Being a student-athlete, I have a strong opinion that alcohol does nothing beneficial for athletes. Most people that obtain alcohol either do it for the enjoyment of the taste, or to knock off the edge in a social environment. However, the responsibilities that athletes' hold to perform at the highest level daily, there is no time for such activity. As found in multiple highly regarded sources, alcohol not only dehydrates you, but also destroys muscle growth, and also leads to long-term effects. Hydration and muscle development are two key components of athletes' especially relating to how they perform so alcohol can be detrimental if abused. All in all, the reason I want to make a point to athletes' of the negative effects alcohol has is so that they can reach their full potential. There is nothing more frustrating than seeing someone cut themselves short, and I believe any athlete that partakes in alcohol consumption is doing that. I am very curious to see what sort of results an athlete that once drank would have if they cut out the drinking. I am looking forward to pursuing my research and trying to find out more on the subject and how it can apply to athletes' all over the world. The negative effects of alcohol on athletes' bodies are detrimental to their athletic performance.

Being a student athlete I decided to further pursue my research on the effects of alcohol on an athletes' body. I have always had the assumption that alcohol has many negative effects when it comes to the performance of an athlete, but now that I am on a college campus and see the abundance of drinking that takes place it has intrigued me to find out more. I personally am not a drinker, but I do want to understand the effects more so that I may have the opportunity to help someone else understand the results alcohol has on our bodies. Unfortunately, I have seen on a few occasions athletes' that have gone out drinking the night or two before an event and watched their performance decline compared to what they were capable of. Not all athletes' performances are effected by alcohol consumption, but I have seen some take hits before. The reason I feel qualified to write on this topic is because I am an athlete, and I have been around athletes' that consume alcohol so I want to be able to better understand what it does to the body, and being an athlete makes it that much more interesting since we are relied on to perform daily.

Throughout my research I used three main sources that I found helpful, the first being one from the UC San Diego Athletics Department titled "Alcohol and Athletic Performance." The author's main goal of this article was to give specific facts about the negative effects alcohol has on athletes' bodies to persuade them not to consume it. The article was written by the athletic department at UC San Diego, which is why they were bias against alcohol consumption for athletes specifically. The article is directed not only at UC San Diego's athletes, but college athletes across the country. Alcohol has negative effects on the performance and health of athletes and it is backed up consistently throughout the article. The author of this article is reliable as well as the timing because it is a recent article, and the University is still very highly sought after. Although there were many helpful facts contained in this article, the main purpose of UC San Diego was trying to convince their student athletes not to consume alcohol. Alcohol can cause many short term and long term issues within our body and as student athletes' you cannot afford to be anything less than 100% physically prepared to perform. UC San Diego went as far as saying death was a possibility if alcohol consumption was not removed from their lifestyle, if not at least trimmed down. The major values of the article were to inform the athletes of UC San Diego specifically of what sort of alcohol consumption effects will take place on the body, but also it mainly wanted to scare them out of doing it anymore. Although the UC San Diego Athletics Department is a credible source, they were biased in the fact that they were completely against alcohol consumption of athletes. They strongly believed that the only effects of alcohol were negative, especially when referring to the bodies of athletes'.

The next article that I discovered pertaining to my research was one from the BoxLife magazine "Effects of Alcohol on Sports Performance," a health magazine pertaining to athletes. The author's purpose of writing this article was to inform athletes of the affects alcohol has on the human body. The article was written by 'BoxLife Magazine' and it was intended for athletes, but also the normal person. Throughout the article, the author gave specific facts about the affects alcohol has on the human body. Imbo fits the criteria of a credible source in this situation because of his background of being a cross fit trainer, along with his MPS from Georgetown in Sports Industry Management. For the reader it would provide them with more satisfaction knowing that the information is more accurate than if they were reading an article from the 1950's. This is helpful simply for the fact that we are trying to find answers for TODAY'S athletes, not athletes from the past. BoxLife was precise on telling readers the main facts of alcohol consumption. Dehydration, energy loss, liver failure are all things that could take place due to an abundance of alcohol intake. Specific numbers and facts about alcohol were included throughout this article, mostly to inform the readers what the effects were. The major value of this article was to give readers insight on how alcohol may affect their bodies. The BoxLife magazine was effective in being straight to the point and not fluffing their article in any way. The source is credible, because a doctor provided many of the facts given in the article. This article was not in any way bias because there was no persuasion anywhere in the writing. Its purpose was purely to state facts and inform readers the effects alcohol has on our bodies.

The last article "How Does Alcohol Effect Your Athletic Performance" was found from the company Drinkaware which was designed to help people understand the effects alcohol has on the body, and how they can be helped if struggling from alcohol temptations. The articles main goal was to inform the athletes of the dehydration, energy reduction, and long-term effects that alcohol can have on the body. Dehydration, energy reduction, and long-term effects such as cancer, or liver failure are all negative effects alcohol has on athletes' bodies and 'drinkaware' provided sufficient facts for each of these impacts alcohol has. They are credible because along with their articles on their website, they also offer resources for people that may need help with resisting alcohol consumption, or purely just want to know more about it. The article is recent, and this helps give the readers up to date facts which is very important. In today's world, everyone wants to know what effects them now, and they aren't as worried with what may have effected people in the past. Throughout this article BoxLife argued that your chances of dehydration, energy reduction, and liver failure increased from an abundance of alcohol consumption. Drinkaware's main reason for this article was to inform readers about the effects of alcohol. The main value of this article was to take away the facts provided, and try to have athletes help themselves from reading it. The article is credible, and is not biased because just like BoxLife, Drinkaware was simply providing athletes' insight on the effects of alcohol consumption, and they were not trying to persuade athletes' to stop drinking like UC San Diego was trying to do.

Another article I came across was found on the Livestrong website. Like most sites dealing with this topic, the main overview was to inform readers of the three most common effects alcohol has on our body. The article was published by the company LIVESTRONG and it was established by Lance Armstrong, a cancer survivor. This is a very reliable source not only for the reputation it has, but for the people like Lance Armstrong who are so experienced in health and athletes' bodies. This article was published in October of 2015 and this is fine for the topic it discusses. 

Healthline was another major contributor to the information I used. The main purpose of this article was to express to readers that once alcohol is obtained, it goes into your bloodstream and therefore effects every part of your body. The big takeaway from this article is the fact that alcohol can negatively affect the immune system, digestive system, and many other facets of the body. Not only is Ann Pietrangelo a very reliable source from 'Healthline', but this article was also medically reviewed by George Krucik, MD, MBA on June 30, 2014. The date is important because it shows the recent value which applies to us today, therefore we can help athletes right now.

The website 'Men's Health' published an article with the goal in mind to make men aware what even one sip of alcohol does to them. The author Cindy Kuzma was trying to use language that is easily relatable to men, so the article is very straight to the point. The author however is very reliable, with a solid background in this field. The article came from within the past few years so men are able to relate and really grasp what the effects of alcohol are currently having on their bodies'. 

An argument is mostly an opinion based discussion between two parties. When making an argument, research is absolutely necessary. As you can see from the multiple sources, and in-depth detailing of each author and source and everything about them, they are a vital part to making arguments. But to me the biggest swaying part of an argument is the personal touch that we add to it. So when thinking about alcohol in general, I think of a few positive things and a few negative things. Firstly, yes, alcohol is obviously a social lubricant, especially in a college atmosphere. Some people, athletes included, argue the fact that alcohol consumption relaxes their mind and muscle the day or days leading up to competition. This may be true, but it is necessary for us to understand what alcohol actually does to our bodies physically. As said earlier, dehydration, muscle reduction, and liver failures are all things that take place when alcohol is consumed. So to apply this to my argument of why alcohol is negatively effecting athletic performance, you have to realize the enormous impact this has on the performance. If you are wanting to perform at your absolute best every time out, alcohol consumption cannot be accepted within the few days leading up to competition. I could go back and restate all of the effects alcohol has on our bodies but it does no good if I do not attempt to drive the point home. So this is my attempt to make every athlete realize the negative impact they are truly leaving. As an athlete myself, I understand the demands of our bodies physically throughout the course of a season. It is a grind, and you get worn down as the season progresses. If we are constantly feeding our bodies with things that hurt it, we are ultimately hurting the team. I was born and raised knowing that as long as I am a part of a team, I was going to prepare and do everything in my power to be 100% ready to play every time I stepped on the field. Not only am I counting on myself to perform at a high level, but I also know that my coaches and teammates are relying on me as well. In my personal case, and in many others, we are also performing for either a school or university or city and an entire fan base. Do you really want to be the type of person that goes out and drinks the night before a game and show up to the field tired and hungover? I know I wouldn't. So I want to challenge every athlete around the world, but especially those in college to just look yourself in the mirror each night before you either get ready for bed, or get ready to go out. Look at yourself and ask if you really are going to be the teammate that lets the others down because of the personal joy it brings. In life we have to make tough decisions, and being an athlete is extremely tough. Being a college athlete was a choice that I made and when I made it I made the decision to put my social life on the back burner and dedicate myself to my sport, and I challenge every athlete to not become unsocial, but challenge yourself to be 100% physically prepared for every training session and competition that you are a part of. 

The reason why I chose to write about this topic is because it is a very arguable situation among college campuses. There are many athletes' that believe alcohol plays no role on their performance, and then there are the athletes' that believe it plays a major role. I strongly believe that our performance as athletes is greatly affected by alcohol. Amongst the articles, there are definitely similarities in the fact that all three articles believe alcohol has an effect on athlete's performance. One of the articles informed, the other article argued, and the third tried persuading the readers to not consume alcohol because of the negative effects it has. I believe after the research I still feel strongly about not consuming alcohol, especially due to the fact I am an athlete and I understand the negative effects it could have on me. As an athlete, we each have our own responsibilities to make sure we are prepared for every day. I want to challenge every athlete in the world to be the best they can be every time they step on their playing field. In order for this to happen, alcohol consumption has to be eliminated in the days leading up to the competition. As I further my research, I am going to want to find more specific arguments and see if anyone has actually tested their performance with and without alcohol in their systems. 

