User:Shempel10

Athletic pressure is defined as internal or external influences creating compulsion to succeed.

Pressure on athletes can come from many contributing factors, though the two main factors are parents and coaches.

Parents: Many high school athletes feel the pressure from parents to receive a college scholarship to play a sport to help the parents financially. At the same time, many athletes that have college potential feel pressure from their coaches to play through injury, even if this could legitimately risk their chance at a college scholarship. These two offsetting problems often arise the question, what is the right way to go about things? Do you look out for yourself and protect your own future and the potential to save your family money, or do you make the sacrifice for your teammates and stunt possible personal growth as an athlete and put your future in jeopardy.

Coaches: the majority of high school athletic coaches do not look out for their athletes’ futures and most of them want to get the most out of their athletes even if this requires them to pressure them to play with injuries. Once you are gone from your school your no longer of use to them so what do they care if they put your future at all in jeopardy by making you play through a torn up knee in football or pressuring you to pitch with an aching arm.

Importance of the Issue: The audience I am targeting with this writing is mainly parents and high school athletes themselves to understand that there is nothing more valuable too you then your future. Student athletes should be educated to understand that school athletic trainers don't always have your best interests either because they are being pressured from the coach to tell you that you are okay to play. It is in the student athlete’s interest to see an outside physician, or seek a second opinion that can give his own professional opinion then rely on a high school trainer.

Advice: Advice that should be taken seriously is the understanding that the student athlete’s health is the most important asset. Each athlete should be treated as if they have the possibility of a career beyond school. The individual athlete’s health should be the number one priority, even before a team’s success. Authorities advice that the big picture should be kept in mind. “Is a high school athletic game as important as a possible college scholarship or important enough to ruin an opportunity to play professionally?” Everything an athlete does has to be taken in perspective and moderation and they have to have an ultimate goal in mind that they are working for. Therefore, key things that can be important in this process can be taking extra careful care of your body such as extra stretching, dieting in moderation, adequate hydration and periods of rest to rebuild muscle.

Euchner, Charlie. “Cheatin’ Hearts.” Weblog post. Early Show. 18 Feb. 2007. 11 Apr. 2009 <http://www.earlyshow.blogspot.com/>. Pennington, Bill. “Expectations Lose to Reality of Sports Scholarships .” New York Times 10 Mar. 2008: 12. Veciana-Suarez, Ana. “Overuse Injuries: When High School Athletes Play Too Much.” Miami Herald 9 Sept. 2008. 11 Apr. 2009 <http://www.iconocast.com/‌B000000000000042/‌F2/‌News4.htm>.