Balancing Athletics With Academics

The News & Advance
Published: July 14, 2008

A few student athletes are as gifted in the classroom as they are on the field. They are the ones who attract attention from colleges offering attractive scholarships in one sport or another.

For those high school students who are not performing as well in the classroom as they should be, city school officials have come up with two new staff members to ensure that their academic performance is on a par with their play on the athletic fields or indoor arenas.

It’s a great idea that holds the potential for helping a number of student athletes keep a proper balance between sports and academics.

Lynchburg Superintendent Paul McKendrick said last week that two full-time academic coaches trained to help athletes with their grades and the college application process have been hired by the school system.

Maggie Davis is a Lynchburg College graduate who will work with students at Heritage High School, while Gavin Davis, a graduate of Liberty University, will be the academic coach at E.C. Glass. (They are not related.)

The new positions are part of a National Football Foundation program called Play It Smart and have been funded for two years with a program grant and community contributions.

Among the significant local contributors are the Alliance for Families and Children and Genworth Financial.

The program uses academic coaches to work with at-risk student athletes, giving them the additional support they might need.

The program’s goals include raising grade-point averages, test scores and graduation rates. The program also focuses on such life skills as boosting opportunities for community service and increasing parental involvement.

The academic coaches will wear a number of different hats, sometimes serving as a tutor, teacher, friend or mentor.

Athletics have been part of Maggie Davis’ career since high school, where she played softball and basketball. She continued playing basketball at Lynchburg College.

“I really, truly believe athletics is an incredible experience of empowerment. You empower physically, you empower mentally.

The experience of being an athlete allows you to be fully present and strong,” she said.

“It give you tools to believe in yourself and push yourself.”

She could have added that athletics teach the student something about team work — which is important in making one’s way through life.

Gavin Davis has worked as a substitute teacher in the city schools and participated in track and field at William Campbell High School.

Referring to the program, he said, “I think this position is not just going to help them as athletes ... but make them a better person and make them strive to be more than average.”

That attitude puts the program on sound footing from the beginning. Athletics and academics are both important parts of the educational process, but success in athletics can’t come at the expense of success in the classroom.

The academic coaches will be there to make certain the student athletes are paying as much attention to their studies as they are their skills on the athletic field.

Such a program almost guarantees better student athletes from Lynchburg’s public schools.