The present study investigates secondary school student athletes’ specific needs for English learning and analyzes correlation and a cause and effect relationship among the needs-related variables. Two hundred forty six student athletes enrolled in physical education. Junior and senior high schools participated in the study. Data were collected through a survey that inquired about the students’ perceived English ability and learning areas of interest, their needs for ESP education, and aspects to be considered for ESP course design. The results show that the students put more emphasis on verbal communication (i.e., on speaking and listening) than on written communication (i.e., on reading and writing) and that they wanted more practical ESP education reflecting their needs and interests. Additionally, there was significant correlation (p<.01) among the subjects’ learning areas of interest, needs for ESP education, and aspects to be considered for ESP course design; a cause and effect relationship among the above three variables was discovered by goodness of fit test for structure equation model. Based on these findings, it is concluded that secondary school student athletes’ perceived English ability and areas of interest for English learning influence both their needs for ESP education and aspects to be considered for ESP course design.