Athletics Electives

scholarship prep kids running image

  Program

Scholarship Prep's athletics program provides our students with the ability to receive sport-specific skills training by trained coaches while at school, free of charge. This in-school opportunity eliminates any “gap” in the availability of facilities, finances to support sport participation, or transportation challenges (to and/or from sports-related activities, practices, and games, etc.).

Our students are expected to work towards and learn about maintaining a healthy body, understand proper nutrition and the physiological benefits of exercise/fitness, and practice to increase proficiency in athletic endeavors.

Each campus has unique course offerings, which may include soccer, track and field, and basketball.

  Research - Health Benefits

Childhood obesity rates in the United States have nearly tripled. The percentage of children ages 6-11 who are obese increased from 7 percent in 1980 to 18 percent in 2010; among children ages 12 to 19, that figure grew from 5 percent to 18 percent.[1] One study found that among 17 developed nations, the U.S. had the highest rates of childhood obesity among those ages 5-19.[2]

Therefore, Scholarship Prep teachers will incorporate health instruction into core content areas during the regular school day. Beginning in transitional kindergarten, topics such as physiology, nutrition, diet, and healthy choices will be introduced and built upon at each grade level. All students will learn about physiology and practice maintaining proper health by developing responsible lifelong habits in and out of the classroom. Students will also understand the connection between nutrition, health, and success in athletic endeavors.

[1] Centers for Disease Control
National Academy of Sciences, 2013

  Research - Academic Benefits

Physical activity is associated with improved academic achievement, including grades and standardized test scores. Further, such activity can affect cognitive skills, attitudes and academic behavior, including enhanced concentration, attention, and improved classroom behavior.

In a study published in 2007 in the Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, researchers found that children ages 7-11 who exercised for 40 minutes daily after school had greater academic improvement than same-aged kids who worked out for just 20 minutes.

According to John J. Ratey, clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the author of Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, memory retention and learning functions are all about brain cells actually changing, growing, and working better together.