Balancing academic importance and athletic ability

By: Michael Hugall

Although the dream of becoming a professional sports superstar may appeal to some student athletes, sometimes the importance of academic achievement may be lost.

In the second year of its existence the F.J. Brennan School of Excellence and Innovation teaches students from Grades 7 to 12 the skills necessary to be successful in both the classroom and in the student’s respective sport.

It is a program put into effect by the Windsor Essex Catholic District School Board in order to promote academic excellence while paring it with physical activity.

Principal Kevin Hamlin is a major influence on the growth of the program.

“We are not creating an empire,” said Hamlin. “This is not an NHL factory… This is very much an academic initiative as it is an athletic initiative.”

The balance is noted through the time split in each the school and sport portions of the day. The primary students will be participating in their sport specific activity during the morning with a progressive transition to their respective classrooms in the afternoon.

“We have a skill expert, that’s what differentiates our program from the others in the province,” said Hamlin. “They are in charge of developing curriculum for our student athletes.”

Hamlin is also a hockey coach at the University of Windsor and explains the partnership between the skills academy and the University of Windsor.

Hamlin said they have brought in some hockey players to help mentor young student athletes, and emphasizes more help is on the way for the other respective sports.

According to Hamlin, students are coming from all over the Windsor-Essex region in order to participate in the program. Students from Boblo Island and LaSalle have been enrolled and are seeking help from the teachers and sport specific program leaders.

“We are using athletics and skills in sports to help the learning experience,” said baseball skills instructor Marc Picard.

Picard is a talent developer at Baseball Ontario and has coached both national and provincial championship teams.

However in order to truly excel in finding a scholarship students must not lose sight of the academic importance.

According to former academic all-Canadian and University of Windsor baseball player Michael-Anthony Ferrato, it takes key time management skills in order to achieve excellence in both.

“In order to get things done on time I had to prioritize tasks and stay organized,” said Ferrato. “I developed more efficient study habits … I actually did better academically as a varsity athlete than in my first year when I was just a student.”

In its second year of existence the Brennan Centre for Excellence and Innovation has yet to prove to be a great alternative to the normal style of learning  but still could prove to be the best avenue for student athletes in the province.