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Are we doing a good enough job with Student Athletes?

Started by Mulerider4Life, February 04, 2019, 08:56:29 am

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Mulerider4Life

Are we doing enough when it comes to the student athletes? Are we encouraging them, and offering enough opportunities to show them that there are more to sports after high  school? Are we teaching them that this should be the start of their lives, not a high point? Are we offering them mentors and good examples of outstanding men and women in the community? Are we working with them outside of the classroom and the ball field? Just a thought on this Monday morning.

Lions84


Mulerider4Life


Flobbito

Quote from: Mulerider4Life on February 04, 2019, 08:56:29 am
Are we doing enough when it comes to the student athletes? Are we encouraging them, and offering enough opportunities to show them that there are more to sports after high  school? Are we teaching them that this should be the start of their lives, not a high point? Are we offering them mentors and good examples of outstanding men and women in the community? Are we working with them outside of the classroom and the ball field? Just a thought on this Monday morning.

This, IMO, has to come from the parents, which means parents have to be able to take an honest assessment of their children. Does little Johnny really have next level talent?  If not quit making him think he deserves that kind of recognition. Sports in general has become such a huge industry that it spills into the high school ranks. I have a Twitter account that I only use for sports, and I keep seeing posts of 2022, 2023, 2024 athletes and their game stats. 7th graders getting their stats published. That is a problem. Parents have to make sure the kids' focus is in the classroom, and on how they want to support themselves when those lights go off on the field/court and the rest of their life begins. This has to be a common conversation in the household.

Mulerider4Life

Quote from: Flobbito on February 06, 2019, 06:30:29 am
This, IMO, has to come from the parents, which means parents have to be able to take an honest assessment of their children. Does little Johnny really have next level talent?  If not quit making him think he deserves that kind of recognition. Sports in general has become such a huge industry that it spills into the high school ranks. I have a Twitter account that I only use for sports, and I keep seeing posts of 2022, 2023, 2024 athletes and their game stats. 7th graders getting their stats published. That is a problem. Parents have to make sure the kids' focus is in the classroom, and on how they want to support themselves when those lights go off on the field/court and the rest of their life begins. This has to be a common conversation in the household.

Amen couldn't have said it better myself. Also, there are alot of smart athletes and deserve to be counseled about future career opportunities with their academics. I see so many high school athletes that were all-stars at their high school. Go one year in college and drop out. I don't think we are preparing these kids enough for Adulthood. We can teach them things that they don't necessarily have to go through.

JacketFan

The problem facing kids in public schools in Arkansas is the fact that most of them do not put a emphasis on life after high school, or in others words, they do not spend a lot of time prepping the kids for college as some of these private schools do.  Kudos to schools like PA that pounds the importance of the ACT into there kids from a early age, and spends a lot of time preparing the students for college.  My kids public high school only offered 3 hour long prep sessions one week prior to the ACT test date.  It just isn't a big enough priority in public schools IMO.

sevenof400

One of the many areas we are missing the boat with out high school student athletes is conveying an accurate portrayal of what college sports life is like.
The high school student sees the glory in college sports, but seldom gets an accurate understanding of the work involved at the collegiate level (be it small college, or large university).  I too have seen a lot of high school athletes give up college sports after one year in college because they want to live a 'normal' life.  That's fine, but every time this happens, it underscores how we're missing the boat with these kids.

Even worse is a high school student who makes the decision to attend a college or university simply on the basis of playing their sport with less regard for the academic fit.  Once the sports life is gone, too many students fir the academic fit isn't there and either drop out or end up transferring (which has costs as well).

Flobbito, your point was indeed well stated and this is a topic that is always worthy of discussion (well done, Mulerider4Life).   

Mulerider4Life

Quote from: sevenof400 on February 06, 2019, 10:16:14 am
One of the many areas we are missing the boat with out high school student athletes is conveying an accurate portrayal of what college sports life is like.
The high school student sees the glory in college sports, but seldom gets an accurate understanding of the work involved at the collegiate level (be it small college, or large university).  I too have seen a lot of high school athletes give up college sports after one year in college because they want to live a 'normal' life.  That's fine, but every time this happens, it underscores how we're missing the boat with these kids.

Even worse is a high school student who makes the decision to attend a college or university simply on the basis of playing their sport with less regard for the academic fit.  Once the sports life is gone, too many students fir the academic fit isn't there and either drop out or end up transferring (which has costs as well).

Flobbito, your point was indeed well stated and this is a topic that is always worthy of discussion (well done, Mulerider4Life).

Thanks sevenof400. I remember listening to a Podcast done by the SAU Head Coach Bill Keppole. He said at the D2 level, you have to have an academic fit and a athletic fit. Many of the guys he goes after have to have a good plan of what they want to achieve in college. Also he says to most of the Freshmen, if you graduate from High School and enjoy the summer, most likely you will be redshirting in the fall. He says the Freshmen that play at SAU, graduate, then go do workouts/training all summer long. He only takes the hungry ones when they report to Fall Camp.

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