For my second auto-ethnography, I chose to analyze Division III athletes who decided to quit their sport after or during their first year of play. The athletes I chose to interview all happened to be baseball players, but that is certainly not the norm. I decided to attack this subject because, even though I did not commit to playing a sport at Emory, I know it is very prevalent amongst Division III schools. Athletes who were very good in high school but not good enough for Division I, settle for Division III, thinking that it is going to be a cakewalk. But they receive a rude awakening when they have to do winter offseason workouts and a ton of individual conditioning. These athletes, especially at a school like Emory, find that the rigor of the academic curriculum is overwhelming coming from high school and are forced to abandon the sport they love, in order to set their academics (the main reason we all go to college) above their other passions. Take a look around my site and explore the affect DIII athletics has on young, first year college students.
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