmine hosts assemblies promoted on webpages and yearbooks and even encourages full student participation to promote and celebrate their student-athletes. While this is far from problematic, as many athletes receive recognition for their accomplishments, many athletes receive little to no recognition—students who are athletes.
”Please stand if you’re a student-athlete.” Students all around the gymnasium begin to rise, recognized by their peers and educators. However, there’s an uncertainty in many who remain seated.
I’m an athlete—but I don’t participate in school athletics. Am I still considered an athlete?
As an out-of-school athlete myself, I have felt these exact emotions. Regardless of the many hours and commitments I have made to my lifelong sport, I have never stood for recognition—primarily because I didn’t believe I deserved the same level of recognition as student-athletes.
Upon interviewing many students such as Katherine Wachter B’26, Carys Blair B’27, and Emily Robinson B’26, I realized that my experiences (or lack thereof) with in-school recognition were nearly identical to these students.
Struggles and Challenges
Robinson, a current junior at Bellarmine Prep, participates in Artistic (synchronized) Swimming and spends countless hours at practice. “I practice five days a week—six if it’s busy. Two and a half hours is the standard—but if longer, then three and a half to four,” stated Robinson. As a competitive figure skater, I skate four to five times a week, ranging from two to four hours per day—not including the one-hour commute to the rink.
Among the longevity of these activities, juggling time is considerably difficult for these athletes. “Practices are long. Commuting is long. It’s just hard to find the time to get everything done.” Robinson adds. Additionally, when asked about misconceptions about out-of-school athletics, the answers all remained the same. “How much of a time commitment it can be,” answered Blair. Ranging in hours spent practicing, the range was considerably higher in numbers. Many students expressed that these long hours of practice left fewer hours to complete homework, therefore making it difficult to justify spending time outside of schoolwork and practice. While it may be beneficial to present students with the opportunity to learn how to balance their time, stress remains a significant factor and presents unfavorable conditions for these students.
Additionally, many students have pointed out that non-school sports are considerably expensive and even extremely competitive. However, while school athletics have been seen as more accessible, as students are registered through their school, this leads to the question—why participate in a non-school sport?
Benefits
“It’s a different environment,” explains Robinson, “I think sometimes in school, it can feel less competitive because everyone’s doing it.” Many students have recognized that this change in environment allows them to grow in an environment that separates them from the school facility. “I have a lot of friends outside of school,” states Wachter. Whether it involves social interaction or the overall experience gained from the sport, many students expressed their commitment and willingness to participate in their athletics.
Of the students I interviewed, all expressed that they began their athletics in their youth. Due to this “childhood tie” to their sport, students feel drawn toward their commitments— as passion fuels their drive to pursue unrecognized athletics. “I started when I was three years old. I started with ballet,” explains Blair.
When asked about benefits of participating in a unique sport, answers varied slightly—ranging from teams to college recruitment. “I feel like sometimes doing a unique sport can be good for college recruiting,” Robinson points out, “They’re a little bit smaller and less well-known…and it just looks a little different than bigger sport that everyone else does.”
Recognition
Back to my earlier statement, recognition for out-of-school athletes is non-existent. When asked, all respondents did not feel as if they had received any sort of recognition or acknowledgment for their achievements or even participation in non-school athletics. “There’s lots and lots of pages of school sports, but there’s not a single one about out-of-school sports.” Informs Wachter.
“I totally think that they [schools] should [recognize athletes who compete outside of school]. People don’t realize how hard they’re working outside of school,” explains Wachter. “The people in school get the sense of who the best player is on each team. For example, I would just put them [non-school athletes] in the yearbook.” With that said, many of the other interviewees recommended recognition in yearbooks (at the minimum).
Student-athletes are encouraged and recognized for their achievements. Out-of-school athletes are not. Both, however, are students at Bellarmine—so why should they go unnoticed? As a community, Bellarmine has stood for encouraging students to take part in ranging activities and pursue hobbies outside of academics. Therefore, it would be in the interest of Bellarmine students and their athletes, to incorporate a process of implementing recognition to all involved students—student-athletes and students who are athletes.
