Athletics and academics go hand in hand, so when one goes down, the other one goes too. The infamous “ineligibility” form appears when a student is no longer passing five of his or her academic classes. Once this happens, one cannot participate in said sport or activity until the grade changes.

Too many times, good talent goes to waste throughout the school year as students become ineligible, and although this penalty is necessary, not much has been done in the past to prevent this.

A DGN athletic program has decided to change this. Recently the boy’s track team has incorporated a new drill into their practices.

Instead of circuits and stretches, this new addition involves pencils and notebooks.

Coaches have begun to take athletes on the verge of ineligibility, out of practice in order to study and do homework. Taking these students out of practice is in no way a punishment.

When an athlete’s opportunity to excel in their sport is taken away, they should strive to do everything in their power to begin participating again. That’s why this study session for students is the perfect way to keep as many grades up as possible.

Coach Eric Buhot, describes his reasoning behind accommodating the time for studying during practices.

“Because of the nature of some of our workouts, recovery time is imperative to let fatigued muscles recover properly to limit the risk of injury. We had a recovery day each week where practice was light and short. While making the training plan this year, it occurred to me that this could be an opportunity to get our athletes a chance to both recover and use the time on school work. For students who need extra help, it opens up time for them to see their teachers or go to strive,” Buhot said.

Whether there are student athletes who do not have time to get their schoolwork done, or are having trouble with the material, it’s important that the teams at DGN help to reinforce the idea that academics come first.

“If an athlete is not meeting these expectations they will sit out of meets, but they are still expected to practice. If a student is slipping academically, they have many opportunities including Tuesdays during study table, before school, and during resource periods to get the help they need,” Buhot said.

If all athletic teams in added separate study tables during practices for those close to ineligibility, less students would fall behind in school, and more would perform well for their teams.