This past Friday, I had the pleasure of speaking with over 175 football players, ages 7-17 at the Committment 4 Change Football camp http://c4c2010.eventbrite.com/, organized by NFL player Aaron Maybin of the Buffalo Bills and retired Keion Carpenter,formerly of the Atlanta Falcons. Held at Woodlawn HS, the boys were introduced to NFL players, celebrities also participated on workshops ranging from personal hygiene, career planning and college preperation. How fortunate for College Can B 4 Me! to serve asthe facilitator of the college prep workshop. The conversation with the older boys was drastically different than the talk with the boys 7-12. With the older guys, we spoke about making the decision to be a better student and not just an athlete. Colleges look to recruit and scout athletes that can maintain themselves in the classroom also. That means making the effort to balance working hard on the field and also in the classroom. The younger boys and I primariy talked about starting a good academic reputation and NOT FIGHTING . As young men, they were encouraged to learn to ignore taunting and name calling that may insight fighting. Our conversation also included how to talk out their problems before they reverted to fighting.
One of the main pieces I tried to drive home with the boys was staying true to their goals for succcess. Boys ,especially athletes are often overwhelemed by all of the outside influences in their lives, not always positive. As parents, we have to begin encouraging our males to succeed in the classroom as well as succeeding on the playing field. The path to professional sports has to included an outstanding academic record. College is almost certainly a step in the process, but more often than not, an athlete will play its hardest on the field, then slack in the classrom. When he isn't scouted or recruited, more often than not, the reason is that he was unable to meet the academic requirements to be admitted to the school. Why devote yourself on the field, weight room and at camps, to be ineligible to play because of your grades. Parents and coaches need to also realize that athletic talent is NOTHING without the education component. There are no scholarships awarded to the guy with the most yards ran but with a 1.2 GPA and low SAT scores. Scholarships definantly aren't awarded to the dead basketball star that was murdered because he couldn't shake the lure of the dangerous streets.
As adults; parents, mentors, coaches, we must resolve to continuously encourage and provide opportunities for our students to WANT to go to college. Personally, I don't think the choice should even exist. Just as obvious as it is to need to eat and sleep, to survive in present days terms, a college education is a necessity. We all have our stories of successful people who made it without college but those numbers are fewer and further in between everyday.
Its time to weigh our priorities and make sure college goals become a priority in our children's lives if we truly want them to have a chance.
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