The Value of On Academic Achievement
Dr. Melissa Patton @VKSBrevard

I was never a strong student. I struggled, tremendously – But I was comfortable in my letterman’s jacket, my varsity accolades patched neatly on my jacket. My confidence drove holes into the mondo surfaced track - I ran that oval effortlessly. Senior year I was voted “Most Likely to Become a Professional Athlete” and that next fall I made the 5.5-hour trek to Drake University as a scholarship athlete. My lack of self-assurance was evident as I sat with my teammates on NCAA signing day at Drake University - I was preoccupied with thoughts of what if I can’t do this and what if I flunk out, what if, what if, what if.
My story is not unique, there are countless athletes that meet their match on the basketball court, the field, or in my case the track. There are several factors that heighten one’s ability to overcome the hurdles of reaching academic achievement. The studies have shown that the sense of belonging to a team increases the likelihood that an athlete will persevere through difficult times. In most situations student athletes must keep a certain grade point average (gpa) to stay eligible. If that gpa dips lower then the required number it can put an athlete in jeopardy of losing their position on the team, due to their ineligibility. Most athletes are motivated to be steadfast in keeping their grades up to resist the burden and embarrassment of becoming ineligible.
In my case, college sports helped me wrap my head around what it meant to be organized, prepared and meet deadlines – which ultimately lead me to academic achievement. I remember a candid conversation with my coach in his office after practice one day. His words were harsh and direct, threatening to “send me back to junior college, if I didn’t get my act together”. My gpa at the time was lower than it should have been, and my eligibility was on the line, so his conversation with me did not surprise me. I remember experiencing so many different emotions, and as I walked out of his office, I had a plan. I immediately went to the store and bought a laptop and began to teach myself how to write things down and use a calendar. On track meet road trips, I always brought my laptop, and any and every chance I got, I worked. I fell in love with the fulfilling feeling I got by turning assignments in on time. I was even more satisfied in how my grades began to go up. I graduated from Drake on the Deans List and I was hired my senior year to teach freshman athletes the importance of time management. Without adversity knocking on my door, I would never have needed to change my academic methods.
I have spent every year of my life post undergrad as a higher education administrator, and tenured professor. I have seen almost every level of the collegiate system and I have mentored countless students and faculty in how to academically persevere and overcome. For so many years it was extremely fulfilling, until recently. I felt there was another level – very similar to the feeling an athlete gets when they experience catharsis or when they have achieved a personal best. There is always another level. I love that about sports, and how that entices an athlete to go to their next level. There are risks in going to a place that is unknown, but there are risks in all great things in life, and with those risks come additional learning lessons that can ultimately propel that person to their next destination.
My next level was leaving higher education to try out my newly acquired EdD status as the President of Victory Kid Sports, an organization that impacts children through sports, by using sports as a vehicle to increase confidence and self-esteem in the classroom. Victory Kid Sports was not birthed by accident, I believe it lays the foundation necessary to not only reach academic achievement but to also have positive role models emulate prosocial support. It is easy to say you can do something, but when it is modeled for you every day, and a blueprint for success is mapped out - it makes the learning curve that much easier.
My story is not unique, there are countless athletes that meet their match on the basketball court, the field, or in my case the track. There are several factors that heighten one’s ability to overcome the hurdles of reaching academic achievement. The studies have shown that the sense of belonging to a team increases the likelihood that an athlete will persevere through difficult times. In most situations student athletes must keep a certain grade point average (gpa) to stay eligible. If that gpa dips lower then the required number it can put an athlete in jeopardy of losing their position on the team, due to their ineligibility. Most athletes are motivated to be steadfast in keeping their grades up to resist the burden and embarrassment of becoming ineligible.
In my case, college sports helped me wrap my head around what it meant to be organized, prepared and meet deadlines – which ultimately lead me to academic achievement. I remember a candid conversation with my coach in his office after practice one day. His words were harsh and direct, threatening to “send me back to junior college, if I didn’t get my act together”. My gpa at the time was lower than it should have been, and my eligibility was on the line, so his conversation with me did not surprise me. I remember experiencing so many different emotions, and as I walked out of his office, I had a plan. I immediately went to the store and bought a laptop and began to teach myself how to write things down and use a calendar. On track meet road trips, I always brought my laptop, and any and every chance I got, I worked. I fell in love with the fulfilling feeling I got by turning assignments in on time. I was even more satisfied in how my grades began to go up. I graduated from Drake on the Deans List and I was hired my senior year to teach freshman athletes the importance of time management. Without adversity knocking on my door, I would never have needed to change my academic methods.
I have spent every year of my life post undergrad as a higher education administrator, and tenured professor. I have seen almost every level of the collegiate system and I have mentored countless students and faculty in how to academically persevere and overcome. For so many years it was extremely fulfilling, until recently. I felt there was another level – very similar to the feeling an athlete gets when they experience catharsis or when they have achieved a personal best. There is always another level. I love that about sports, and how that entices an athlete to go to their next level. There are risks in going to a place that is unknown, but there are risks in all great things in life, and with those risks come additional learning lessons that can ultimately propel that person to their next destination.
My next level was leaving higher education to try out my newly acquired EdD status as the President of Victory Kid Sports, an organization that impacts children through sports, by using sports as a vehicle to increase confidence and self-esteem in the classroom. Victory Kid Sports was not birthed by accident, I believe it lays the foundation necessary to not only reach academic achievement but to also have positive role models emulate prosocial support. It is easy to say you can do something, but when it is modeled for you every day, and a blueprint for success is mapped out - it makes the learning curve that much easier.