captain my captain 2

Alford 1Porsha Alford

Professor Wendy Greenstein

English 3

15 February 2010

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Captain my Captain

Imagine sitting on the side lines of a college basketball game. You notice that there is a

player with a “C” on his jersey yelling at his team mates and urging them to play harder, and

harder for their win. It’s down to the last few seconds of the game, so the boy with the “C” on

his jersey calls a time out. Telling them that it is not only one person on that court out there but a

team, and a brotherhood in that we should all play harder and come away with the win for our

school. You see the young man with the “C”, pull away and make the winning shot for his team.

Then you watch as the team begins to celebrate, the young man with the “C” runs out of the

gymnasium as fast as his legs would carry him. You give chase because you want to

congratulate him, and you come to a class with an open door where a professor is taking role and

you see the boy raise his hand whilst stating with a winded breath that, “I am here to ace your

final”. Academics was the first thing on this college students mind and making the grade was

more important to him that a long drawn out celebration. Participation in college athletic

programs benefit students by giving them the leadership skills, character, and drive to be a better

student as well as athlete.

Every team, whether it be a spelling bee team or a basketball team has a team captain.

Encarta dictionary defines the word captain as an influential leader in a field or organization. It



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15 February 2010

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takes a lot of hard work on the captain’s part to bring all the elements of the game together and

make it work to the team’s advantage. In knowing that, every athletic student should be viewed

as a captain and has to work doubly hard in order to achieve the goal of obtaining a degree.

According to Wayne Grutzmacher professor of History at Long Beach City College, “Athletes

are leaders, I expect them to be classroom leaders…I don’t expect them to be smokin’ and jokin’.

I mean they are outstanding people.” (Grutzmacher). This is a statement that I received from a

professor before I could even finish my question. He was very passionate about stating what he

expected of student athletes and he goes on to say,” student athletes have got it hard, harder than

regular students because more is asked of them than any normal academic student and for that

reason they (athletic students) should always put their best foot forward, I have a lot of respect

for them and what they do.” (Grutzmacher). Having to endure many obstacles from life, school,

sports, and community; the athletic student is constantly in a position of admiration or

condemnation. Thus, being the captain and leader of a vessel I call the USS College.

In order to live up to the expectations of professors, coaches, and the outside community

on such a worthy vessel, it takes great character on the part of the athletic student. In John R.

Gerdy’s article, Is Athletics Meeting Its Purpose? Gerdy an educational consultant picks apart

the student athletes in a detailed way, but he makes a point about character that sums up



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15 February 2010

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collegiate sports and what it does for the students character,” Sports is a vital character builder.

It molds the youth of our country for their roles as custodians of the republic. It teaches them to

be strong enough to know they are weak and brave enough to face themselves when they are

afraid. It teaches them to be proud and unbending in honest defeat, but humble and gentle in

victory....It gives them a predominance of courage over timidity, of appetite for adventure over

loss of ease.” (Gerdy, Is Athletics Meeting Its Purpose? 272). Gerdy states that “we found no

empirical support for the tradition that sport[s] builds character.” (Gerdy, Is Athletics Meeting Its

Purpose? 272). But how can that be, what tests are administered to a student athlete to figure the

numbers of character? There can only be broad judgments made; no factual evidence can be

compiled. On the contrary to what Gerdy believes about character there is one man who believes

that, “No matter how one wants to define character, athletes very likely have no more of it than

members of any other group. Some athletes are wonderful people, some are out-and-out thugs,

and most of them are average folks. I have heard it said that sports reveal character. I would

qualify that contention and say that sports reveal athletic character…” (Mosher 46). And the

reason for this is, every student athlete has his/her own personality and character is strongly

related to ones personality. So, it is up to every athletic student as an individual, who has their

own characteristics, morals, and goals whether or not they want to benefit from college on an

academic level or merely use college as a stepping stone into the majors of their respected sport.



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In addition to leadership skills and character athletic students have to have drive. In that I

mean they have to want to set themselves apart in order to obtain a degree as well as a career in

their sport of selection. Being a full time student and athlete takes just as much work to be good

at then working a job in order to climb that corporate latter. (Greenlee 90) One student who can

be commended for exercising his right to an education through his athletic achievements and

abilities is a young man named Oliver McNally1. McNally stated "The main thing I want to take

away from college is education, and Harvard is one of the best in the country." (McCulloch) He

said this of why, he decided to only go to this school when there were so many others interested.

This is a prime example of the kind of leaders athletic students can become, the type that strives

for and wants the best, educationally wise. Not all students have and keep the devotion to

education that McNally has. There are many factors that could contribute to an athletic student

losing steam, Dave Newhouse states the ongoing problems that athletic students face,” …the

general public has no concept of the rigors confronting student-athletes.” (Newhouse 267).

Newhouse continues on to say” It’s amazing these athletes do well academically. They get

injured they’re exhausted, their sport is year round.” (Newhouse 267). It is amazing that these

students do well, it is not uncommon though and they have learned how to deal with failure, to

fall and get back up. That is what sets a student athlete apart from a regular student; regular

1 All-Metro basketball honor



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15 February 2010

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students don’t have the resilience that athletic students do. Student athletes are under a

microscope their entire time at college, having to do everything that is expected of them at any

time without question. Student athletes generate a lot of revenue for colleges but they are not

permitted to use any of it. (Worsnop). I say this to mean that these students are exemplary; they

go above and beyond all expectations of what a “dump jock” can do.

Although the athletic student is all but invincible in my eyes there are naysayers that

believe the athletic student is over rated and a waste of time and energy. Such people like John

R. Gerdy, who argues that there will never be true reform as long as the athletic scholarship

program stays intact. (Gerdy, For True Reform, Athletics Scholarships Must Go 289). Gerdy

doesn’t believe that the athletic student in itself is bad rather; the institutions should revamp the

way that they handle the scholarship wilding students. In order to better suit the students that

need education instead of a heavy focus on just athletes. Gerdy believes that “College freshmen

should not be eligible for varsity competition. Spring football and out-of-season practices should

be eliminated, as should off campus recruiting. Basketball and football coaching staffs should be

cut in half. Season should be shortened; schedules reduced, and travel more restricted.” (Gerdy,

For True Reform, Athletics Scholarships Must Go 292). Another person that I must mention is

Samuel L. Becker who states that “…college athletes are “out of hand”…” ( (Samuel L. Becker).



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15 February 2010

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This is an ongoing belief to those who just see the surface of this argument but when explored

deeper, most people can see that college should be open to whomever has the drive and the know

how to succeed; whether it be through books or collegiate sports.

To conclude, participation in college athletic programs benefit students by giving them

the leadership skills and helping them to build upon them throughout their entire college life.

Also giving them the character and overall life skills that are needed to succeed in the world

outside of college. While the student athlete is in school he/she undergoes so much that it would

be impossible not to come away from the experience with no knowledge of how the world works

or even on a less broad stage, just college life so if they were not successful this time around they

will be more prepared in the future. The student athlete is determined to make something happen

whether it is for the naysayers’ sake of merely getting into the pro or obtaining a lasting

education; the student athlete has some form of goal and in order to reach that goal they are

terribly driven. In short the college experience can and will benefit students in any aspect that

they will it to benefit them, it is all about the person that is looking to do the benefiting.

Works Cited



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Gerdy, John R. "For True Reform, Athletics Scholarships Must Go ." Fred D. White, Simone J.

Billings. The Well-Crafted Argument . Boston, New York : Houghton Mifflin Company , 2008.

289-295.

Gerdy, John R. "Is Athletics Meeting Its Purpose?" Fred D. White, Simone J. Billings. The Well

Crafted Argument . Boston, New York : Houghton Mifflin Company , 2008. 271-288.

Greenlee, Craig T. "College Athletes Deserve Some Equity ." Messina, Lynn M. The Reference

Shelf; Sports in America . United States of America : The H.W. Willson Company , 2001. 90-93.

Grutzmacher, Wayne. Personal Interview Porsha Alford. 09 02 2010.

McCulloch, Will. "First Master ABC's, Then X's and O's." Vers. Web. 28 August 2007.

ProQuest. San Francisco Chronicles. 19 February 2010.

Mosher, Stephen D. "Athletes Should Not Be Expected to be Role Modles." Laura K. Egendorf,

David L. Bender, Bruno Leone, Bonnie Szumski, David Haugen. Sports Athletes Opposing

Viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. 44-50.

Newhouse, Dave. "Brawn & Brains: Student Athletes Get a Bum Rap." Fred D. White, Simone

J. Billings. The Well Crafted Argument . Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company , 2008.

266-270.



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Samuel L. Becker, William G. Sparks, Hyeon Cheol Choi and Lizette Sell. "The Journal of

Higher Education." August, July 1986. Jstor. Feburary 2010 <Stable URL:

http://www.jstor.org/stable/1980996>.

Worsnop, Richard L. "College Sports." CQ Researcher 4.32 (1994): 745-768. CQ Researcher.

Web. 22Feb. 2010. <http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre1994082600>.

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