Advising and Counseling Student Athletes by Broughton and Neyer - Article Example

Advising and Counseling Student Athletes by Broughton and Neyer This piece of literature “Advising and Counseling Student Athletes” by Broughton and Neyer, (2003) basically deals with the essence of counseling for student athletes. The students who are athletes face more stress and more challenge and as a result it is evident that they require more amount of counseling compared to the other college students. This piece of literature in consideration has included in its scope how the patterns of counseling have changed for the student athletes with the passing years. It has been mentioned in the literature that the student athletes can be best counseled by incorporating counseling in four steps which involves academic counseling, life skill development, clinical counseling and performance enhancement. It has been said in the book that the students many time fear the fact that if they seek the advice of counselors they will be considered weak and that may have an adverse effect on their performance and their social image. There are various problems which a student athlete faces and it remains the responsibility of the institutions to cater to all their emotional needs and provide them the support required. The piece of literature here goes on to say that there are yet many flaws in the counseling programmes of the student athletes and the college authorities should become effective in addressing the existing flaws and review the situation accordingly so that the athletes as well as the college authorities benefit from them. The authors Hamilton and Sina, (2001) in the article, “How College Affects Student Athletes” refers to the fact that colleges play an important role in the lives of the student athletes and the concerned authorities should realize their responsibilities and direct their efforts towards the right direction. The athletes should understand that the authorities care for their overall well being. And the authorities should not only focus on athletics that may bring in a negative impact. Rather they should structure policies in a manner that will help the student athletes in the long run of their lives and it will allow them to fulfill all their dreams. Thus we get to know that academic institutions have a major role to play in the lives of athletes. With more and more of globalization athletics is a major form of entertainment. The college athletes of the present age are not only shaped by factors of the universities and colleges. They are influenced by a number of other global factors which include social, moral and economic issues. It has also dealt with the issue of the past trends of the college athletics. It has given an idea how college sports went under the influence of corruption and how reform movements had started during the 1990s. A lot of factors become the part of student athletes like drugs, alcohol, gambling and other aggressive behaviors. These all issues might take a very much negative toll on the identity of an athlete and the essence of an athlete’s identity is his or her sports. So in order to get the best performance from the athlete it is essential that their identity is nurtured in a proper manner. And this can be done with the help of using various technologies as well as media influence. The article focuses on new the trends of enhancing the identity of the individual. We have got to learn through this piece of literature that the computer plays an important role in enhancing the identity of a student athlete. Towards the end of the chapter the authors have focused that proper development of student athletes is possible only when the concerned authorities co-operate with them. The authorities should incorporate programmes which will benefit them in the long run and the collaborators should always communicate among themselves in order to give the student athletes better scopes and opportunities.( Hill, Ragan and Denise, 2003)  The student athletes are highly scrutinized individuals and it is a must that even their academic performance is taken into consideration. It should be noted that the athlete gets a conducive environment to develop their academic skills or else it becomes difficult for them to establish themselves as future business leaders. Many times it is seen that an individual who is not able to get a chance in an academic institution based on his academic performance gets through because of his or her athletic excellence. As a result what happens is the performance of such students continues to remain below the standard. In this regard it should be well remembered that colleges are institutions where individuals get into to achieve academic Excellencies and that should be the prime aim of the colleges. It should frame schemes which encourage the athletic students to perform well in their academics and similarly the college authorities should arrange for events and competition which will give an opportunity to the athletic students to harness their skills. In brief it can be said that the academic institutions like colleges should implement schemes such that the overall development of the student takes place. (Stansbury, 2004)  In this piece of literature, “The Future of Division I College Sports” the author, Linkins deals with finance and athletes. He tries to focus on the financial stature of the athletes. Finance is an important criterion for the growth of any athlete or the promotion of athletic event. The present situation is such that there is no paucity of funds for the promotion of athletes and the budget related to athletics is increasing almost every day. The author says that the expenditure related to athletics might be increasing but the funds related to individual athletes are not sufficient sometimes and a shortage of funds is noticed for certain athletes. It is sometimes found that an athlete might not get adequate exposure and other facilities and as a result his or her performance gets affected badly. At such a juncture the author advises that the concerned authorities should look into the matter more carefully and try to allocate the funds more intelligibly. The author has also said that the authorities associated with the finances of athletics of the colleges should be more transparent in their allocation of funds and the allocation should be such that it benefits all the aspects of athletics. The author towards the end of the chapter has expressed concern that the rising budgets for athletics in the colleges may force the authorities to compromise the academic programmes. But that is not desirable there should be a proper balance between the academic activities and athletic programmes. The authors, Umbach, Palmer, Kuh and Hannah (2006) in this piece of literature, “Inter-collegiate athletic practices and effective educational programmes” a study have been conducted which wanted to find out the relationship of the student athletes and effective educational programmes. After the study was conducted it was found that it gave a completely different picture from what is portrayed in the media. The student athletes were found to be more effectively engaged with the educational programmes. Student athletes were found to be more interactive with their faculties and they also participated more in any student collaborative programmes. When asked about institutional support, student athletes reported to get more support from their institutions. It was also seen that institutions did not play a special role with regards to the behavior of the athletes. Thus we can say that through this piece of literature the author has tried to challenge the accepted behavioral patterns of the athletes.    The study by Comeaux (2009) in the article “Predictors of Academic Achievement among Student- Athletes in the Revenue Producing Sports of Men’s Basketball and Football” has dealt with the input factors and output factors of the student athletes, this means the author has tried to find out a close association of the college environment as well as demographic environment which participate closely in shaping the academic performances of the student athletes. The study has found out that the faculties who assisted the students in achieving professional goals had greater impact on the male student athletes compared to the faculties who encouraged the students to enroll in a graduate school. In this piece of literature the author has said that studies concentrating on the input variables and the output variables of student will be helpful on the future for universities and colleges to design programmes that will enable the best possible development of the male student athletes. The faculties should be very careful in their approach and give attempts in the direction so that even the student athletes who are not so advanced academically are able to achieve a certain academic standard. The author has said that the responsibility remains on the faculty members to make the student athletes realize the importance of academic pursuits and the faculties should involve in more communication with the student athletes so that they are in a position to understand the special needs of the student athletes. The work, “College Student Athlete Success Both In and Out of the Classroom”, the authors Carodine, Almond and Grato (2001 attempts to study the place of athletics in the lives of the students of universities and colleges. The chapter says that many of the researchers have said that athletics play an important role in shaping the identity of students and there are a lot of differences between the attitudes of athlete-students and non-athlete students. The study has delved and found out that the athlete students tend to spend more time with their team members and a considerable time in practice and as a result they have very little time to hone the opportunities provided by the academic institutions and consequently they fair poorly in their academic achievement. On the other hand the student athletes have better social skills than the non-athlete students. They also have a better leadership capability than the other students. All these were found out by giving two ideal questionnaires to the student-athletes and to the non-athlete students. These set of data about the differences in attitude about the two set of students were basically from schools which had very high admission standards and where students came from well to do families who were mostly white. A lot of discussions have been carried out on the differences in attitudes among the student athletes and the non-athlete students. Various researchers as well as authors have said that there exist a number of differences in their attitudes. To do away with such differences the authorities should take adequate steps. They should introduce programmes which look into the overall motivational development of the athletes. Proper and sufficient budget should be allocated for the assistance of athletes and for promotion of athletic events. The student athletes should get the required support from the academic institutions in the form of academic support, career counseling and personal development.( Gaston, 2003). The authors Richie, Keith, Sedlacek, Williams, Gaston and Javaune (1997) in “Comparing University Athletes and Non-Athlets on Attitudes and Perceptions” have said that there exist a lot of differences in attitudes among the athlete students and the non-athlete students. The authors have said that there are a lot of differences between the two groups and the main reason of such differences is self-perception of the athletes. The study has also reflected on the different needs which the athletes have compared to the needs of the non-athlete students. They have also said that again it remains the responsibility of the institutional authorities to cater to the needs of the athlete students and give them full opportunity of growth and development. The study “Academic Fit of Student Athletes” by Ferris, Finster and MacDonald (2004) aims at finding out the relationship of motivation and academic performances. It was found that the male athletes and the high profile athletes showed less academic motivation and as a result their Grade Point Average in the colleges was not satisfactory. The author says that the probable reason for it was that the athletes were not able to balance the academic pressure and athletic challenge equally and resultantly one suffered over the other. Therefore the author says that it remains the responsibility of the institutions to help the student balance academics and athletics proportionately. The paper “Issues Related to Academic Support and Performance of Division I Student Athletes: A case study of the University of Minnestoa” by Kane, Leo and Holleran (2008) aims to do a case study on the University of Minnesota. In this the author has shown the trends of athletes who left the University before graduation and never returned to complete their academics. It has also focused on the number of student-athletes who returned to the university to complete their education. Here the author goes on to say that the Universities should make fruitful attempts to integrate the community of the student athletes with the main culture of the University. The student athletes should feel integrated with the University and various programmes should be introduced so that the student athletes get enough focus. These programmes may prevent the leaving of Universities by the student athletes before the completion of their academics.  The article “Retention Issues and Models for African American Male Athletes” by Person and LeNoir (1997) deals with the graduating conditions of the African-American athletes. In many cases it was found that the African-American male athletes fared better in their graduation than their non-athlete counterparts. But the author has said that the overall percentage of African-Americans graduating were less than the whites. In that regard the college authorities should introduce programmes which will ensure the retention of African-American athletes in colleges because one out of every nine African- American is an athlete. Unless their retention in Universities is not increased the educational level among the African- Americans will also not improve. The programme carried out in the Louisiana State University also attempted at finding out a model which will help the authorities as well as the faculties to implement programmes which will ensure retention of student athletes in more number. (Boudreaux, 2004). In the article, “A Comparison of Athletes and Non-Athletes in Highly Selective Colleges” the authors Aries, McCarthy, Salovey and Banaji (2004) have reflected the differences in graduation trends among the athletes depending on the institutions of which they are a part. The author through various studies have found out that the general trend among athletes which has been noticed is that they do not perform properly in the graduation in case of middle level or an ordinary institution whereas in the case of high level institutions the overall performance of the student increases even such institutions show more number of athletic graduates. So the author has said that the general tendency among the people would obviously be to admit their athletic wards into institutions which has a better record and which is well known. The study, “The Effects of Higher Admission Standards on NCAA Student Athletes: An Analysis of Preposition 16” by Price mainly concentrates on the attempts which were taken by authorities to increase the graduation rates among the athletes. The attempt included increasing the entrance tests to the colleges. The entrance to the institutions were made difficult with the expectation that only those students will be admitted who has the capacity to fare well in their graduation. As a result to such an attempt the number of African- Americans taking admission to the institutes decreased but the graduation level did not improve. This meant that by increasing the admission levels the African-American athletes felt deterred to take admission into the colleges. The ultimate purpose was not served. The study, “Faculty and male Student Athletes: racial differences in the environmental predictors of academic achievement” by Harrison and Comeaux (2007) has concentrated on the differences between the male white and black athletes. Their differences in sport participation and the different treatment which they receive in the campus based on their racial differences. This study has found out that the black athletes entered college with lower academic record compared to their white counterpart. This pre-school academic achievement played an important role in determining the college level performances of the male athlete students. The study suggests that appropriate programmes should be designed which will include more intervention with regards to the blacks students so that they are able to perform in a better manner in their academics. This study has concentrated on the stereotype threats which the student athletes face in a college.  The author Dee (2009) in, “Stereotype Threat and the Student Athlete” has said that there are many pre-destined images of the student athlete which hampers their performance to a great extent. It also affects the perception of their self-identity. For examples there are ample stereotypes regarding the races and classes of athletes. Being a part of high profile academic institutions also contributes to their underperformance in academics. The author has suggested that the stereotypes should be dealt with properly so that the student athletes do not face a barrier with regard to their performance.  The study, “National Study of Student Athletes Regarding their Experience as College Students” by Potuto, Josephine, O’Hanlon and James (2008) here challenges the stereotype thinking that we have regarding student athletes and their treatment in college. The author here has said that generally people had a belief that the student athletes are treated more like athletes than like students in their institutions. But with the help of various studies it was found out that the student athlete gave different stories. They said that they enjoyed being athletes of the colleges. They received a lot of support from the authorities. Only they missed out on some other fun because they had to devote a lot of time to athletes. Such an opinion remained the same for all the classes of athletes. Athletics is a major part of our lives. Not only is it an important constituent of our lives but also it is a major source of entertainment for us. Today the educational institutes have a large number of student athletes and therefore they form an integral part of the academic institutes. The stress that a student athlete has to undergo is more than the non-athlete because they have to face the dual challenges of academics and sports. This is because even if they are inclined towards sports they have to concentrate on academics because it is still the belief that attaining high degrees is an essential criterion for maintaining social status. So it remains the absolute responsibility of the authorities of the academic institutes to design programmes for the student athletes in such a manner that they get the maximum scope of development. Even by studying these literatures we have been able to arrive at the conclusion that the proper dealing of the athlete students can give fruitful results towards the achievement of the student athletes and they will get the opportunity for developing both academically and also with respect to sports.  References   1. Aries E, McCarthy D, Salovey P and Banaji M, 2004, “A Comparison of Athletes and Non-Athletes in Highly Selective Colleges”. 2. Boudreaux M, 2004, “Development of a Predictive Model for Student Athlete Retention and Graduation at the Louisiana State University”. 3. Broughton E and Neyer M, 2003, “Advising and Counseling Student Athletes” 4. Carodine K, Almond K and Grato K, 2001, “College Student Athlete Success Both In and Out of the Classroom”. 5. Comeaux E, 2009, “Predictors of Academic Achievement among Student- Athletes in the Revenue Producing Sports of Men’s Basketball and Football”. 6. Dee T, 2009, “Stereotype Threat and the Student Athlete”. 7. Ferris E, Finster M and MacDonald D, 2004, “Academic Fit of Student Athletes”. 8. Gaston J, 2003, “Examining Differences in Athletic and Academic Motivation among Student Athletes in a Division I University. 9. Hamilton M and Sina J, 2001, “How College Affects Student Athletes”. 10. Harrison C and Comeaux E, 2007, “Faculty and male Student Athletes: racial differences in the environmental predictors of academic achievement”. 11. Hill K, Ragan K and Denise Y, 2003, “Current and Future Issues and Trends Facing Student Athletes and Athletic Programme” 12. Kane M, Leo P and Holleran L, 2008, “Issues Related to Academic Support and Performance of Division I Student Athletes: A case study of the University of Minnestoa”. 13. Libby S, November 2007, “Graduation Rates of Athletes outpace Students at Large”, available at,http://ezproxy.lib.uh.edu/login?url=http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/delivery?vid=4&hid=102&sid=e5f35b3c, (accessed on 17/06/09). 14. Linkins P, “The Future of Division I College Sports” 15. Person D and LeNoir K, 1997, “Retention Issues and Models for African American Male Athletes”. 16. Potuto, Josephine R, O’Hanlon and James, 2008, “National Study of Student Athletes Regarding their Experience as College Students”. 17. Price J, “The Effects of Higher Admission Standards on NCAA Student Athletes: An Analysis of Preposition 16”. 18. Richie, Keith, Sedlacek, Williams, Gaston A and Javaune, 1997, “Comparing University Athletes and Non-Athlets on Attitudes and Perceptions”. 19. Stansbury S, 2004, “Evaluating Academic Success in Student Athletes: A Literature Review” 20. Umbach P, Palmer M, Kuh G and Hannah S, 2006, “Inter-collegiate athletic practices and effective educational programmes”. Read More