Student /ATHLETE
ConMnutl from P«g» 6B
curve with perhaps more at the
higher end and lower end ”
Many contend that participat
ing in sports on the college level
and going to school is compar
able to having two full-time jobs
Lengthy practice and training
sessions involve the athlete's
time year-round, not just during
the respective seasons And at
the collegiate level, a total com
mitment to excellence must be
given to his or her sport How
ever, another commitment must
also be given to studies
‘Time management and the
awareness that the competition
level is higher at the collegiate
level is the common problem,"
Nicholls said, describing the
adjustment problem "Its hard
for athletes to go from being
number one at home to just
normal here ”
Learning to juggle school and
sport is a difficult task all ath
letes must accomplish A policy
of former Oregon swimming
coach Rich Schleicher was that
"one is not to be put off for the
other," demanding both
academic and athletic success
This is an area where many ath
letes fail — when priority is
Washington to
miss Blazers’
next two games
PORTLAND (AP) - The Port
land Trail Blazers announced
Tuesday that forward Kermit
Washington will miss the team's
next two National Basketball
Association exhibition games
with a sprained ankle
Team spokesman Chert White
said Washington sprained his
left ankle in the exhibition game
in Portland on Sunday evening
in which the Blazers beat the
defending-champion Boston
Celtics 114-99
The Blazers' next two games
are Thursday evening in St Jo
seph, Mo., against the Kansas
City Kings and Saturday even
ing in Spokane, Wash , against
the Seattle SuperSonics
The 6-foot-6 Washington
scored four points against the
Celtics
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sometimes given to sport or
books, but not to both.
"Some athletes fall into that
trap," said Choo Choo Young,
Oregon football player "Its
hard You have to realize that
football is a big part of school
and a year-round thing. But you
have to do the best you can ."
Young should know He's
Oregon's contribution to the
All-Pac 10 scholastic squad and
divides his time between foot
ball, studying for his elementary
education degree and also as a
volunteer for the Big
Brother/Big Sister program He
also belongs to an academic
fraternity
Young may be not so much an
exception of a student-athlete
as he is to the student-athlete
stereotype
He credits his family and his
high school background for his
academic success, and men
tions Nicholls as being helpful to
"getting on the right foot."
It used to be said that a per
son could tell how easy a class
is by counting the number of
jerseys worn in the room. But in
actuality the time schedule lists
few classes that can be con
sidered "Mickeys", some of
which are taken by many
students
In fact Nicholls says that her
job started "because many ath
letes were taking the Mickey
Mouse courses "
All requirements in the long
run are the same for all
students, including courses
required for majors and upper
division credit for graduation as
well as maintaining full-time
status for the athlete. Athletes
and non-athletes basically
travel the same road.
With all of the pressures, it's
easy to see why some athletes
would want to find relief in a
not-too-demanding class. But
eventually the required classes
do have to be taken
Athletes are always in the
public eye and receive much
attention When an athlete has
academic problems, the public
finds out about it and thus ad
vances the dumb jock theory.
Nicholls offers a counter
theory to the dumb jock stereo
type. “In many instances the
athlete is a better student. How
can you manage to survive with
30-35 hours of practice a week?
How can you say that this lacks
discipline?”
Nicholls sees another aspect
of the student-athlete stereo
type as unjustified. "Many peo
ple believe that athletes live in
the laps of luxury which is just
not true A full ride from the
NCAA doesn't cover all ex
penses and there are ru<es
which do not let the athlete work
or borrow money. This hurts
people from poor families the
most.”
Taking into account the men
tal, physical, social, and
monetary pressures that must
be met by the student-athlete,
the concept of the dumb jock
may just be a bum rap.
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