School vs. Sports: The Winner is...

"Where's Miss Williams?"

"Here?"

Raising my hand, I waved to the large and rather intimidating man who had just welcomed a bus load of us to Michigan. We came to watch a student of mine play hockey, and the man who called my name was the assistant coach. This former NHL player proceeded then to thank me for allowing my student the privileges I and the school grant him so that he can travel from Indiana to Michigan in order to play for the team.

I have to admit, I was greatly taken aback by this. And my astonishment continued throughout the course of the day. The quality of the playing at these games was truly phenomenal. Traveling up to Troy, Michigan and watching my student in what appeared to me to be, another world, opened my eyes all the more to truly understanding the child beneath the label of "student."

Sports, whether it be one where you travel over 200 miles to play every weekend, or the local basketball team, hold a significant role in the lives of students across the nation. Our culture promotes athleticism and idolizes those who show great proficiency. And there's a part of me that thinks that this obsession is justified. We're all looking for a hero, and maybe, just maybe, this guy who shows us week after week the meaning of the word "great", will be our hero. The one who will make a difference. The one we're unable to be on our own. But I digress.

Sports, when cultivated in a way that promotes discipline and hard work, comes alongside academics and each accentuates the other. On their own, neither can fully meet the needs of the student. This could also be said of just about any extra-curricular program, from drama to chess, these programs depend on students doing well not only in the program, but also in the classroom. For it is in the classroom the student will gain skills in and out of their interests and natural abilities. Overcoming the fear of failure in an area the student may not excel at, as well as developing discipline in the day to day monotony of routine, will aid them when it comes time to practice their skills outside the classroom. And it is outside the classroom that students will be free to perfect their areas of expertise, to practice and compete to determine how great a skill they themselves possess when compared to the skill of another.

Sports and school will be intertwined for years to come. The way I see it, if you were to pit school vs. sports, it would end up being a tie. Which, if you ask me, is the way it should be.