At Central Kitsap High School, many students participate in sports, with one of the main ones being football. Despite football teaching valuable lessons such as teamwork and discipline, it could possibly affect a student’s grades, whether positively or negatively.

Jonathon Morrison, a junior at Central Kitsap High School knows exactly what the effects are, and describes being part of the varsity football team as an amazing experience.

“Honestly, it’s really nice; you get to meet new people,” Morrison said. “They’re like family.” 

Being part of the school football team helps student athletes build connections and make friends that will be there for them in their lowest times, football can even help a student find what they love.

“Being in football is nice, I feel it has made me happier overall and makes day to day life less boring,” junior Steven Hatfield said.

Despite football being an amazing life experience for students, it does come with a price, as described by Hatfield.

“Football takes up a lot of time and energy and tends to take up the whole day,” Hatfield said.

Being a student athlete is very exhausting. When football practice ends, it ends at 5:45 p.m., meaning players like Morrison don’t get home until after 6:00 p.m., with some students eating dinner around this time. Students have more than just homework, they have family that they want to spend time with.

“By the time you get home, you’re tired; you don’t want to do the work,” Morrison said. 

This fatigue can cause student athletes to struggle with school work, homework, and at home problems. For some students, these struggles can cause grades to decline. Morrison also stated that being part of the C-Team made it easier, as he gets to finish practice earlier, which gives him some time to complete homework.

“Football does make school work a little bit harder; but just in the amount of time I have to do it,” Hatfield said.

Football players don’t just give up, they find ways to keep up on their work. With most players still finding time to do their schoolwork.

“I personally work during advisory and before school to pull it off,” Hatfield said.

That proves that football isn’t the main reason for the grade declining of a student athlete. Morrison pointed out that the sport is a huge motivator for academic success.

“If you’re really committed to playing a sport, you need to stay on top of your grades,” Morrison said. 

In order to get playing time for sports games, or even practice in the first place, a student athlete must keep their grades passing, in a way, football does help students achieve great grades.

“Football helps keep me on my work because I won’t be able to play if I’m not,” Hatfield said.

Students want to play in the games and that’s one of the reasons why they stay on top of their grades. Play time is not a favoritism factor, all students need to keep their grades up.

“If your grades aren’t right, then you aren’t playing,” Morrison said. 

The coaches make sure that the students can’t play if they’re failing their classes, so students must prioritize their grades first and then their sports. Football does tend to make school harder, however, it is manageable if student athletes put in the effort. For students deciding whether to join sports or not due to the stress of trying to keep their grades up. Morrison emphasizes asking for help. 

“Honestly, what I would tell them would be, tell your teachers you need help, if you need help, just let your teachers know,” Morrison said. “If you’re not understanding something, you won’t ever [understand] unless you ask your teachers for help, because no matter what, grades are a priority.”