A typical student at Neshaminy High School slouches into homeroom at exactly 7:16 a.m. and dashes out of eighth period as soon as the bell rings at 2:14 p.m. The differences between these “typical” students and student-athletes begin (but certainly do not end) when the after-school hours strike.

Most athletes practice after school, Monday through Friday until 5 pm- sometimes longer.

These students are clearly working long and hard hours on the field (or court) getting plenty of physical exercise and taking time they could be using to study or get homework done to practice their sport. Regardless of the time they are putting in after school, student athletes are still required to take a physical education class at Neshaminy, reinforcing the concepts of exercise and team work that they spend hours learning after school—and they shouldn’t be. Student-athletes should be exempt from physical education classes, giving them an extra study hall to focus on school work.

Experts argue that physical education classes teach self-discipline and develop strong leadership skills as well as provide an outlet for releasing stress, but these athletes are already learning these skills. Additionally, gym class can sometimes be an additional cause of stress for student athletes. “I don’t want to strain any other muscles in gym if I’m already sore from Cross-Country” junior Allyson Smoluk explained.

According to an article from GoldPost.com, athletes tend to have higher grade point averages than non-athletes, emphasizing that their academic success is very important to them. When it comes to student athletes, the cliché “they are a student first, athlete second” is often used. With a study hall instead of gym class athletes would be able to catch up on assignments they may have missed for games or homework they couldn’t finish due to practices allowing them to fulfill the “student” requirement of student-athlete. “We need more time for homework and we already work out hard after school,” girls’ cross country captain Natalie Koch said.

Even prestigious universities recognize the role varsity athletics play in education. Massachusetts Institute of Technology requires all of its students to have 8 points of physical education credit in order to graduate. However, varsity athletics counts towards these credits, allowing student athletes to be exempt from physical education as they already meet the exercise and skill requirements of the physical education courses.

Student athletes make sacrifices for their sports and unfortunately these sacrifices sometimes include missing assignments and losing time for studying. By excusing student athletes from phys. ed. classes, they are given an opportunity to stay on top of their classwork while still being able to represent their schools in athletics.