Nicholas Akin

Dr. Jeff Tate

ENGL 113

December 1, 2018

Keeping Teens Out of Trouble

Does participating in sports help keep teens out of trouble? I agree that participating in

sports helps keep teens out of trouble. I think it could put a fear of doing drugs into them, it could

also give them less time after school to be out doing things they should not be doing, and most of

the time students athletes are more involved in school. On the other hand, those who are against

the idea that teens participating in sports helps keep them out of trouble think that the teen will

get in trouble if they play sports or not. The opposition thinks that no matter how much time the

sport takes out of the day, the student will still find trouble if they are a troublesome kid. I think

that this is true, but I also think that if they want to play sports it helps keep them in line.

I think that playing sports could put the fear of doing drugs into the student athlete. I

think that if they want to play sports then they will not risk getting caught with drugs on them or

doing drugs. Especially if the student athlete has a chance at getting a scholarship for playing

sports. They know that if they get caught doing drugs then they could get kicked off of the team.

Most of the time the athlete would no take a chance on losing that scholarship. Research shows

that athletes are less likely to use nonprescription opioids (Knopf 4). This would mean that they

would be less likely to use and become addicted to opioids that are not prescribed like heroin.
 I also think that the teen will have less time outside of school and sports to get into

trouble. Once they get done with the sport they are playing they will not have much time to be

out running around and getting into trouble. I understand that some people may think that the

child will stay out as they want as long as their parents do not make them come home, but

another factor that goes into that is that the city has curfew. If the child is under the age of 18

then he cannot be out too late. This would help keep the teens from staying out too late. I think

that the less amount of time they have to do things outside, the less likely they will get in trouble.

Lastly, I think that students who are involved in sports include themselves more in

school. If the student wants to play sports, they do not have a choice. They have to be passing the

class in order to play. In most cases, the student cannot just sit back and do nothing, they have to

put in some effort into the class. They have to have at least a D in the class to be eligible to play

sports. Research show that there is a positive correlation between sports and academics (Abruzzo

21-26).

I think that teens who participate in sports are less likely to get into trouble. They just do

not have as much time to mess around outside of their schoolwork and the sport they play. If

they are really involved in a sport, then they cannot just go around doing whatever they want.

They have to take just about everything serious, especially in school, they cannot joke around too

much. If they do not take things like their schoolwork serious, they might become ineligible.

They have to pay very close attention to what they are getting themselves into. They must be

very careful to not get into something that is going to cost them a spot on the team. Overall, if the

student wants to play a sport he or she will stay out of trouble.

 Works Cited

Abruzzo, Kristen J., et al. “Does Participation in Extracurricular Activities Impact Student

Achievement?” Journal for Leadership and Instruction, vol. 15, no. 1, Jan. 2016, pp. 21–

26. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1097547&site=ehost-

live.

Knopf, Alison. “Participation in Sports Reduces Teen Risk of Nonmedical Use of Prescription

Opioids and Heroin.” Brown University Child & Adolescent Behavior Letter, vol. 32, no.

9, Sept. 2016, p. 4. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1002/cbl.30152.