The problem concerned with many Student-athletes for lacking basic skills has a multidimensional aspect in its nature and
its roots would be found in various sections of society. There would be various elements found if we analyze it deeply keeping in view the social, economical and financial aspects existing in various classes of society. If a class of society (I don''t mention any class) is suffering financial problems, unable to find the ways to get rid of poverty merely through education then their natural tendency would be to get excellence in sports - which they think would be a short way to get rid of poverty. Although some sections go on crimes but this is not our topic. Most of their school going children become Student-athletes in line with thinking of their class and get excellence but as a student their performance is not satisfactory. No matter whether they belong to a specific class, minority, color or religion etc. but certainly there are so many factors involved which affects the over all performance of Student-athletes both in academics and sports. Moreover it has also been observed that
students take interest in only those games which they consider, could be financially better for them in future if they become a professional player. Keeping in view this point, their priority is sports rather than their academic activities which results sometime very poor performance in academics but excellent in sports. Colleges / Universities also try to enroll such students having good sports record but avoiding their academic results. While recognizing that many students entering the College have the basic competency to use information technology effectively, others are still insufficiently prepared to be able to complete assignments that require basic computer skills. Student athletes who arrive without the above skills should be provided with the opportunity to acquire these skills during their first
semester. Their institution should provide tutorials, seminars, courses, educational materials and other learning situations so that by mid-semester of the first term, such students should have acquired these skills. All teachers should be encouraged to require, by mid-semester, that term papers, lab reports, etc. be submitted in a form produced with a word processor. The Athletics department should establish an Athletics Academic Monitor Program to support the student athletes throughout their studies. Each student athlete has his/her grades monitored by the department at mid term and end of term. Students at risk are referred to academic “coaches” who act as mentors to the student, guiding them to the various resources that are already in place (The Learning Centre, peer tutoring, etc.). Workshops on preparing to take SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) exams and time management skills should also offered to the student athletes. While the academic coaches monitors athletes'' academic records to ensure that athletes are adhering to rules and regulations, it is imperative that the academic coach understands and advises student athletes so as to comply with eligibility rules. Athletes must be enrolled in at least 12 semester credit hours for each long semester, and must complete 24 credit hours each academic year. He must be informed immediately when a student wishes to drop any course. Athletes are immediately ineligible to practice or play with the team if they fall below 12 hours for any long semester. Athletes should be advised to take 15 hours each long semester so that they can drop a course, if needed, without becoming ineligible to participate. The academic coach should always be informed when an athlete wishes to drop a course, even when the athlete will remain enrolled in 12 or more hours. He should also encourage athletes to register at the earliest possible date to ensure that their sports schedules do not interfere with their class schedules. Most institutions are faced with severe bt constraints and limited flexibility in assigning personnel to student activities. For these reasons, institutions have to be very careful in assigning limited resources to meet their needs. Athletes are set apart from non-athlete students by the discipline and demands of athletic participation. Pressure to succeed not only academically, but in the athletic arena as well, can be very stressful. Student athletes are also at greater risk for certain health-related problems, such as eating disorders, substance abuse, and physical injury. Academic advisors should be aware of these issues and prepared to refer students to the appropriate campus or outside resources. Ideally, faculty will identify students who are lacking basic skills and refer them to appropriate tutorial services. University should have a Learning Resource Center that helps all students reach needed levels of competency. If faculty is not referring students to this sort of program by their own initiative, perhaps coaches and support staff could regularly send questionnaires to faculty members with students to find out who needs extra help and to solicit referrals. This is how the Department of Athletics can identify student athletes who need extra academic help. Once a student is identified as one who needs remedial help, coaches can meet individually with the referring faculty member to explain the unique problems of students who are to strategize about appropriate solutions. If they fail to agree on a strategy that, in the coach’s view is workable, the coach and support staff should not hesitate to let chairs, deans or other administrators know about the inflexible faculty member.