The news that Jamaica College (JC) did not enter one of its star athletes to compete at the Jamaica Boys and Girls Athletics Championships (Champs) this week because he failed to meet academic requirements has sparked some amount of discussion. This happened soon after fans learned that some schools would not be allowed to compete because their entry applications were late.
Although the 15-year-old JC Class II athlete in question was expected to earn major points for his school at Champs, JC principal Ruel Reid has stressed the policy that his school must uphold, with regards to its academic performance. Reid should be applauded for putting education first.
JC performed excellently at this year’s Gibson Relays in Kingston, and is one of the front runners that could take Champs. However, Reid has stated unequivocally that while the student-athlete has been doing well in the 100m, 200m, and the 400m this season, “we do not believe in winning at all cost.”
It’s unfortunate that the young athlete’s negative academic affairs have been hung out like that for the entire world to see. However, it’s hardly likely that he was unaware of the criterion as well as the consequence.
Too often athletes have been allowed to slide through the system because they are stars, only to be found out later that they don’t have an academic leg on which to stand. Young athletes must be able to perform well both in the classroom – and that doesn’t mean getting straight As – and on the track. Without a solid academic foundation, they will obviously limit their options to fall back on, should they not be successful at track beyond high school.
Upholding Academic Integrity
JC has decided to maintain its academic integrity, for its main purpose is to educate, not win Champs. “We have some students who are late bloomers,” Reid told the media. [And] we put things in place to deal with this.”
US college recruiters target not only athletes who can complete on the track but also those who can perform in the classroom as well. Recruiters want to know that an athlete can handle the rigor of weekly competition along with the demands of the books. Some even assign tutors to travel with the athletes who need them.
Boys schools such as Calabar, Kingston College (KC), Wolmer’s and JC are traditionally known for their strong academic and sports programs. Athletes from those schools are able to make the leap to solid Division I programs in the US such as Texas A&M, LSU, Arkansas and Alabama. Long jumper Nicholas Gordon and thrower Chad Wright of Calabar, for example, are both studying political science and engineering, respectively, at the University of Nebraska. Julian Reid of Wolmer’s and Kieron Stewart of KC are both performing well on and off the track at other Division 1 schools in the US. Look at the wider Caribbean and you find, for example, the academically prepared Gavyn Nero of Trinidad and Kirani James of Grenada getting scholarships to Division 1 programs.
Junior College Route
For many other athletes, the two-year (junior) college route has been the option that they use as an intermediary step to get into a Division I program. However, the athletes still need to achieve minimum academic standard. In our observation, we have not noticed any student-athlete from the powerhouse track schools such as JC, KC and Calabar enrolling in two-year colleges in the US. They have all gone to Division I programs, except for Leford Green, a KC product, who is at Johnson C. Smith University (Division II) with coach Lennox Graham, a former KC coach, who conditioned Green when they were both at KC.
One key fact that cannot be ignored is that if athletes were not well prepared academically at home, life can be so much harder for them abroad, where they have to adjust to the weather changes and culture, train seriously, compete more frequently in two or more events, and keep up their grades, which brings us back to the JC athlete.
He should be given all the necessary help and guidance in both areas, allowing him to improve his grades, so that when he’s in good academic standing, he will be eligible to compete again. The encouraging thought is that this isn’t his final year; he’ll move up to Class I (ages 16 to 19) next year and, therefore, has the time to improve, so recruiters can see him when they come knocking with offers.