EXCELLING AS A STUDENT-ATHLETE!

                                                                                                by Catharine Aradi
                                                                                         www.fastpitchrecruiting.com


Parents of young athletes often get so excited at the prospect of their player competing in college that they lose sight of the "big picture."  Getting a scholarship becomes the end, rather than the means, and it’s easy to let your perspective get all out of whack.  Love of the game should be any player’s primary reason for giving up weekends, traveling to practices and tournaments, and spending long hours developing her skills.  Doing it mainly because her folks want softball to help with her college costs should be a secondary reason at best.

If you’re an athlete whose parents invest time and money in your being the best player you can be-e.g., pitching lessons, equipment, travel, team fees-without looking for any payback beyond a positive experience for you, then you are extremely lucky. But I see far too many families who either don't understand what college means in the first place, or who have completely lost sight of the only reason a softball scholarship is worth something.

A college education can be a ticket to a better life, yet for some parents, it’s all about the dollar signs.  They don’t seem to care whether their daughter loves the game and is learning positive life lessons from it, nor do they understand that the work ethic they’re trying to instill in her when it comes to her pitching isn't worth much if it doesn’t carry over into the classroom.

These same parents are usually astounded when their player takes her SAT, and her Reading and Math scores total 760.  They’re also likely to be dumbfounded when a coach says he can't recruit their daughter because her grades aren’t good enough for his college.  These parents-who, admittedly, may have made many sacrifices to enable their daughter to play on a travel team--forgot to read the fine print that told them what classes she needed to take and what test scores she had to achieve to be eligible to compete for an NCAA or NAIA team.

When it comes time for you to choose a college, your parents might seem to want your decision to be based on the dollar amount you’re being offered or the athletic prestige of the school.  They might forget to ask whether you’ll graduate in four years with a degree you can use or whether you’ll even be happy there. This may not seem like much, but how else will your investment of hours of study hall, practice time, conditioning, and road trips will be worth something?

While you are dealing with all the challenges that high school brings, you should look to your parents for guidance.  You need the structure and support they provide so that you can grow up successfully.  It’s pretty hard for a 14 or 15-year old to say to her high school counselor, "Here's a list of academic classes I need to be eligible for college sports.  I need to get the best grades I can in these classes, and I need to take my SAT or ACT as a junior.  I have to stay focused on academics because while athletics may pay for part of my education, getting a college degree is my long-term goal.  Will you please help me reach that goal?"

So it’s okay to ask your parents for help here.  It’s their job to be aware of things like academic requirements and recruiting rules.  If your mom and dad can take Friday afternoon off work to drive you to a travel ball tournament, surely they can go into work a bit late Monday morning in order to make a quick visit to your counselor.  If they can find the time to do soft-toss with you in the back yard each night, they should be willing to spend a few minutes making sure you’re doing your homework.  If they can cough up $200 for a new glove, maybe they can also spend $40 on a book that will prepare you for your SAT or ACT…which they should help you schedule at the appropriate time.

Being a good parent is never an easy job.  Being a great softball parent can be incredibly difficult.  Everyone in the family has choices to make, and they may not be easy ones.  Remind your parents that you’re trying to make smart choices both as a student and as an athlete.  I promise you, ten years from now, this will be something you, mom and dad will be very glad you did!




                                                                                   © Collegiate Softball Connection 2013