Emotional Lives
Everyone has emotions. Emotions change as a result of people, situations, experiences, etc. Student-athletes lead emotional lives in both the classroom and the field, whether or not they show it. Student-athletes are bound to experience the highs and lows that come with competing in both an academic and athletic setting. A study conducted by Valiente et al. found that positive emotion such as joy, hope, and pride are positively correlated with a student's academic performance and overall achievement and vice versa. Therefore, if a student-athlete experiences negative emotion due to failure in sport and allows their mental state to carryover into the classroom their grades could suffer. It is important for a student-athlete to lead a healthy emotional life. Often times being part of a sports team can foster an individual's emotional well-being by providing a sense of belonging, support, and purpose. There are, of course, both pros and cons to being a student-athlete and experiencing the emotional shifts that come with it. The manner in which a student-athlete deals with these emotions will determine both the outcome of their actions and the success they achieve on the field and in the classroom.
|