Student Motivation through Sports and Grades

Student motivation through sports and grades creates more playing opportunities than good stats!

This is a great tip and even a better philosophy.  The more and more I think about it, it really does apply.  How are your kids doing in school?  Are they getting good grades?  If they are, I am sure you have no problem with them participating in extra curricular activities from sports to debate club to student council.

If they are not getting good grades, why?  Probably because their focus is not there.  I remember when I was in school, I was borderline OCD, ADD and probably BMW.  And because my interest was all over the board, classes that required thorough thought processes and concentration like English and foreign languages, I struggled, but the art classes I aced.

I am NOT the definitive expert on the subject of homework and how to get them to do it, but there are plenty of websites for that.

Here is what worked for us.
– My wife and I helped our kids with homework a lot and rewarded them with more playing time.  But it wasn’t that blatant.  When mom and I worked together, the world of sports and games grew organically.  The kids got home from school, watched a little TV, did a little homework and we ate.  Then they maybe did a little more homework if they needed to and when they were done it was, “What do you want to do?”  “Let’s hit some golf balls, let’s play catch, lets play some B-Ball.”  And before we knew it, at the end of the day, our kids had seven hours of school in, an hour of homework in and two or three hours of fun.  By the end of the week, that’s 35 hours of school, five hours of homework and ten hours of fun, PLUS we have the weekends.

So when it comes to playing more ball, maybe it’s just a matter of getting better grades?  I think so.

Here’s a great quote from a coach.

One coach says, “I ALWAYS begin a practice with: “everyone has their homework done? Tell me AFTERWARDS if you have not!” I refuse to embarrass any of the kids in front of their peers, BUT, they know that school comes first and if the student (and eventually his/her parents) tells me the homework is NOT done, he/she, may ride the pines………………..”