According to a Twitter poll conducted by The Cougar Press, out of 24 total votes, when asked if students had to get quarterly grade checks by teachers in order to compete, 29 percent voted “yes,” while 71 percent said “no.”

When asked if all athletes have to get quarterly grade checks, Athletic Director, David Hess said, “[Grade checks] are done by different teams, not every team does that and the teams that do that have every athlete do that and then usually what happens is if [the student] comes back with all A’s and are doing fine then they forget about that kid.”

Hess then explained what happens if there is a student athlete who is struggling with their grades: “If there is somebody who is struggling in a couple classes then [the coach will]  say ‘alright, I want this [grade check] every week; I want to know how you are doing in that class.’” Hess also mentioned that the grade checks are mandated by the coaches and teachers of the student-athlete who is struggling.  

When asked if he knew of any pressure the student athletes have to get their grades changed by teachers, Hess said, “Pressure, no. Most of our coaches, I would say, almost all of them… don’t want kids to go pressure teachers to change a grade.”

Biology teacher Mera Clobes adds that she has had student athletes ask her for a grade change.

When asked if she complies with the grade change request, Clobes said she “compromise[s].”  

Hess also mentioned that the coaches at VHS are on top of their athletes’ grades: “Most of our coaches are on [their] athletes to make sure [they are] taking care of [their] grades, make sure [they are] turning everything in.” If an athlete is ineligible, it’s their responsibility, not their coach’s.”

There are situations where an athlete is ineligible because a teacher didn’t submit one of their grades, so the coach will have them talk to their teacher to fix the grade, according to Hess.

Hess also stated, “I, as the Athletic Director, [I] absolutely… do not want our coaches to tell kids to go pressure teachers to change grades. That’s part of the learning experience of having an athletic program.”