Only in a few countries; athletes can get scholarships to college. Even if financial aids are available for them; not all athletes could gain access to college education. Athletes are often seen as role models. Many young aspiring teenagers are looking up to these “heroes”. They idolize things about them, even the fact that these athletes lack the high-level education. In many case, professional athletes have at least high school education. However, even in developed countries; many professional athletes don’t obtain college education. Professional athletes are commonly praised for their prestige and wealth. They are often admired for their ability to achieve success in life without extended level of education.
For this reason, many teenagers are aspiring to participate in big leagues. They are dreaming of finally joining the ranks of professional athletes that can achieve many things in life. They want to get the same level of wealth and prestige that are also obtained by these players. Despite their high-school education, they want to become among the highest paid non-degree professionals. They are betting on the fact that they could finally accumulate enough money. Unfortunately, professional athletes have short productive period and many of them start to retire after reaching the age of 32 or more. Many aspiring athletes think that they no longer need to work hard, because they will obtain more than enough money during the short productive period.
However, this kind of thinking is often flawed and short-sighted. There are many good reasons that professional athletes should have good education, so they can still be active in non-sports fields. It is a fact that very few athletes can reach the top. If there are 100 athletes striving for the professional career; only 1 would make it. It means that our chance is high that we will be among those 99 people who don’t become a sports star. They may obtain just enough income during their productive time as athletes; but eventually they need to look for another job, when they retire. This is a fact that signifies the importance of college education among athletes.
Sports are a highly active field in terms of physical activity. In this case, injuries will happen, virtually to any athlete; from mild sprain to fatal injuries. Some of the injuries can be serious enough to end sports career prematurely. Although these injuries are not life changing in daily lives, they could significantly degrade sport performance. In fact, it is believed that college education can be beneficial for athletes. Many sports matches can be won with not only physical capabilities; but also skills. Many college graduates are able to transfer their thinking skills to sports performance. There could be tactical complexity in the world of sports that we will need to cope with. Poor performance can be associated with improper education. So, athletes who are considered to participate in the world of sports should give their very best to achieve college-level education.
