“I have criminals who call me back but I can’t get prep school coaches to call me back.”
This from a client who works in law enforcement lamenting what is all too common and frustrating in today’s world in general.
Too many golfers, especially girls, are choosing full rides over schools that offer partial scholarships but are a better fit. It’s a big part of why we’re seeing so many transfers recently.
This came out in a recent conversation I had with a Big XII women’s golf coach talking about how families are deciding which college to choose. It’s indicative of two things. One, the financial pressure families are feeling to pay for college. Two, most families don’t know how to make a good college choice.
You’ve ruined my life. Why did I have to be born in October?
This from a serious hockey player who thinks his late birthday puts him at a nearly insurmountable competitive disadvantage. As if his mom (an MD, no less) and dad should have anticipated this 16 years ago when (if?) they were family planning. It’s part of his argument for reclassifying. It’s also a testament to age and today’s competitive athletic environment, especially in ice hockey.
NFL quarterback Cam Newton announced recently, “I’m tired of being humble”. As this statement proves, there’s never been any danger of that.
Newton is a microcosm of what’s wrong with sports (and society) today. If he’s what passes for humble, we’ve all got bigger issues. He wouldn’t know it if he tripped over it. This is Rome before the fall.
Going back a handful of years, here’s how one respected NFL writer described him (after listing his many attributes, almost all of them physical) when evaluating Newton for the upcoming NFL draft:
Very disingenuous – has a fake smile, comes off as very scripted and has a selfish, me-first makeup. Always knows where the cameras are and plays to them. Has an enormous ego and a sense of entitlement that continually invites trouble and makes him believe he’s above the law… Does not command respect from teammates and always will struggle in the locker room….Lacks accountability, focus and trustworthiness…. Immature and has had issues with authority. Not dependable. An overhyped, high-risk, high reward selection…
Finally, why were there almost no NFL teams that wanted to sign him as a free agent this year? It makes you wonder.
Does the NCAA count pluses (B+) and minuses (C-) when calculating eligibility?
This from a longtime Athletic Director in an urban school district, one that produces many scholarship athletes. Neither the AD or the school counselor knew the answer, and they’re not alone. This happens at schools all over the country.
You know the two things that will make a smart dad crazy? A beautiful woman and the athletic recruitment of his kid.
This from a coach at a big-time college football program, one you see on TV on a regular basis.
I didn’t know you have to reapply for financial aid every year.
– This from a mother whose son received about $20,000 of financial aid last year as a college freshman and had a very good academic and athletic experience. Now, this high school principal with a master’s degree is scrambling to convince the school to give her son the same financial aid for the upcoming year. This is a smart woman. Don’t think this type of thing can’t happen to you.
After seeing the body of work, the development that occurred, the maturity that occurred, I know it was the right decision (to play college ball).
– This from a mid-level D1 college baseball player who was drafted in the 35th round out of high school, but opted for college. Three years of college (and a 3.6 GPA in finance) later, he’s signing after being taken in the 13th round. His high school and college ball were both played at schools in the northern US.
Even if today’s players are incredibly gifted, they grow up in a basketball environment that can only be called counterproductive. AAU basketball has replaced high school ball as the dominant form of development in the teen years. I coached my son’s AAU team for three years; it’s a genuinely weird subculture. Like everywhere else, you have good coaches and bad coaches, or strong programs and weak ones, but what troubled me was how much winning is devalued in the AAU structure. Teams play game after game after game, sometimes winning or losing four times in one day. Very rarely do teams ever hold a practice. Some programs fly in top players from out of state for a single weekend to join their team. Certain players play for one team in the morning and another one in the afternoon. If mom and dad aren’t happy with their son’s playing time, they switch club teams and stick him on a different one the following week. The process of growing as a team basketball player — learning how to become part of a whole, how to fit into something bigger than oneself — becomes completely lost within the AAU fabric.
– Steve Kerr, Head Coach, Golden State Warriors
Exercising self-restraint in today’s teen culture is downright un-American.
Teens are immersed in a popular culture that preaches that self-control is the one remaining sin in a world which has otherwise been washed free of guilt and responsibility.
– Dr. Leonard Sax in his book, The Collapse of Parenting.