“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.
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.
While this will certainly be funny to many, it’s just one example of mistakes commonly made by families trying to navigate the recruiting process. So enjoy the laugh, but don’t think others aren’t laughing at similar things you’ve done.
Devin is a talented basketball player. He and his mother recently told me and others he was being recruited by a good mid-level D1 school. Skeptical, I asked them to define the recruitment. They showed me an email inviting them to a reception for prospective students to be held at an upcoming basketball game at that university. What they didn’t understand, as they interpreted this invitation from their subjective point of view, was that the invitation was a mass mailing sent to many prospective students by that university in a general marketing attempt to increase applications and enrollment. It had nothing at all to do with his basketball talent or any basketball recruiting. The reception just happened to be at a basketball game because it was that time of year and basketball is the high profile sport at this particular university. They didn’t know that. They thought it meant he was being recruited for basketball. Most would have instantly seen that this was a mass emailing. In Devin’s defense, he is talented enough to get some D1 basketball interest. This just goes to show recruiting is a tough thing for most families to interpret. So remember, don’t laugh too hard. This might already be you, and you just don’t know it.