GRADES AND SPORTS? INSIDE SCOOP WITH CASEY QUIGLEY
For Casey Quigley, a senior at Central High School, this is the first in eleven years that he will not be on a wrestling team. Having been voted MVP after wrestling in last year’s championship with a broken hand, Casey was a major contender for captain this year. However, now that he is on academic probation, he is not allowed on the team “I’m not gon’ lie, it sucks. Had I known I couldn’t wrestle, I probably would’a came to class for real. My English teacher is irritating, but of course I’d deal with something that irritates me so I can do something I love,” Casey said, expressing his regret.
Casey got on probation before the 2013- 2014 season started, but is now eligible again and can wrestle in the championship match. His dedication to the team has shown him how important his grades are, and he says he would have done whatever it took to get back on the team. “He’s actually looking pretty good. I'm glad he got himself together.” Casey’s wrestling coach Jeremy Julien commented, “he has better grades this quarter than I’ve ever seen [him earn].”Central's academic probation tries to promote this way of thinking, by making a students' sports involvement depend on their grades. Seth Jones, a senior on the boys’ volleyball team, reportedly gets his motivation by this rule, admitting that "if I didn't have to get good grades I probably wouldn'tbother with them."
The rule at Central is that no student can participate in sports if they have three grades below a C, or two Fs. Balancing sports and schoolwork is a difficult task, and many athletes, understandably, are not making honor roll. However, thanks to Central's use of the academic probation system, none of them are completely failing. The system seems to be helping counteract the negative effect that sports seasons can have on all athletes' report cards.