Assimilating into college football

[Red Hawk]

My son will be a freshman OL at SEMO and has been on campus all summer working out with the team. Last night he called and said that one of his team mates had quit already. Apparently, he couldn't take the teasing that comes with being a freshman OL. The kid had a partial scholarship. It's too bad for him and the team. Quitting is always a poor choice and condoning it (his parents) is even worse.

The other thing he told me was that if he had done that "you would've sent my ass back and told me to face it like a man". That made me smile because it's absolutely correct.

How many kids don't make it through their freshman year in college football? I know it's a tough transition from high school to college to begin with but add the pressure of football and a new environment and I'm sure it's going to break some kids. I just wish he would've stuck it out at least through a season.

[blukeys]

Quitting is always a poor choice and condoning it (his parents) is even worse.




Unfortunately, too many parents are all too willing to do this today. :(

[rokamortis]

You can even take it a step farther and ask how many kids do not make it through their first year of college? At Coastal it is bad because we get so many students from out of state that the kids get homesick. The other ones that don't make it like to party too hard, they forget that although the school is at the beach, you still have to do your work.

[Red Hawk]

so true. I remember this young man who partied through a couple of years of college then after getting a .5 GPA joined the Marines. There he met a young lady, married and had kids, one of whom is at SEMO on a football scholarship, lol.

[AgentOrange]

I had an aquaintance of mine who I will always remember because of his difficult transition from the service to college life. He would occasionally get violent at a few parties trying to drink other people under the table. People kinda looked down on him because they just didn't "get him". And that's when he would get defensive and stir up some trouble.

[Red Hawk]

I think that type of stuff happens from guys being so high on testosterone while in the military they can't get used to normal life. You're going to see that in the coming years with young men and women coming back from Iraq. Combat is a high that can't be matched anywhere else.

Before I joined I had a room mate who had just gotten out of the Army and went through the very same thing. Fortunately, my transition was smooth, finished college, got a law degree and after 23 years am still in the reserves.

[ISUMatt]

My buddy's kid quit playing soccer because the coach yelled at him for not paying attention... he quit playing baseball because the coach yelled at him for not paying attention... he quit the band because the director yelled at him for not paying attention.... He tried out for HS baseball 3 years last and couldnt make the throw from SS to 1B, and said he didnt try hard because he didnt want to go to practice everyday, it took time away from his PS2 playing. And his parents were supportive of all of this... This is the way of kids today... Screw doing anything if it interrupts my PS2 time... Friggin RIDICULOUS!!!

[eaglefan452]

The transition from high school to college can be difficult for any person, but particularly for college athletes. I think it is the fact that while in high school, they were the "big fish in a little pond", and now they are in an environment where almost everbody was that big fish in high school and now they are in a huge pond. After being in a certain environment for 4 years, it is difficult to all of a sudden start over from square one.

[Red Hawk]

very true. I told my boy going in that he was going from being one of the best high school OL in the state to not even being on the depth chart and that it was up to him if he climbed to the top. My comment to him last night was "law of the pack" the strong survive, the weak don't and that's life at its most basic.

[Ivytalk]

Our son started out playing FB his freshman year as a WR at a D-III school. He got bored with his lack of even practice "reps," to say nothing of game playing time, and dropped the sport after a couple of games. He then signed up for rugby, which he enjoyed, but he realized that his best friends were on the FB team. During his sophomore year, he worked out with the FB team in the weight room, and he rejoined the team as a reserve for his junior and senior years. He just graduated with honors and a bunch of good friends from FB, including the coaching staff. My wife and I are proud that he found "the right way" to make college athletics work for him.

[Red Hawk]

awesome story, good for him. That type of attidude will serve him well in life, I'm sure you're very proud!

[Retro]

One of the biggest problems i see with kids going to college and participating in athletics is the lack of priorities.. Having spent 9 years in the Air Force, i learned very early about discipline and how to set my priorities! I'm glad i didn't go straight into college, because i probably would've wasted the time.

The hardest thing is they have to learn to study and go to class on thier own. The teachers don't care if you show up as they get paid anyway.. You have to make yourself workout during the offseason and that includes mental toughness you gain with maturity..

The instant freedom that freshmen have usually translates into too much partying, video games, etc..

Kids today are also working easier white collar air conditioned jobs, like at a mall, thus when they go back to school for athletics, it's a lot tougher on them if they don't work out and practice during the offseason.. When i was younger, most guys worked bailing hay, in the oil fields, on the farm, mowing grass, loading trucks, etc..

They didn't spent countless hours playing video games and surfing the internet (there was none) or even just watching tv. To me they were physically and mentally tougher and wanted to prove themselves on the field during practice and the game. They didn't ride the bench because of a cut finger.

I think if parents can get their kids to work harder on their own before they leave high school and if they are athletes, get them an outside job before they enter college, they will benefit in the long term. They'll appreciate their success more and be better prepared for the adversity they may face once in college.

[colgate13]

I think it is very important for college athletes to at least give their sport one full year. Go through the entire cycle and see if it is worth it. The committment it takes to be a college athlete, at any level III through I-A, is immense and what makes it worse is that there are those on a campus that would belittle the contributions and dedication that it takes to be a varsity athlete.

If a kid is going to quit the first week, etc. into practice, he's going to have a tough life ahead of him. I have no problem with someone quitting after a season or two when they know what it is like and it's just not for them.

BTW, playstation has derailed many a college career, not just athletes. At its worse, it's like any other addiction.

[Obzerver]

I agree with cogate13 to a degree. I would hope a kid(whether he's on a scholarship or not)would give it a season and determine if it's FUN and worth the effort that year round workouts bring. But is they were half way through and having a bad experience(and not having FUN), for any reason, I wouldn't blame my son/daughter if they wanted to put their focus on something else. I surely wouldn't take this as a sign of failure in life. Football and Collegiate sports in general require more commitment than one can imagine. Those fifty push ups in snow during Jan. at six in the morning on ones knuckles with a 20lb sack of sand on their backs and other conditioning exercises can get out-of-control(not that all teams prepare their players like this but you'd be surprised). Some people forget that sports are still a game and should be played for the students FUN, not to determine his place in this world or whether he will be successful or a loser. As a Collegiate coach, I told my players that if they aren't having FUN then go do something that was...life is to be enjoyed.

[Red Hawk]

Great response Coach. My original statement was because the kid left during voluntary workouts and a kid shouldn't do something when it's not fun but nor should he walk just because it's not. Many lessons here; commitment, perseverance, accountability, choices. Making things easy isn't the answer. Perhaps the real lesson is making tough decisions after purposeful reflection is the right way, no matter what the outcome.

[colgate13]

One reason that I think kids should stick it out for at least a year is because the rest of college can be quite a siren's song. Once an athlete is suddenly relieved of that type of committment, it's real easy to go downhill with all of that new found free time. Sports, at all levels, teach discipline and for an athlete that has been used to that for high school and longer is most likely going to have a tough transition to being just a regular "civilian".

I don't know if other schools have had similar results, but I know that statistically at Colgate, athletes have a higher GPA in season and if they quit a team their GPA usually suffers. Think about it; these are 18-22 year old kids. Take away a 20+ hour a week time committment and what do you think tries to fill that vacuum? Studying? We like to think so, but that usually comes after some screw ups along the way in my experience.

[GreatAppSt]

My buddy's kid quit playing soccer because the coach yelled at him for not paying attention... he quit playing baseball because the coach yelled at him for not paying attention... he quit the band because the director yelled at him for not paying attention.... He tried out for HS baseball 3 years last and couldnt make the throw from SS to 1B, and said he didnt try hard because he didnt want to go to practice everyday, it took time away from his PS2 playing. And his parents were supportive of all of this... This is the way of kids today... Screw doing anything if it interrupts my PS2 time... Friggin RIDICULOUS!!!


Here's a formula you may enjoy.

PS2, Xbox, EA = Silicon Crack.

[ngineer]

I've been there. Freshman transition can be a real eye-opener. The commitment is unbelieveable in order to keep up the grades in a tough curriculum. Halfway through my freshman year, I was barely keeping my nose above water with Calculus, French Level III, English, Government, and Economics. Coaches let me 'stop' and focus on the grades and allowed me to workout with the team over the winter and rejoin in the Spring. Went through the entire Spring practice, played alot in the Brown & White game and got invited back for August. Soph year began well, but then the injuries hit and my undersized body struggled to keep weight up and, again, the grades started to suffer. At that point "it" was no longer fun--and I was getting no financial aid. At that point I had to face reality and realize what I was in college for---a degree and a career that definitely did not have "NFL" written on it. Had I been getting financial aid, I may have hung on longer--but at some point you have to look in the mirror and say what am I going to do with my life? I wholeheartedly agree with '13'--when one stops--he needs to get involved with other positive activities on campus or one can go 'downhill' with the newfound free time. I was able to do that and flourished, graduating as a 'magna'--which was shocking to some considering my freshman record. Lehigh's coaches, though, were great throughout, and to this day I am still considered a 'football alum' and get invited to all the team functions as one who spent all four years playing. It was definitely a family atmosphere 34 years ago, and is still today. None of us like the word 'quitter'. But there are times when a person has to grow up and decide what they need to do, and not what someone else wants or expects them to do.