Okay, it is time, finally to address a subject that the Mass Media, or whatever platform is presented today, that seems to avoid discussing or developing in context, blogsphere and reality; Student Athletes unhappy or undone after enrollment at a University/College…so, yours truly is taking the “lead” on this and with God’s grace and blessings, perhaps, just perhaps, we can help certain coach-types reconcile in their own careers a “rebirth” and better understanding of how important their positions (NOT job) are today as a High School coach and Intercollegiate coach in sports…basketball specifically, but never limited to that activity in youth sports…yes, even though it’s “early” in the season, Coach…
It goes like this: this past June, over 350 Student Athletes, male, transferred from Division I schools to another…or…Division II…That figure is not inflated, if anything it might be “short” a dozen or so…I did not include the female Student Athletes, as I wish to discuss here the problems with the Division I model today as I see it…
Reasons “why” Student Athletes leave schools:
- No Playing Time…or…not enough, by Parents and their son’s estimation…Alternative: Redshirt should always be a consideration for EVERY 1st Year Student Athlete…
- Coach doesn’t communicate, not close to Staff like I was when they were recruiting me…When he does, he yells at me, embarrasses me like I made mistakes on purpose…intimidates and bullys me in front of my peers…
- Miss home…Mom’s Chicken Noodle soup when I’m sick…chocolate chip cookies…MY PRIVACY/ROOM…
- Academics: too tough, don’t understand the subjects…I try but the Academic Advisor is not helping me like I thought I would get help…
- Coach plays favorites…and I’m not in that “circle”…
- New Coach, new coaches, new rules, new system…there’s no interest in my skills set/game…
- Injured…need to change venues..
- Family issues calling me back home…
- Teammates do things that they know they shouldn’t do and I’m the “odd” one out…
- “I’m going to the nba and this Team is not going to make me get the notice and ink I need to get there…”…and this could be the first reason…excuse…
Issue #1: Assistant Coach, if you are representing to a Family that their son is going to “gain” and “secure” a wonderful education at your University/College, and that they will “have” a great “career” playing at “our” University/College, you already have misspoken and misrepresented to them in my mind…Why? Because YOU, not the Head Coach today in about 90% of the schools that recruit for their respective schools, know nothing whatsoever about “mentoring” and “developing” the whole person, the Student (discipline)…the Athlete (performer)…Oh sure, you can say: “…that’s a bunch of methane particles, newell…”, but I can say from experience(s), backatchu!! Teaching life skills off the court is the most reassuring element of your persona as a Mentor/Teacher/Coach today, Coach…Why? Because most Parents who have been watching their Baby Boys play aau basketball (lower case, because that’s what their game is today and has been for the last decade), traveling from time to time, excited as all get out to see them succeed on the floor, disappointed completely when their sons performances are less than stellar, and finally, “hearing” that their sons are “prospects” for playing at the next level, whatever that means…
Coach, we’re failing COMPLETELY to grasp the essence of being appointed a Head Coach and/or Assistant Coach of a High School program or an Intercollegiate program today…Where’s the failure? When a Student Athlete is enrolling now in college immediately after one graduates, or let’s say, “misses” their Graduation ceremony due to Summer School first session about to begin for your incoming Freshman scholarship athletes, already their fears, trepidation and never-before-experience anxieties (sharing a room with someone they’ve only met once…perhaps played against…) evolve, NOT emerge, it is here that you, Coach, need to take the freakin time to sit down and begin your “mentoring” transition process with this young person…Why? BECAUSE that is what a Teacher does: YOU study each Student Athlete’s background, you make sure that each Student Athlete understands that you do indeed “care” about their future, which begins the FIRST DAY on Campus, NOT in September when “officially” you begin your permitted preseason trainings…that your initial conversation does NOT have to take place in your intimidating Office, rather, a venue off campus, a sit down conversation, a genuine mano a mano exchange, eye to eye, beginning with: “I am so happy that you chose to become a Student Athlete at our Unversity, Aristotle…I know this is the first time you’ve ever been away from home during the Summer, living in a Dormitory, new Roommates, no car, only two dozen of Mom’s Chocolate Chip cookies, having to follow an early morning class and workout schedule unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before, and of course the “free WILL” time you will have now, away from hometown friends and families…I truly understand ALL that you are anxious about, and all you wish to do is get on the floor and find your “peace”, because that’s where ALL of your success has brought you now to our place in your young life…”…If this sounds familiar, God Bless YOU!! If it doesn’t…but…you assume your Assistant Coaches are doing this, shame on you!! YOU, Coach, are the single most important connection to ANY and ALL incoming scholarship Student Athletes today…NOT your Assistant Coaches, oh, they do the schmoozing and smiling for you, of course…but…do YOU really take the time to KNOW each of your recruits personally? Oh, I’m sorry, you’ve got Alumni/Booster/Rotary/Administrative meetings to tend to, I forgot…Baloney!! Do you really CARE to understand, to grasp the responsibility of “accepting” the recommendations of your Assistant Coaches, and asking the all important question: “…will he succeed here in the transition from Family life to Campus life…?”…Do you ask that? Thank you if you say “yes, I do, newell…”…Because when you ask your Assistant Coaches these type of questions, along with the “character and integrity” questions (forget about his “projected PPG and focus on his GPA), then you are Mentoring your Assistant Coaches, who in turn will grasp and implement YOUR model to follow…Gotta do it, Coach…I’m not hating on you, trust me, but the game, the model is BROKEN!!! It’s completely out of sync…kids come in early now, coaches assess their skills set comparing to what they have already, set them up with the Academic Advisor, and boom, their off-campus recruiting again, leaving the “youngins” to their own demise or enterprise…The model to follow is BROKEN, Coach…Take the test: “I can do a better job communicating…” …or…”I’ve got a guaranteed contract, went to the Dance last year, got a raise, got a good Staff, we recruit well, we’re going to lose a couple of kids now and then, no big deal, EVERYONE has players who DON’T FIT, I don’t care, I just want to WIN…”…and I enter and say: “…at what COST…?”…The model is BROKEN…Sad, but true…
If I am helping ONE coach out there, whether it be HS or any level of Intercollegiate sports, and you’re still reading this, thank you…if you’re challenged and motivated by the aforementioned, pass it along to your Assistant Coaches, especially the young coaches who “genuflect” before you each day, afraid to “cross” your path, get you upset, etc…Guess what, Coach? When you “get” those notices, calls from YOUR Assistant coaches after midnight, when you’re deep asleep, that one of your Student Athletes was involved in an off-campus, Police blotter issue, maybe then, just maybe you will begin to understand that just because you have a “Guaranteed Contract” for YOUR job, and the easiest “way” to insulate yourself is: “…I didn’t know he had behavioral issues when we were recruiting him…he seemed like a “good” kid when we brought him on campus…he comes from a “good” family according to the Assistant coach…I met the Family, great people…”…And then you go ahead and DO the less-than-noble reaction: “…he’s gone, I don’t want him in our program from this day forward…”…this, at a time, when this YOUNG Student Athlete needed/needs a Mentor, a Paternal-type, someone who genuinely will help that Player from this day forward…Coach, stand up, eye to eye, be a Mentor, NOT a Pretender…give Moms and Dads and Families the reassurance that their son(s) are going to continue to mature and grow on the court, and more importantly OFF the court…Please, Coach, please!!!
To all the soon-to-be detractors: “…thank you for taking the time to read this…may you remember this: conscience is the reminder of truth…”…there are HUNDREDS of Student Athletes, Freshmen, Sophomores and Juniors who NEED your Mentoring, your guidance, NOT the Assistant coaches, YOURS…be honest, don’t bully them, don’t swear at them when they make mistakes, because you know and I know they will playing this game…teach them the “why”, teach them the values of being on this Team…teach them to forgive their Teammates first, so they can forgive themselves…Teach them the value of their Education Scholarship, not the Athletic Scholarship, that only lasts 130 games over 4 years, whereas the Education is continual, a truly magnificent sustainable model…Teach them to be thankful, grateful for those previous Mentors, Teachers and coaches who care about their future successes, not a game winning jumpshot or a “one and done” experience, both in declaration (nba draft) and/or withdrawal (leaving program)…Teach them about “service”…giving back…community service…voluntary…giving, not expecting anything in return…Teach them…please…
God Bless the Families whose sons and daughters have left programs in the past because the “model was BROKEN”, don’t despair, turn the experience into something greater, beyond the hardwoods, give them a chance to succeed with EDUCATION as the foundation and basketball as an aspiration…
Thank you,
Coach tom
My World Shaped Like A Basketball 