Mount Pleasant Magazine Sept/Oct 2019

44 www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.BestOfMP.com | www.ReadMPM.com feature Y our high school football team is behind by a touchdown at the 10-yard line with a second left on the clock. What are they trying to decide in that huddle? To run? A pass? …To get together after the game and study for that AP Calculus exam? At Mount Pleasant’s outstanding secondary schools, the answer could be all three. That’s because the tradition of the student-athlete is so strong here that sports and academics are inseparable. Coach Chad Grier, director of athletics at Oceanside Collegiate Academy, might have been speaking on behalf of all his fellow sports mentors when he said, “Sports are critical to the high school experience. We recognize how important a part of a total education sports is and that athletics should be a part of the total education of every student.” At Wando High School, Robert Hayes, coach and director of athletics, echoed that belief, stating, “A student who participates in extracurricular activities has the opportunity to enhance his or her educational experience. And playing a sport is one of the best ways to do just that.” Coach Dale Hoover, athletic director at Palmetto Christian Academy, concurred. “Generally, athletes are also good students. We make sure that they understand that their studies come first. If they don’t keep up with their academics, they don’t get to play sports. In life, you always have to make choices,” Hoover added, “and you have to make sacrifices … choose what’s important to you, and make the time for what you choose. That’s one of the life lessons sports teaches you.” That’s all well and good to say for these dedicated educators who have chosen to focus on athletics. But how do their student-athletes feel about it? Oceanside senior Joey Boylston just committed to the University of Utah to play lacrosse after playing that sport and football at the high school level. He said, “Sports and academics are a good fit. I’ve never felt any conflict between the two. If you work hard, you can excel both at sports and at academics.” His classmate Valentina Mosquera, a soccer attacking midfielder aiming to play at a Division I college, said she “would recommend to any incoming student that they get involved in sports, even if they’ve never played before.” She continued, “Committing to something outside the classroom really helps with time management. When I BY BILL FARLEY Team Effort High School Athletes FindDual Success in Sports, Academics Photo courtesy of Mark Meyer. Oceanside Collegiate Academy.