Athletes Find That 'Student' Comes First

For high school students, the education process at times is a matter of having someone nearby who cares. It’s having someone to help students through their struggles and to applaud when they succeed.

That’s what the Play It Smart program sponsored by the National Football Foundation is all about. The program for at-risk student athletes began this fall at E.C. Glass and Heritage high schools. And the coaches and students involved say it’s working.

Gavin Davis is the after-school coach and tutor at E.C. Glass, while Maggie Davis has taken on the job at Heritage. They are not related. The academic coaches are there to help students with schoolwork, community service and college preparation.

Both report early success stories. They cite students who were struggling and are now doing better as a result of the extra support they are getting. More importantly, they have helped turn the light on for students who previously had not considered college but who now are enrolling in tougher courses to expand their options.

The program is being paid for by the foundation, community contributions and the city schools.

Maggie Davis said she wants her students to buy into the program, respect themselves and ask those all-important questions for all students: What is possible? What can I achieve? For some of them, she said, it is the first time those questions have crossed their minds.

For now, both coaches are working primarily with football players. But athletes in other sports have approached them about joining the Play It Smart program.

“The word is out,” said Maggie Davis, who added that a number of athletes have approached her for help with the often daunting college application process.

Major components of the program include raising student achievement and a focus on higher education. The NFF reports participating schools have increased SAT scores, grade point averages, graduation rates and the number of student athletes going to college.

An after-school study hall is mandatory at both high schools, where the coaches work with the students. A study hall before school is also available. Other football coaches and teachers assist the academic coach at Glass, which has some 125 students participating in the program. Heritage has about 80 students.

As an example of the program’s success so far, both coaches reported an increase in the number of student athletes taking the SATs, which were given earlier this month.

School officials are pleased with the results of the program. “I’m amazed at the progress they’ve made in a short amount of time,” said Al Coleman, director of secondary education. “All the pieces of the program,” he said, are falling into place.

The real measure of success will come later in the year with reports detailing the percentage of students taking the SATs, their scores, the overall team grade point average and the percentage of students participating in community services.

For too many years, high school athletes have been trained more for their prowess on the athletic field than in the classroom. That is changing in Lynchburg’s public schools. It’s a change that will give those student athletes a more balanced view of their educational experience.