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schools would be better served by offering more athletics and encouraging more students to participate; at the very least, athletics should not fall victim to budget cuts and elimination from schools.

If the teacher is the most important person in a child's academic life, clearly the coach is the most important person in a child's athletic life. Coaches are teachers and teachers are coaches. Coaches play an important role in the success (or failure) of a child's sporting experience. Whether they are volunteers or paid professionals, coaches need to bring a knowledge of their game, good practice organization and leadership skills to their venue. Good coaches serve as positive role models and have been known to provide "student-athletes with reading materials, communicated the need to stay in school, reinforced the significance of always pursuing excellence, and helped student-athletes rely on their inner strength." (Newman) At younger ages the coach's role should be to maintain interest in a sport, educate kids on the fundamentals, and keep it FUN for the kids. My son's football coach said his job was to make sure the boys had fun and to "get them to Coach Lamb (Natick High School's Football coach)" At the high school level, sports become more intensive and the coach becomes a mentor and monitor of the athletes in his charge. Good coaches will conduct weekly reviews with classroom teachers and frequently check in on athletes' home situations to make sure his players "make the grade" to continue to be eligible to play. This heightened level of interest in the individual provides an additional layer of support to athletes that does not exist for the non athlete and contributes to higher ACHIEVEMENT. (Newman)

What does all this mean for teachers? I think it is important to be aware of this information. Caution should be used so student athletes are not given preferential treatment in an academic setting. This could cause resentment amongst non-athletes and lead to other discipline and ACHIEVEMENT issues with this group. (Din) Athletes can frequently be viewed as role models by their peers and often have a higher social status. (Simons) Teachers could use the leadership of athletes in small group instruction and in peer tutoring situations which could in turn raise ACHIEVEMENT for other students. At younger ages, teachers could encourage kids to play sports at recess and help teach them different games in order to foster a lifelong interest in sports. This could

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