Facebook Follies of Friends and Families

[Zoupa]

Basketball scholarship maybe? We have those in Canada?

[crazy canuck]

Basketball scholarship maybe? We have those in Canada?

The only reason I obtained an undergraduate degree is because a basketball coach recruited me a year after I graduated from high school. Where I grew up going to university was something nobody considered doing.  I had not thought about it as a possibility until my coach approached me.  And if he had not pursuaded admissions to let me in, I would have had no chance.

Once admitted my world changed completely.  I had some patient amazing profs who sparked my interest in learning.  I went on to be a successful student winning the Governor General award for academic excellence and after that I went on to where I am now.

It all started with a basketball coach taking a chance on me.  I see him every year for dinner.

[derspiess]

Wish more college athletes would take full advantage of their educational opportunities like that.

[crazy canuck]

I am sure there are many who do.  We just hear about the ones that go to college as a stepping stone to get to the professional leagues.

[Valmy]

We had a member of our baseball team graduate last Spring and he tweeted out that he appreciated all the MLB teams who scouted him but he had already signed with an engineering firm. I thought that was cute.

[derspiess]

I am sure there are many who do.  We just hear about the ones that go to college as a stepping stone to get to the professional leagues.

I know several who have.  Unfortunately, there are still too many that don't seize the educational opportunity and are left with nothing when their dream of playing at the pro level fizzles out.

[Valmy]

I am sure there are many who do.  We just hear about the ones that go to college as a stepping stone to get to the professional leagues.

I know several who have.  Unfortunately, there are still too many that don't seize the educational opportunity and are left with nothing when their dream of playing at the pro level fizzles out.

Remember Bengals Running Back James Brooks? Dude was illiterate and somehow had a degree from Auburn...I am sure there are less successful examples of that sort of thing.

[Maximus]

Honestly I've always been the sort that responds well to negativity.  The positive "you can do anything" fluff never motivated me-- it was the negative stuff that challenged me and made me want to prove people wrong.

Shocked,  I am.

[derspiess]

Remember Bengals Running Back James Brooks?

Of course, local legend.

Dude was illiterate and somehow had a degree from Auburn...I am sure there are less successful examples of that sort of thing.

Yep.  That was kind of a different time, though.  Not as much scrutiny as we have these days.

[crazy canuck]

I am sure there are many who do.  We just hear about the ones that go to college as a stepping stone to get to the professional leagues.

I know several who have.  Unfortunately, there are still too many that don't seize the educational opportunity and are left with nothing when their dream of playing at the pro level fizzles out.

I think that is a different issue.  Those "student" athletes are told that college is their way into the professional leagues.  I am not sure those individual athletes are to blame for accepting that as true.

[Eddie Teach]

I don't think many people will advise them that making the pros will be easy. If they count on the pro career and squander the academic opportunities, that is on them.

[derspiess]

I think that is a different issue.  Those "student" athletes are told that college is their way into the professional leagues.  I am not sure those individual athletes are to blame for accepting that as true.

And it certainly is their way into the professional leagues-- if they are good enough to get that far.  But as we all know it's not a guaranteed way to the big leagues, and they should always have a backup plan.  I don't care what they're told-- they're young adults and should be able to think for themselves.

[crazy canuck]

I think that is a different issue.  Those "student" athletes are told that college is their way into the professional leagues.  I am not sure those individual athletes are to blame for accepting that as true.

And it certainly is their way into the professional leagues-- if they are good enough to get that far.  But as we all know it's not a guaranteed way to the big leagues, and they should always have a backup plan.  I don't care what they're told-- they're young adults and should be able to think for themselves.

Which is why I think the US college system needs to be reformed.  Hard to expect a kid who has everyone pumping their tires during recruitment to form a realistic appraisal of their chances.  I knew I had no shot and approached university appropriately.   But more importantly education is something my coach really stressed.  How many coaches in competitive NCAA programs do the same?

[derspiess]

How many coaches in competitive NCAA programs do the same?

Quite a few do, I think.  Some players choose to listen, and many do not.

[Valmy]

At Texas we have a pretty big infrastructure, along with many employees, devoted to getting our athletes to complete their degrees and make our AD academic stats look good by getting good grades. I presume all similarly sized programs have similar things.