This is the first post in a series for those in high school, middle school, and elementary school who wish to compete athletically at the highest scholastic level. This post is also for parents who want to learn more about the different methods/shortcuts your son or daughter can learn to have an edge on the competition and can find a way onto a college team in any sport they desire.
Tip #1: Grades
It's pretty simple, how you do in the classroom is huge. Plus, getting your parents off of your back also feels good, it gives them one less thing to bring up when you get in trouble. I started this series with grades because it is the most important aspect, especially your freshman and sophomore years in high school where it really counts.
Why your freshman and sophomore years? Think about it, these are going to be your easiest years in the classroom. You want to REALLY attack these two years and boost your GPA. It seems as though high schoolers nowadays are too focused into their social lives than anything else and then want to bust their butts their junior and senior years where classes are much harder and you also feel pressure with your last days being an athlete on the field. I stress boosting your GPA early on because, if you are a talented athlete in your respective sport and colleges start to evaluate you, the first thing they want to know is "How are your grades?". Due to how hard you worked, this question means nothing to you because it is something you will not have to worry about, and something the coaches will not worry about. Then they can finally talk about your place in their program and tell you about the school. But if you answer that coach with a "errr uuuhhh, its uhhhhh, 2 something". Red flag goes up, and that coach is now asking how you are going to get those grades up, there will be ZERO talk about the program, all focus will be on grades.
Pending on your sport, coaches usually are allowed to call you the summer of your Sophomore/Junior year. If you follow my advice and really attack your first two years in school, you will not have an issue with this.
A coach cannot and will not put all of his time and effort into an iffy situation that might turn around and become good. You think a majority of coaches will risk their job for a kid who has shown inconsistency in the classroom? Maybe before, but not anymore due to new NCAA APR rules.
To put this into perspective, if this rule was established a few years ago, the national champion UConn basketball team would not have qualified for the NCAA tournament because their APR was too low. Saying this, how do you think coaches earn bonuses? Making the tournament, advancing in the tournament. Guess who doesn't get bonuses if their APR is too low? Coaches. Guess who recruits smarter players now? Coaches. Guess who recruits trustworthy players with a better academic record? Coaches. Guess who gets fired if they can't succeed in the post season? Coaches. Guess who doesn't find another job in this field because of the track record of being a program killer? Coaches. Guess who's not going to get a chance if you treat high school like a playground and not a way to a better future? You.
When it comes to recruiting, coaches first look at what you do well, then try to knitpick at every little negative thing they can to see exactly who you are. Like your parents, you'll be better off taking care of your business that you can control. You can't always control being sacked, shot blocked, missed penalty kick, but you can control your effort in the classroom. Coaches LOVE... I repeat, LOVE when their players are low maintenance. So all they have to worry about is what goes on at practice and games. Stay ahead of the game, stay ahead of competition. Grades can be a deal breaker when coaches choose between recruits. Which side will you be on?
Excuse the spelling errors, I wrote this somewhat quickly.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
NCAA Athletes - Pay or Don't Pay
In my last post I said I wouldn't spew about this but I guess I lied. Should the NCAA/Institutions pay NCAA student-athletes? There are plenty of articles that talk about this subject, but how many of those articles are from people who have lived it, and how many are from people who just peer in from the outside. How many of those articles come from people who understand both or better yet, understands where this all this money goes.
The NCAA is a multi-billion dollar entity. Guess what? They are rich for a reason, why would you want to stop being as rich just to pay some players while you get the exact same result, only to bring proffesionalism into college athletics. We have enough divas in the NBA, MLB, NFL, etc. Why would we need that in college. Let's just give an 18 year old kid several grand because he goes to school and plays a sport. We already have enough issues with kids' maturity nowadays with drinking and driving, partying, drugs, etc. Do we REALLY need to add money to that equation? "Mo' money, mo' problems". Literally. I do think that the NCAA needs to look into it being OK that former AAU coaches or friends of the family can wire funds to a student-athlete WITHIN REASON. I think all funds supplied to each player from family, friends, former coaches should be filed through the NCAA to make sure a kid can get maybe $200 and not 10 or 15 grand. Because what college student REALLY needs that much money.
Sorry for the all-caps on some words.
Also, I've noticed a lot of people have not been informed about the checks full ride scholarship players receive each month. This is not to be confused with the Federal Pell Grant. Players already receive $1,300 per month. Those who qualify for the Pell Grant will receive a hefty check on top of the checks they already receive on a monthly basis.
Now we get to the paying of the student-athletes. Who furnishes that money? the NCAA or the institution. There is an issue. If the NCAA or the institution decides to pay their student-athletes, who gets paid what? Do we pay the field hockey players the same as the football team? Do we pay the 2nd string scholarship punter the same salary of the starting quarterback? People want to get paid more as an incentive. What is the incentive of getting paid as much as someone who does half of your work? "Uuuuhhh can I get a raise"" will surely come up. Will these players soon have agents working out deals with school officials or they leave to go somewhere else? Drama drama drama.
Speaking of field hockey, baseball, lacrosse, soccer, so on and so forth. Those sports would not even exist on campus if football, basketball, hockey (some schools) did not rake in millions and millions of dollars every year just so those sports can stay active. Those sports lose money for the school every year they operate, main reason why the major sports are so big. The teams also put money back into the program in order to cover for travel/hotel/food for staff and players. In football, one trip is a chartered jet, 2 or 3 buses, 50 rooms, and a crazy food bill. Put it this way, one time I was drinking orange juice and a staff member told me to finish it because that pitcher was $35. This was basketball so there were 8 tables, with 2 types of juice on each table. That's just the juice! Haven't even talked about the food. Imagine a football team which is six to seven times bigger, just to put things into perspective. But let's pay our players right?
There are three levels of the NCAA. You have Division 1, 2, and 3. Will we pay the Division 3 as much as 1? No. The real debate is Division 1 (it sucks, but that's all people really care about), will we pay Coppin State and Presbyterian players as much as Kansas and Florida basketball players. Or better yet, will we pay Northwestern football players as much as Michigan football players. Michigan football brings in millions of dollars more than Northwestern, so if a recruit was choosing between the two, and Northwestern offered $5,000 but Michigan offered $12,000, which one will the recruit choose? Duh. So from a recruiting advantage, it's almost unfair when you're not even able to compete with schools in your own conference. Plus, could you imagine the snake coaches who will find loopholes, better yet, find a way to add a few grand to gain recruits or get guys to stay? That's an ugly situation that the NCAA, as well as the coaches who do things the right way, want no part of.
The NCAA is a multi-billion dollar entity. Guess what? They are rich for a reason, why would you want to stop being as rich just to pay some players while you get the exact same result, only to bring proffesionalism into college athletics. We have enough divas in the NBA, MLB, NFL, etc. Why would we need that in college. Let's just give an 18 year old kid several grand because he goes to school and plays a sport. We already have enough issues with kids' maturity nowadays with drinking and driving, partying, drugs, etc. Do we REALLY need to add money to that equation? "Mo' money, mo' problems". Literally. I do think that the NCAA needs to look into it being OK that former AAU coaches or friends of the family can wire funds to a student-athlete WITHIN REASON. I think all funds supplied to each player from family, friends, former coaches should be filed through the NCAA to make sure a kid can get maybe $200 and not 10 or 15 grand. Because what college student REALLY needs that much money.
Sorry for the all-caps on some words.
Also, I've noticed a lot of people have not been informed about the checks full ride scholarship players receive each month. This is not to be confused with the Federal Pell Grant. Players already receive $1,300 per month. Those who qualify for the Pell Grant will receive a hefty check on top of the checks they already receive on a monthly basis.
Now we get to the paying of the student-athletes. Who furnishes that money? the NCAA or the institution. There is an issue. If the NCAA or the institution decides to pay their student-athletes, who gets paid what? Do we pay the field hockey players the same as the football team? Do we pay the 2nd string scholarship punter the same salary of the starting quarterback? People want to get paid more as an incentive. What is the incentive of getting paid as much as someone who does half of your work? "Uuuuhhh can I get a raise"" will surely come up. Will these players soon have agents working out deals with school officials or they leave to go somewhere else? Drama drama drama.
Speaking of field hockey, baseball, lacrosse, soccer, so on and so forth. Those sports would not even exist on campus if football, basketball, hockey (some schools) did not rake in millions and millions of dollars every year just so those sports can stay active. Those sports lose money for the school every year they operate, main reason why the major sports are so big. The teams also put money back into the program in order to cover for travel/hotel/food for staff and players. In football, one trip is a chartered jet, 2 or 3 buses, 50 rooms, and a crazy food bill. Put it this way, one time I was drinking orange juice and a staff member told me to finish it because that pitcher was $35. This was basketball so there were 8 tables, with 2 types of juice on each table. That's just the juice! Haven't even talked about the food. Imagine a football team which is six to seven times bigger, just to put things into perspective. But let's pay our players right?
There are three levels of the NCAA. You have Division 1, 2, and 3. Will we pay the Division 3 as much as 1? No. The real debate is Division 1 (it sucks, but that's all people really care about), will we pay Coppin State and Presbyterian players as much as Kansas and Florida basketball players. Or better yet, will we pay Northwestern football players as much as Michigan football players. Michigan football brings in millions of dollars more than Northwestern, so if a recruit was choosing between the two, and Northwestern offered $5,000 but Michigan offered $12,000, which one will the recruit choose? Duh. So from a recruiting advantage, it's almost unfair when you're not even able to compete with schools in your own conference. Plus, could you imagine the snake coaches who will find loopholes, better yet, find a way to add a few grand to gain recruits or get guys to stay? That's an ugly situation that the NCAA, as well as the coaches who do things the right way, want no part of.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Transferring/Leaving Early for the NBA - Part One
I could sit here and spew about how players should be paid because the NCAA is a multi billion dollar cash cow, or not be paid due to the money needed to fund smaller sports on campus, but there are enough articles about that subject to outlast Harry Potter scripts.
If a player transfers, he leaves his institution for undisclosed reasons. If a player jumps to the NBA he leaves for financial reasons and to take his game to the next level. Blah blah blah, you have read or heard these statements multiple times every year. I'm glad I got the cliche headlines out of the way.
When you hear a player is transferring, you automatically think about what your beloved team is losing. That emotion quickly turns into "wait he was happy, right? but then there were those times he seemed out of it, right? But he loves his school, right?" You keep going through scenarios why someone would transfer.
Before you read this, understand my background. In high school, in 3 years, I lived with 6 NBA players, of those 6 (all 1st Round picks): one left out of high school, two were one and done, one was two and done, one was three and done, and one graduated from college. In college, I was in every person's shoes. There were times I was the leading scorer in big games, and there were times I didnt even sniff the court in terrible games. I started some games, played minimum other games. I was respected because my attitude never waivered despite the situation I was in.
When you commit to a school and sign your letter of intent, you commit to the coach and the program for four years. When I was a senior in high school, my coach told me "Freshman want to play, Sophomores want to start, Juniors want to score, and Seniors want to win". Never forgot this, and looked at what was most important, winning. Too bad this logic doesn't apply to everyone. In high school, you show your skills, you make good grades, and your family and close friends think you're the greatest thing to happen to basketball since Naismith. Don't think that stops when you graduate out of high school. If anything, it gets worse. Way worse.
Go to Las Vegas this Summer for the U17 Nike or Adidas tournament and you'll see the college stars of tomorrow. These kids have played against each other for years. They will all meet on the same stage called the NCAA (granted they qualify). I will give you a scenario, two kids in this tournament are in a head to head matchup, they both scored over 30 points and 10 assists. One goes to UConn, gets freshman of the year, the other goes to Kansas and hardly plays. In his mind he's just as good as the other kid and instantly believes he is entitled to the same accolades although they are in different situations. He's not the only person that sees this, so do his close friends and family.
"you destroyed him on the AAU circuit"
"Your coach does'nt know what he's doin'"
"Why don't you shoot more"
"You're letting the family down, we need you to make it"
"Here's what you need to do..."
"You should come closer to home"
"How is that kid playing more than you?"
"Do you need me to talk to your coach, don't worry I'm sending an email soon"
"(insert name) is killin at (insert school), when is it your turn?"
The outside influence from the people that are closest is so strong. These are just a few of the quotes college kids go through on a daily basis. You go through the stresses of college academics as well as maintaining a full-time job that requires mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical exertion. You would think a player gets comfort from home, when in actuality it may be the most stressful aspect of it all. This confusion can lead one to transfer easily to make sure they abide to everyone else's standards and it quickly starts to manipulate the way one thinks.
When it comes to recruiting, the coach has to build his team the best he can and upgrade each position to the best of his ability. His goal every year is to win a championship, exceed expectations, and be better than a year ago. If there are good players on the team, so what. You make every position better with talent and depth.
In high school, I was a wing forward. Every year, the coach brought in All Americans at my position and I still found ways to start. In nature, you either fight or flight. No difference here. Coach will bring in talent and you can see it as a disrespect and prove you are top dog at the position or fight for playing time as a back up and maybe learning multiple positions so you can fill in anywhere, earning more playing time. Other kids were coddled growing up, meaning they were always helped through adversities and never dealt with problems on their own. These kids see a little adversity in college and see flight as the only option to leave. Kids think they are better than they actually are, so the more in tune you are to how you view yourself, the more successful you will be. False perceptions of your reality will doom you.
"In every aspect of our society today we r taught that its ok to do less and expect more.. when did that become acceptable"- Jeff Van Gundy
Part Two involving players leaving early for the NBA will be posted soon...
If a player transfers, he leaves his institution for undisclosed reasons. If a player jumps to the NBA he leaves for financial reasons and to take his game to the next level. Blah blah blah, you have read or heard these statements multiple times every year. I'm glad I got the cliche headlines out of the way.
When you hear a player is transferring, you automatically think about what your beloved team is losing. That emotion quickly turns into "wait he was happy, right? but then there were those times he seemed out of it, right? But he loves his school, right?" You keep going through scenarios why someone would transfer.
Before you read this, understand my background. In high school, in 3 years, I lived with 6 NBA players, of those 6 (all 1st Round picks): one left out of high school, two were one and done, one was two and done, one was three and done, and one graduated from college. In college, I was in every person's shoes. There were times I was the leading scorer in big games, and there were times I didnt even sniff the court in terrible games. I started some games, played minimum other games. I was respected because my attitude never waivered despite the situation I was in.
When you commit to a school and sign your letter of intent, you commit to the coach and the program for four years. When I was a senior in high school, my coach told me "Freshman want to play, Sophomores want to start, Juniors want to score, and Seniors want to win". Never forgot this, and looked at what was most important, winning. Too bad this logic doesn't apply to everyone. In high school, you show your skills, you make good grades, and your family and close friends think you're the greatest thing to happen to basketball since Naismith. Don't think that stops when you graduate out of high school. If anything, it gets worse. Way worse.
Go to Las Vegas this Summer for the U17 Nike or Adidas tournament and you'll see the college stars of tomorrow. These kids have played against each other for years. They will all meet on the same stage called the NCAA (granted they qualify). I will give you a scenario, two kids in this tournament are in a head to head matchup, they both scored over 30 points and 10 assists. One goes to UConn, gets freshman of the year, the other goes to Kansas and hardly plays. In his mind he's just as good as the other kid and instantly believes he is entitled to the same accolades although they are in different situations. He's not the only person that sees this, so do his close friends and family.
"you destroyed him on the AAU circuit"
"Your coach does'nt know what he's doin'"
"Why don't you shoot more"
"You're letting the family down, we need you to make it"
"Here's what you need to do..."
"You should come closer to home"
"How is that kid playing more than you?"
"Do you need me to talk to your coach, don't worry I'm sending an email soon"
"(insert name) is killin at (insert school), when is it your turn?"
The outside influence from the people that are closest is so strong. These are just a few of the quotes college kids go through on a daily basis. You go through the stresses of college academics as well as maintaining a full-time job that requires mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical exertion. You would think a player gets comfort from home, when in actuality it may be the most stressful aspect of it all. This confusion can lead one to transfer easily to make sure they abide to everyone else's standards and it quickly starts to manipulate the way one thinks.
When it comes to recruiting, the coach has to build his team the best he can and upgrade each position to the best of his ability. His goal every year is to win a championship, exceed expectations, and be better than a year ago. If there are good players on the team, so what. You make every position better with talent and depth.
In high school, I was a wing forward. Every year, the coach brought in All Americans at my position and I still found ways to start. In nature, you either fight or flight. No difference here. Coach will bring in talent and you can see it as a disrespect and prove you are top dog at the position or fight for playing time as a back up and maybe learning multiple positions so you can fill in anywhere, earning more playing time. Other kids were coddled growing up, meaning they were always helped through adversities and never dealt with problems on their own. These kids see a little adversity in college and see flight as the only option to leave. Kids think they are better than they actually are, so the more in tune you are to how you view yourself, the more successful you will be. False perceptions of your reality will doom you.
"In every aspect of our society today we r taught that its ok to do less and expect more.. when did that become acceptable"- Jeff Van Gundy
Part Two involving players leaving early for the NBA will be posted soon...
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