We see them all over the school grounds after school hours, training, preparing and participating in competitions. These are the many student-athletes of the world. There are nearly seven million high school athletes in the United States, according to varsityedge.com. Many athletes do whatever it takes to achieve their goal: winning. This is the focal point of many athletes and why many sacrifice several things, such as time and education, to get to this point. Athletics teaches students many valuable lessons that they can carry with them for the rest of their lives, but what is often overlooked are the downsides of the sport. Although high school athletics has many benefits, it can also have a negative impact on students due to the controversies athletes face. Playing a sport requires someone to put in as much effort as possible. This can bring rewards to athletes, but it can also put their health at stake. Some of these injuries are temporary. In William Cottrell’s article “Sports Injuries and Arthritis,” he states: “Most sports injuries are mild and temporary…. Minor sprains and bruises or overuse injuries treated properly can be a nuisance but do not necessarily cause permanent problems. Temporary injuries can heal anywhere from a week to several months. Some athletes view injuries as weaknesses and agree that playing a sport is worth all the pain and injuries they experience, but what many athletes fail to consider is how these injuries can manifest and affect them later in life. whether in a few months, or even a few decades. Just as there are temporary injuries, there are also injuries that can be long-term or even permanent. In Cottrell's article “Sports Injuries and...... middle of paper ......ers. » varsityedge.com Ed. David Galehouse. Interactive New England, 2011. the web. May 5, 2011. Lennard-Brown, Sarah. Sports injuries. Chicago: Raintree, 2005. 4. Print.Lennard-Brown, Sarah. Sports injuries. Chicago: Raintree, 2005. 11. Print. Opposing points of view: sports and athletes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2005. 16. Opposing Views. Series. Print.Railey, Raven J. “School Sports: The Pros and Cons.” » Mail log. Gannet, December 27, 2008. Internet. April 27, 2011. Smith, Melinda, Ellen Jaffe-Gill and Jeanne Segal. “Understanding stress.” helpguide.org. Ed. Melinda Smith, Joanna Saisan and Lawrence Robinson. Np, November 2010. Web. May 11, 2011.Weiler, Paul. Leveling the playing field: How the law can improve sports for fans.Rpt. Opposing points of view: sports and athletes. Ed. James D. Torr. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2005. 159. Print.