The minimum GPA for high school sports countrywide is a 2.0 on the 4.0 scale. Student-athletes have mixed opinions on whether this GPA is adequate or if it should be changed.
“I think it should be kept the same because even though some students can’t maintain it, they should not be doing a sport if they are not able to keep their grades up,” sophomore cross country and track runner Esperanza Perez said.
Lots of student-athletes agree that school is the priority, but sports can take up time that could be spent doing homework. This causes homework to lack efficiency and prohibits athletes from putting full effort into their work.
“If they have determination, they will find a way to do their homework and study in time for tests,” junior golf player Ashley Zimmermann said.
Zimmermann believes that since her practice is only two hours after school, she still has time to do her schoolwork efficiently.
“I wouldn’t lower it, and I certainly wouldn’t raise it,” girls cross country coach Richard Haralson said. “It gives the kids a purpose to get better grades, but it also doesn’t restrict some of the students that haven’t had the background to participate in sports.”
As a coach, Haralson believes that being in sports pushes athletes to work harder in school and on the field.
“With my experience as a coach of 41 years, students generally get better grades when they’re involved in a sport,” Haralson said.
However, if this is not the case and the GPA falls low while in a sport, many student-athletes believe that school is more important than high school sports.
“If they struggle to keep the 2.0 GPA while in a sports season, they should probably not be doing the sport,” Perez said.
Some student-athletes believe the GPA is manageable and should not be hard to achieve.
“I believe the GPA is just fine where it’s at because a 2.0 isn’t difficult to maintain,” junior soccer player Thomas Meo said.
