As one of the captains for the 2006 Brandon varsity football team, Ian Williams has experience dealing with balancing athletics and academics.
Williams, who will be a senior during the 2006-07 season, believes Brandon’s new athletic eligibility policy will help student-athletes maintain a tighter focus on the academic side of the equation.
The policy, passed at the July 10 school board meeting, mandates students must carry a current 2.0 grade point average (equivalent to a ‘C? average) and must not have failed any classes the previous semester.
To remain eligible, student-athletes must pass all their classes at each checkpoint, without failing any classes. Eligibility will be determined at four checkpoints during the first and second semesters: first progress report (five weeks), first card marking (10 weeks), second progress report (15 weeks) and semester card marking.
‘I feel it’s a good idea ? it encourages and promotes student-athletes to work harder in the classroom,? he said.
Brandon Schools Superintendent Tom Miller said he began to take a look at the policy around August 2005. He thinks setting these guidelines will give students a definite standard to meet in order to be eligible to participate in athletics and other extracurricular activities.
‘We believe that with regard to student-athletes, academics must come first,? Miller said. ‘If students take part in extracurricular activities, in this case athletics, there must be a standard for them to meet. I think in the long run, students will be better prepared for the future at a higher standard academically.?
Former Brandon school board member Mark Mahaffy, who helped craft the policy while he was still on the board, said the previous rule in the Brandon district was as long as students weren’t failing any of their classes, they could participate in athletics or other extracurricular activities. He said the new policy is designed to promote tougher academic standards.
‘You’re expected to keep up your grades overall, which is how it should be,? he said.
However, he said another key point of the new policy is it allows for students who become ineligible to regain their eligibility. Any student who becomes ineligible at one of the checkpoints would be ineligible to participate in contests for the next Monday through Sunday, and must report to study table daily (Monday through Thursday) until they are passing all their classes. If they are passing their classes at the second check, students may rejoin the team.
If a student is ineligible for any three weeks during the season, the student will be removed from the team for that season.
Mahaffy said former Brandon athletic director Larry Lamphere, before he left his position in March, had started working on the policy, along with members of the board’s athletic committee.
At least one other Flint Metro League school uses a passing/failing policy to determine athletic eligibility. Clio, which joined the Flint Metro League in 2005-06, has a policy stating students must be passing all their classes to participate in athletics.
‘We have found if we require them to pass all their classes, not worrying about grade point average, that we’ve had success with that policy,? Clio Athletic Director Gary Langdon said.
In addition, Langdon said students who participate in athletics at Clio have a higher grade point average than those who do not take part in athletics.
Last season, Williams said students who were failing a class were suspended a week from practice, and after that, if they were still failing, they were taken off the team for the rest of the year.
In addition, he said he volunteered to help tutor teammates ‘a couple of times? last year, but was never taken up on the offer.
One of Williams? teammates, senior Josh Tolan (who has also played basketball and run track at BHS), said last year the Brandon coaching staff had a rule that if anyone on the team had below a C-minus average, they had to report to a study session Wednesday mornings while the Brandon teachers were in their Professional Development Schedule. Since then, the Brandon school board has eliminated PDS from the school day.
Tolan agreed with Williams that he thinks the new eligibility policy will benefit students in the long run.
‘Actually, I like it,? he said. ‘I think grades come before sports. It should help us out.?
Brandon varsity football coach Ron Gill said each player in the high school football program (varsity, junior varsity and freshman) is required to have their teachers fill out progress reports and return them to the coaching staff.
He also said since freshmen are undergoing the transition from middle school to high school, the staff implemented a study table every day immediately after school (except for game days) and before practice, in which students were expected to do their homework and keep up with their studies.
Gill said the study table will be increased from 35 to 40 minutes this season. ‘It’s a way for us to better help them,? he said.