ing event, come the results outside of the sports realm. Bonnie Blair stated that once she became a better athlete and had the success within her sport, she began to see tremendous improvement in her schoolwork (Mertzman, 300). It is proven that young athletes who participate in sports see improvement in their discipline skills applied to school and other responsibilities (Green, 1142). There are athletic teams and organizations for just about every educational institution in the world. There has to be some kind of incentive or motivation for those who participate on the teams to make the grades in school as well as perform on the field. Most institutions have grade point requirements that have to be met in order for the student athlete to actively participate in the sport. Meeting this requirement serves as the motivation for a lot of student athletes. When asked if he could convey ideas to young athletes still in grade school who are not as interested in their schooling as much as their sporting accomplishments, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar replied, I would tell young athletes that their athletic dreams are great. Those dreams will motivate them to do wonderful things, but that cant be the only motivation that they have in their lives (Mertzman, 296). There is more to life than sports, but being actively involved in sporting activities at a young age will develop lifelong skills that will benefit individuals outside of the sporting realm. Skills including psychological, self-confidence, and motivation, will be of great support to those who use and exhibit the skills on other areas of their lives....
