The Sports Doc Chalk Talk

As the high school year comes to a close, there are a number of things for high school student athletes to think about – especially upper class students who wish to one day play college sports (AHPS).  Of course, the odds are long for most kids wishing to play college sports (only about 5-7% move on from high school to college sports), but there are still a number of tips sport psychologists suggest that can help increase the chances of playing at the next level (even if it’s DIII).

• Of course, the #1 (and most obvious) thing high school student athletes have to do is play their sport very well. While the rest of the tips below may help your son or daughter’s chances of playing college sports one day, none of them will be a substitute for the athletic talent needed to compete at the college level.
• Assuming your child has the athletic potential needed to play beyond high school, you will need to think early and often about “marketing” your child to colleges.  Keep in mind that while college coaches are limited to when and how often they can communicate (recruit) with potential student athletes about their athletic program, families can do a number of different things to help their chances.  Some of these ideas include developing a portfolio that highlights athletic, academic, and social activities; creating a sports video of his or her in action; and attending specific camps and clinics to raise visibility of your child’s athletic abilities.
• Speaking of camps and clinics, be sure to target the ones that make the most sense and commensurate with your child’s athletic abilities and potential.  For example, if your child is a borderline DIII student athlete, it might not make a lot of sense to sign up for elite-level DI camps where his or her talents may not be a fit. Similarly, if your child is a potential DI student athlete, your son or daughter might be “over-qualified” for a DIII college camp.
• Aside from athletic responsibilities, potential college student athletes need to also stay on top of academic grades, extra-curriculars, and other leadership-type experiences.  College coaches invest a lot of money in athletic recruiting and scholarships these days, making it even that much more important that they choose kids who are responsible with their decision-making and life choices.
• Think about having your child take the SAT or ACT early, if possible.  Some kids postpone taking these tests until their senior year, and by that time limit their opportunities to re-take these tests if their first scores were not quite as high as they would have liked.  Of course, make sure that your child has taken the right courses ahead of time in order to sit for these exams — if you are not sure of this, call your child’s school counselor for assistance.
• If your child is serious about playing college sports, he or she will also need to get registered with the NCAA clearinghouse – again, see your school counselor for assistance with this process.

While there may not be many things to “substitute” for a lack of athletic talent and potential when it comes to playing college sports, there are a number of things families can do to help improve the chances to play after high school (including the tips provided above).  Do your homework and leave no stone unturned — good luck!

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Increasingly more athletes are getting tattooed these days – sometimes as early as high school (or even Jr. High).  While it wasn’t that long ago that tattoos were a rarity to see in sports (just watch NBA clips from the ’80′s), nowadays you are seemingly in the minority if you don’t have any ink.  It’s funny, but if you want to be noticed these days you will likely get more attention for not having tattoos than if you do choose to get one, ironically.

Of course, it is to each individual what he or she wants to do with their body, and tattoos are not “right” or “wrong” per se. Tattoos are, however, very permanent and it is from this perspective that I would like to offer a few thoughts to young athletes thinking they might want to start working on their “sleeve” this weekend:

• Take a look back at pictures of yourself from just a few years ago.  Do you laugh at the hideous shirt you wore, and do you cringe at the awful haircut you used to have?  Fortunately, those are days of the past and short of a “friend” playing a joke and posting those pics on Facebook at your expense, you can probably lock them up in a drawer and prevent the world from seeing the old you.  The point here is that what people like one day can end up being something they don’t like later on in life — with tattoos, you don’t get a “do-over,” and it’s quite likely that what you think is cool today might be something you hate later (like that haircut in 9th grade).
• Remember, you are not LeBron James, Dennis Rodman, David Beckham, or even Lil’ Wayne.  People at the top of their craft have a lot more latitude when it comes to what they can get away with — for the rest of us, making permanent decisions like getting a tattoo on your neck can lead to some very negative consequences down the road – like at a job interview.
• Regardless of what anyone says, people get tattoos for attention (meaning you didn’t get that dragon tattoo down your arm for people not to look).  There’s nothing wrong with seeking the attention of others, as we do it all the time – the question is can you still get the attention you seek without tatting up your body for life?  Perhaps a new haircut, different clothes, or even a more affable smile and personality might get you all the attention you could ever ask for!

Again, tattoos are not bad, and there’s nothing wrong with those people who choose to decorate their body with them.  The problem, however, is that many people make decisions about tattoos without much forethought, and only later do they come to realize the full cost of their short-sighted decision.  Don’t believe me?  Ask people over the age of 40 how many of them still feel a connection to their tattoo.  You might be surprised to learn how their feelings have changed, yet the permanent markings on their body still remain.  Short of spending thousands of dollars for laser tattoo removal, many of these folks are stuck with a branding that they feel no longer represents who they are — similar to that really ugly outfit they wore back in high school.

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As a college sports fan, do you ever wonder where all the corruption, loss of integrity, and sometimes outright cheating originates?  More specifically, I am talking about the stories about student athletes receiving improper benefits followed by extremely light penalties  from the university?  Alvin Kamara’s recruiting experience with the University of Alabama might just provide us with many of those interesting answers.

It should be noted that to date Kamara is still an uncommitted high school junior RB from Georgia and has done nothing wrong, nor has he been accused of any wrongdoings to my knowledge.  Similarly, as bizarre as the story you are about to hear sounds, apparently Alabama has done nothing wrong yet, either.

It was reported today that Alabama is so incredibly interested in recruiting Kamara that they sent him 105 recruiting letters…in one day.

The Invincible College Recruit

Of course, in this day and age where amateur athletes receive many more valuable “gifts” than recruiting letters, this story seems at first to be nothing more than funny.  Upon closer inspection, however, it becomes much easier to see where the future potential problems lie after this stunt, and how blurred the paradigm between university and student athlete has just become due to Alabama’s actions.  Some might say this “genie” isn’t going back in the bottle anytime soon.

When student athletes are recruited to colleges there is a normal ego rush in learning that they are one of the select few to be chosen to play at the next level.  The job of the coach, and athletic department at-large, is to entice the athlete to choose their school, and to do this they usually give the recruit the royal treatment.  As you might expect, there are always potential problems during this process, most notably when the psychological paradigm between college and player shifts so dramatically that the player knows he actually calls all the shots.  In these instances, the athlete becomes infallible, invincible, unstoppable, and inevitably “the man.”

Assuming Alabama lands Kamara, can you see how upside-down this relationship has already become — even before he has attended his first practice??  How do you say “no” to the kid you gushed over so badly that you sent him 105 letters in one day??? How do you maintain the same discipline measures for this player as you do the walk-on players, or even any of the other scholarship student athletes from the other teams at Alabama?  This kid’s “different,” remember?

The Difficulties in Enforcing Discipline

If Kamara chooses Alabama and he eventually messes up, is it fair to hold him 100% responsible for his actions after his college treated him like Elvis during the recruiting process?  After all, this young man has been developed into a superstar by Alabama’s letter writing campaign (amongst other things) — and when 18 year old student athletes feel like this, it’s pretty easy to see why they sometimes make really bad decisions based on their self-perceived invincible status.

For the institution (Alabama in this case), how will they play by the rules if Kamara chooses their school and then goes out and breaks rules and laws?  How do you come down on a guy when this is the same guy you laid rose pedals at his door?  He came because of the royal treatment you gave him, and now you want to discipline him??  You want him to play by the same rules as every other player, but you didn’t treat him like that during recruiting — so why now the change? You did everything you could to make him feel immortal, and now you want him to be held accountable and responsible?? I mean, you sent him over 100 letters in one day telling him that he could walk on water, eat fire, juggle chainsaws, and leap tall buildings in a single bound —- and now you want him to comply with those silly NCAA rules and regulations???  If I’m Kamara and this eventually happens, I want to know who changed the game?

Kamara and Alabama are not the only examples of this warped psychological paradigm that often develops.  Letter writing campaigns like what was recently done at Alabama happen at other schools, too (or some other similar practice).  The student athlete is given the keys to the castle, while the university sports administrators and coaches nearly break their collective necks trying so hard to not look or notice when rules are broken.  I mean, how do you crack down on the new “money man” for your school?

How Does a Responsible Coach Really Act “Responsibly?”

Responsible coaches know the importance of playing by the rules and maintaining the integrity of the sport, but they also know that you don’t just roll up that red carpet you had out for the top recruit, throw it in the back of the van, and then all of a sudden crack down on him.  No, it doesn’t work that way — remember, this kid can transfer so you better learn to become aloof and look the other way — it pays better if you do.

Coaches also know that if you don’t roll out the red carpet and surf & turf dinners, then you probably won’t land him, as there are hundreds of other coaches out there that will spoon feed his every need if it results in an eventual signing.

“Amateur” sports are really an impossibility when you think of them in these terms.  In order to get the best kids you have to be over-the-top, outlandish, endearing, and full of promises.  Some might even say you have to sell your soul to the devil. But after the young man signs, it is expected that you alter the landscape and coach-player dynamics 180 degrees, and “hold the young man accountable” for his actions.  Then, when a kid screws up, society wants to blame him and hold him accountable — but the reality is he was never held accountable from the start of the recruiting process!

Unfortunately, this model simply doesn’t work, and it’s really obvious the reasons why.

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Over the weekend an interesting article ran in the New York Times (How Big Time Sports Ate College Life), highlighting the growing concerns that college sports, especially football and to a lesser degree basketball, are quickly becoming the focal point of many of America’s finest institutions.  The article asserts that increasingly more students are choosing their college primarily based on the success of the football program, often overlooking the supposed real attraction of why people should go to college in the first place – for the the academics. The colleges, on the other hand, seem happy to acquiesce by spending millions of dollars on athletics, as well as building bigger and fancier sport venues.   The question, however, is the same one that seems to come up time and time again — that is, what are American colleges these days, institutions of higher learning or sports entertainment (with some academics on the side)?  Sport and society within the realm of college in America has never been so interesting to dissect.

Reasons to Continue Spending Big $$$ on College Sports

The biggest arguments for the rapid and continued growth of college sports include:

A) they generate excitement, and therefore attract more students, and

B) they generate revenue.

There is no disputing that college athletics can do both of these things, but these arguments become more interesting the deeper you delve into them…

With respect to generating excitement, it seems as though college sports have always done this, even before all the big money. In fact, at Duke, the Cameron Indoor Stadium holds less than 10,000 fans, yet is still one of the most exciting places in America to catch a game.  Interestingly, Duke has decided to not expand their venue over the years and instead keep it small by today’s standards, essentially losing millions of dollars each year as a result.  This is very different than most colleges today who routinely add as many seats as possible in order to generate every last potential dollar.

The truth is that even when college sports were not so glitzy and glamorous, students still went nuts and supported their respective teams fiercely — and students in the past still wanted to go to big-name universities even before they dumped tens of millions more dollars into their programs.

The Costs of “Selling Out”

When it comes to generating more revenue by bulking up an athletic department, it’s hard to argue that bigger college sport investments usually equal bigger college sport revenues.  The problem, however, are the costs associated with what some would call “selling out” in order to make every last buck.  What are the consequences with students, professors, and alumni who feel the academic pursuit and standards have been terribly compromised just in order to have a better football team?  And how must professors feel when college presidents justify huge coaching salaries by gushing over the money their football coaches bring in, when in fact professors (who make pennies on the dollar in salary compared to coaches) often bring in big bucks of their own to the university through research grants?

Why Not Gambling Casinos, too?

Continuing on with the argument about the good in endlessly dumping money into college athletics is the question of the ‘ole “slippery slope.”  As it becomes more and more clear that colleges seem to be willing to do almost anything to have a good football team, what’s next?  Would placing gambling casinos next to the football stadium be such a bad idea?  Wouldn’t they guarantee revenue if a college decided to put a few around campus?  Gambling is legal in most states today, it generates excitement, and offers odds that only the house can win!

Will We Ever Go Back?

It will be interesting to see if any college presidents in the future decide to put a halt on the growth of college athletics while re-emphasizing that colleges are about academics first and foremost.  Critics have argued that it will be impossible to “put the genie back in the bottle,” and they may be right.  Still, many people would like to see college priorities go back toward emphasizing and supporting academic pursuits before athletic endeavors, even if the odds of this happening appear bleak.

My guess is that the current model of prioritizing athletics before academics in terms of spending will not change until it absolutely has to, and it’s hard to say when that will happen.  In all likelihood, something will eventually happen — some watershed moment where reasonable minds will prevail and begin to discuss going back to a pecking order that more reflects what the word “university” was meant to be.  I say this as I suspect there will eventually be a backlash by university professors, administrators, and students at some point, perhaps through social media efforts to unite or some other concerted way to illustrate their unhappiness with their perceived devaluing of academics.  Will the money in athletics become the primary focus of universities in the future, or will see a shift back to prioritizing academics first?

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Many parents automatically believe that full-ride athletic scholarships translate into a free education for their child.  Unfortunately, research studies are now revealing that this is simply not the case.  Check out my article on The Examiner to learn more about some of the hidden issues pertaining to college recruiting.

When a child is being recruited for an athletic scholarship, it is not uncommon for mom and dad to get caught up in the emotions of the possibility of seeing their child one day play D1 college sports.  As a result, many parents wrongfully assume things when it comes to scholarships and grants as their emotions prevent them from sitting down and looking at things logically.  Sadly, in some cases families learn the hard way that the scholarship money may not have been everything they expected, or that certain academic services and other opportunities are not in place when it was assumed that they would be — all of these things can lead to increased athletic pressure for the child on and off the field.

Fortunately, there are some things you can do as a family to ensure your student athlete will be fully prepared to make the jump to D1 college athletics.  Check out my 5 tips below to help you get started:

• Learn as much as you can about the stability of the athletic program.  Some parents erroneously assume the program is on stable footing, only to learn later about financial problems or even concerns with Title IX.  As an example, many D1 mens wrestling programs have been eliminated the last few years due to both financial and Title IX issues.
• Talk to the college about any “hidden costs” that may not be recognized with a D1 athletic scholarship.  Does the full-ride really cover everything?
• Be sure to stay on top of all important deadlines, especially when it comes to additional scholarship money that may be available for your child.  In some cases there may be academic grants available that can compliment the athletic scholarship your child has been offered.
• Ask about who you should communicate with regarding any future questions you might have – should you call the coach, the financial aide office, or your child’s future adviser?
• Learn about the academic support services available to your child, and what services are included (i.e. academic, career, etc.)

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Gordon Gee, president of The Ohio State University, made headlines last week when he made harsh comments regarding D1 college football teams Boise State and TCU’s strength of schedules this year.  Essentially saying the both schools play pansy schedules, he overlooked that his own school (and my Alma mater, OSU), has played a schedule eerily similar to the schools he called out.  Furthermore, Gee has talked about never wanting a playoff system due in large part to making championships possible for schools like Boise State and TCU!

You can read the rest of my article for The Examiner here.

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