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Mercy Dunn

Mrs. Stone

English 11 Advanced

3/9/18

Gym Class Should not be Required for Student Athletes

Imagine waking up at 6:30 to go to school everyday, sometimes even earlier to finish up

the loads of homework from the night before. Grace goes to all of her classes that day, getting

about an hour of homework for each one. Her last class is gym. She goes to P.E. and all she does

is play volleyball for an hour, making her already sore muscles from field hockey practice last

night even more sore. Not only does she have no reason to play volleyball, but she knows she has

to actually try in order to get a good grade. Because of that unneeded exercise, Grace’s

performance will be hindered in the field hockey game she has later that day.

The school day is over and she’s on the way to her game, an hour and a half away. She

can’t finish her homework on the bus, because there is no internet, not to mention there is no

room. So Grace begins her game stressed out from all the homework she knows she’s going to

have to finish late that night. The game is over, and she didn’t do as well as she had hoped

because of how sore gym class made her and how stressed she is from all the homework she has.

Grace finally gets home at about 9 o’clock and starts on her homework that she knows

she’ll have to get up early in the morning to finish. If only she had an extra study hall instead of

gym class to get a head start. High school varsity athletes should not be forced to take P.E. as it

creates a higher risk of injury and burdens scholar athletes with unnecessary demands in addition

to practice and homework.

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High school P.E. classes put demands on an athlete’s body that shouldn’t be there on top

of their sport. Many injuries have come from gym classes, causing the athlete to have to give up

time they could be using to play. “For example, getting a concussion while in gym could ruin an

athlete's chances of playing all season” (Handel). This could cause big problems in an athletes

life. “Because they are often loosely organized, gym class sports can put athletes at risk of

injuries that could hinder their sports season” (Davis). Physical education also puts the athlete at

risk of overworking their body. Since they are already getting all the exercise they need, too

much of that can backfire, causing more harm than good. “By participating in gym class, an

athlete is at risk of overtraining and will not be able to play at the top level during practice and

games” (Harrington). Having gym class, on top of practice everyday causes too much strain on

the athlete’s body, putting them at higher risk for injury. Injuries caused by P.E. have skyrocketed

in the last few years. They have “soared 150 percent from 1997 to 2007” (Davis). Giving varsity

athletes a free pass from gym class would dramatically decrease their risk of overworking their

bodies and causing injuries.

Student athletes have barely any time to get their homework done with their games,

practices and team bonding activities. Replacing gym class with an extra study hall would give

them extra time to get a head start on their homework, so they’re not stressed out during their

sport. “Eliminating physical education from the schedule of student athletes would give them an

extra 40-minute jump on homework so they would not have to stay up all night” (McCabe). A

few schools around the country have let students drop gym class with no repercussions. “In

2010, a decision was made to allow Cincinnati high school athletes, cheerleaders, and band

members to skip gym class” (Davis). Doing this would make the lives of student athletes so
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much easier. “These policies give student-athletes extra time in the classroom and help them

balance their athleticism with schoolwork” (Davis).

Varsity athletes already have enough to worry about like their games and practices, so

why give them another thing to worry about, like their sleep schedule. With everything an athlete

has going on, it’s hard for them to get a good night’s sleep. Audrey Nolander, of Phoenix,

Arizona says she thinks gym class should be made into something more useful for athletes. “I am

a captain of the varsity volleyball team and know the tremendous work it takes to manage sleep,

homework, sports, and school” (“Feedback”). How are athletes going to be able to perform well

in their games if they get no sleep from the night before because they are up so late doing

homework? If gym class was made into something the students could use more effectively like a

study hall, they could get more work done and have more time to sleep at night.

Varsity student athletes already get plenty of exercise because of their sport. The extra

exercise gym class gives them is unneeded and pointless. Since they already get enough exercise,

why do they need more. The right amount of exercise is good, but too much can be bad. “Gym

impedes the amount of work a varsity athlete can do. Muscles need time to rest after a

workout” (Harrington). Overworking athletes is pointless and potentially dangerous.

Physical education was created to help students maintain a healthy lifestyle. This seemed

to be a good idea, however this is not changing anything in regard to the overall issue of child

obesity. “In the United States, the percentage of children and adolescents affected by obesity has

more than tripled since the 1970s” (“Healthy Schools”). Forcing students to attend physical

education is doing nothing for the overall health of our country, not to mention it is unneeded for

athletes who already get the exercise they need. Instead of requiring students to take gym class,
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there are other alternative to teach them about healthy lifestyles. For example, schools could

offer nutrition classes or healthy cooking classes which would be a lot more effective than

forcing them to take physical education.

The typical high school athlete gets about 10 hours of exercise a week, not including

games, weekend practices or exercise they do on their own. “Children and adolescents (ages

6-17) should do 60 minutes or more of physical activity each day” (“How...”). This is more than

what they need which is why gym class should not be mandatory for them. Not to mention, by

the time they get changed and started with an activity, they only have about maybe 15 minutes of

exercise. This extra, unneeded exercise is doing no good for student athletes.

There are many disadvantages of gym class for varsity athletes. It puts too many demands

on their body and makes it easier for them to get injured. It has no benefit to them and should be

replaced with a study hall so students can get their homework done instead of have to do

unnecessary exercise. Not to mention, athletes get barely any sleep at night because of all their

homework and sports, so they need extra time to get it done. It also has no benefit to already in

shape athletes. Physical education should be eliminated from varsity athletes’ schedules because

it creates unneeded risks, and puts too much added stress on them.
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Works Cited

Davis, Zoe. "Athletes Don't Need PE." Teen Ink, vol. 26, no. 1, Sept. 2014, p. 22. EBSCO

"FEEDBACK." Teen Ink, vol. 22, no. 4, Dec. 2010, p. 4. EBSCO

Harrington, Kelley. "Varsity Versus Gym Class." Teen Ink, vol. 22, no. 2, Oct. 2010, p. 10.

EBSCO

Handel, Ryan, et al. Silver Chips Online : “Varsity Athletes Should Not Be Required to Take

Gym,” silverchips.mbhs.edu/story/13528

McCabe, Mary. "Physical Education." Teen Ink, vol. 12, no. 9, May 2001, p. 21. EBSCO

“Healthy Schools.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 29 Jan. 2018,

www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/obesity/facts.htm.

“How Much Physical Activity Is Needed?” Choose MyPlate, 21 June 2016,

www.choosemyplate.gov/physical-activity-amount.