Effect of being an Athlete
The field of sportsmanship leads to the occurrence of varied forms of effects on the participants in the associated activities. Ordinarily, these effects have a positive and negative feel on the participants. Athletes being the core participants in sportsmanship have demonstrated these effects in different settings. In essence, research reveals that athletes are exposed to numerous effects, which include positive influence on female athletes, negative impact on academic performance, enhanced or elevated undergraduate experience, and social identity stereotyping. First, it has been observed that there is an overarching positive influence on female athletes through there proactive involvement in sportsmanship activities. Numerous research studies have revealed that participation of girls in the domain of sports impacts positively in terms of behavioral influence, academic participation and positive interaction.
Reports from the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports reveal that there are various developmental benefits in the participation of girls in youth sports, which include healthier body image, enhance self esteem and self confidence, enhanced experiences in terms of success and competency, and significant reduction of risk factors associated with chronic disease (Metzi & Shookhoof). These elements are essentially positive in the developmental cycle of girls since they contribute immensely towards there empowerment in the society. Secondly, recent discoveries establish that participation in sportsmanship by athletes has potentially negative impact on their academic performance levels if they are recruited an earlier stage before completion of their studies. A review into the published academic performance assessments of athletes in comparison to the non-athlete counterparts further serve to reveal the widening gap. Research further reveals that allowing the recruitment process of athletes to focus more on those with high SAT scores has a positive element towards their performance in the respective sports activities.
Accoring to Bowen, Sarah and Shulman, “The clearest pattern that emerges is that recruited athletes with high SAT scores (above 1400 in the Ivies and above 1300 in the NESCAC colleges) do substantially better, even relative to the more impressive performance that can be expected of them because of their higher test scores” (153). Moreover, it has also been observed that some student athletes receive admissions under special circumstances, which affects their studies in the end. Research carried out by Bowen. Levin and Shulman reveals that some student athletes receive preferential treatment with poor academic preparation compared to their peers during admission, which leads to their earning of poor grades while attending college (Umbach, Palmer, Hannah & Kuh 3). Therefore, it is important to note that young athletes need to be given more time to complete their studies before their recruitment into time consuming sport activities or else this will lead to poor performance indices.
Thirdly, the active participation in sportsmanship by athletes joining educational institutions leads to elevated undergraduate experience. This is especially because athletes dedicated more of their time in the domain of extra-curricular activities that their compared to their peers, which has a positive impact on their interaction levels and formation of more social cycles. Umbach, Palmer, Hannah & Kuh observe that, “Given their rigorous training and practice routines, it’s not surprising that student-athletes devote significantly more time to extracurricular activities than members of other groups and acquired valuable management skills” (5). This further reveals that through the participation in sports athletes gain social management skills, which later become beneficial in their life. In another study, student athletes reported their perception of their campus environment is essentially more supportive in the attainment of academic and social needs, while making significant gains by virtue of their joining colleges in several areas (Umbach, Palmer, Hannah, & Kuh 15). This further brings out the fact thaat athletes get the chance of participating in numerous institutional settings, which has a positive element as it enables interact with people from different cultures.
Finally, athletes’ participation in sporting activities primarily leads to the development of social identity stereotyping from their peers. This is fundamentally because analysis of participants in the field of sports has traditionally relied upon the interpretation of the inherent capabilities displayed by athletes on account of the national, cultural, and social backgrounds. Moreover, other studies have replicated the effects of stereotyping with regard to other critical social identities, which go beyond race characterization, for example, as seen in gender, and other multiple outcomes, for example, as seen in heart-rate variability, blood pressure, performance expectations, individual effort, capability of risk aversion, and time discounting parameters (Dee 1). These factors have been identified to have the potential impact on the athlete since he or she becomes aware of their capabilities; hence, end up using this as a framework to judge the capabilities of their who do not have similar traits. Therefore, this leads to negative characterization and stereotyping of this group of athletes from their peers since they tend to develop an inferiority complex that affects individual judgment or outlook.
In conclusion it is important to note that numerous research activities have revealed that athletes are exposed to numerous effects, which include positive influence on female athletes, negative impact on academic performance, enhanced or elevated undergraduate experience, and social identity stereotyping. These effects affect athletes in different settings especially in the institutional settings to which they belong. Moreover, the effects primarily affect their integration levels due to the impact their present in terms of interaction dynamism. Therefore, it is critical to note that involvement of athletes in core sportsmanship activities has an overarching effect on their lifestyles, education, and social cycle.
