Pressures on The Elite College Student-athlete

Parent Cafe
1

<p>With all of the media coverage & talk of the recruitment of student-athletes at elite colleges, allow me to suggest a discussion of the pressures that
the student-athletes must be prepared to endure. </p>

<p>First of all, the stress that the high school senior experiences in the
elite college recruitment process should be short term. The elite college
student-athlete usually smiles when they look back upon "the good old days".
They will tell you that the pressure doesn't start until after you have been
accepted, are enrolled & are competing at the intercollegiate level.</p>

<p>On Thursday. Dec. 8, Swarthmore College women's basketball team traveled to play Bryn Mawr College. The contest was a low scoring game with
Swarthmore winning 49 to 36. Both teams shot very poorly. Swarthmore
finished the game with a 28% shooting average and Bryn Mawr ended with
a 26% average. What does this have to do with the elite college student
athlete and pressure? Glad you asked. It can affect the way they play
in light of the little facts that:</p>

<p>The 1st semester classes ended on Dec. 8th for both schools.</p>

<p>Final exam week begins Dec.11. </p>

<p>From Dec. 2th to Dec. 8th, the Swarthmore College basketball
team played five(5) games. That is 5 games in 7 days with
4 of those five games played away from Swarthmore. </p>

<p>Bryn Mawr College played 4 games in that same time period and
has a game to be played on Dec. 10th. </p>

<p>Both teams traveled 6 hours to Smith College for the Seven Sisters Tournament played on Dec. 2nd, 3rd & 4th. </p>

<p>In addition to the above, all end of the semester academic
work is now due.</p>

<p>Did I mention FINAL EXAMS start in two(2) days !</p>

<p>Also, throw in the body aches & injuries these players have.</p>

<p>How about the student-athlete who is a member of the
college chorus that had to miss the first game of the Seven Sisters Tournament at Smith College because of the conflict of schedule
between the basketball game and the Christmas Concert. </p>

<p>BTW, we got her to Smith College so she could play in the
next two Seven Sisters Tournament games. Had to drive
her up on Saturday morning since the concert didn't
end until after 11:30 pm on Friday.</p>

<p>Parents, make your sons & daughters aware that the stress they may be experiencing now as wannabe elite college student-athletes is mild compared
to what they shall face as an elite college student-athlete.</p>

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<p>also depending on the sport your student plays they may have to stay on campus in interim housing during winter break because their sport still goes on even though school is out</p>

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<p>That's something to think about when you see threads and posts which refer to athletes as somehow getting an unfair free ride of sorts, either in admissions or in classes.</p>

4

<p>You are citing some of the many reasons that students often stop participating in their sport after the first year. It always amazes me how many colleges, especially LACs, give preference to athletes even though so many discontinue the sport after one season. I guess they have to accept a lot so they can manage after attrition.
My D decided not to walk on the college team that accepted her when she saw that most of the good classes were held when practices were held - in the afternoon. It's almost impossible for a college athlete to put their studies first.</p>

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<p>My daughter was not recruited. However, she is on a Div. 1 Varsity team at an Ivy League School. She knew what she was getting into in the sense that her life was always CHOCKFUL with sports, EC's (did way more than just her sports, was very involved in the performing arts, like OP's daughter), and very demanding schoolwork. </p>

<p>The demands at college are heavy now too. Besides the tons of schoolwork in a demanding college....and yes, she has papers, projects and exams every day now, plus her RISD course by its nature (architecture) is VERY time consuming.....she has her varsity sport. All fall semester, she has 7 two hour workouts per week. But next semester, she will be training two full mornings mid week (in the van by 6:30 AM), and will be away all weekend for two months of the semester at races out of state. Over the winter break, she has three weeks of training camp in NH. In early March, should she be selected again this year to race in Nationals, she'll have to miss a full week of classes and even has had to work that out in advance with RISD for next semester. Does she love it? You bet. Is she still doing very well in her academics? YES. She would not have it any other way. Also, I forgot to say that another requirement for the team is to volunteer once/week at the local elem school so she has that too. She also was on the club soccer team (which travels). However, I don't know anyone at her college that JUST does academics. Most are heavily involved outside the classroom. Her travel stuff, however, is a big chunk of time and so has added pressures. I was with the team at Nationals last year and believe me, these girls had their books with them and after hardcore training on all day, were hitting the books (one girl had an organic chem book with her!) even though they were in a really cool place to have fun. They are all good students so their sport has to fit into their life but not instead of their academic work. Time management is key. Definitely is a challenge what these kids manage to do.</p>

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<p>My daughter lasted two years playing varsity sports at Williams. The travel schedule alone is just brutal, with winter sports particularly bad...long dark cold bus trips through the hinterlands. Trying to do homework by flashlight the whole way. It's quite a bit different from HS, and you really have to be passionate about it to stick with it. I'm amazed at how many do stick it out for four years.</p>

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<p>I agree. Even in high school, kids practice six days a weeek, and spend, in certain winter sports, like basketball, wrestling and swimming, 1-2 nights a week at games (getting home sometimes as late as 9 or 10 at night). In college, things get absolutely ridiculous. IMO, people who complain about special attention for athletes--particularly who can plainly do the work but have lower "numbers" (e.g., 1300 SATs instead of 1450)--simply don't understand the pressures, or are so ready to search for any possible slight against their own that they aren't considering the reality of the situation.</p>

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<p>Sometimes it is impossible for a college athlete to put their studies first.
That is where the planning & first priorities come into focus.</p>

<p>At mid-term, D had a 3.6 gpa and was loving school. She is even excited about going back to school for the three weeks school is not in session.
She knows she is going to be working at a job during her two week Christmas break. She says it better playing basketball rather, working for another three weeks. Did we go wrong somewhere? (:></p>

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<p>My oldest nephew is a recent Harvard graduate, soccer player, and told me that he was expected to hand a paper in early rather than get an extension for traveling with the team for games, which included several day tournaments as far away as California. In addition, he kept his athlete status as quiet as he could from professors and TAs, because he occassionally got the feeling that there was some element of bias against athletes (i.e. having been admitted more easily translated into less serious a student, or less worthy for the class).</p>

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<p>So much depends on the support that the school is willing to give to the athletes, and to the sport's schedule, as well. Morning practices would have worked well for my daughter - no one seems to hold morning classes. With runs starting at 3:00pm how can a student take an afternoon class that starts after 1:00? Why they don't move the practices to one end of the day or another is beyond me.
D wasn't recruited either, or she would have stayed with it, regardless. She loves running, and it was very hard for her to give it up. I do think if she'd stayed with her running competitivly at her Div.I school, she would not be able to do half of what she's accomplished academically , by which I mean the types of courses she's taken and related involvement - field work, graduate courses, etc. (not talking about grades here, but dedication and focus)
It is all about priorities and what you want to get out of your four undergrad years. It's not impossible to do both well - but some schools make it "almost" impossible. Can you be a stand-out in both? I guess some super-human kids can do it, but not mine.</p>

<p>She has managed several other extracurriculars, but as you know, sports schedules are not flexible. She can still docent at the museum, work for campaigns, sing, and do just about any other type of activity where the schedule isn't so fixed. There is no way she could have taken her field course (every saturday, 8-5) and participated in her sport. I think the passion she had for running has been transferred to her academic field.</p>

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<p>On Saturday night after all of the tournament games were completed
Smith College hosted a Seven Sisters Tournament banquet for all of the student-athletes. It was a mandatory attendence requirement. All of the ladies from Smith, Wellesley, Mt. Holyoke, Bryn Mawr, Vassar, Haverford, Swarthmore & St Joe's(Conn) were given assigned seating arrangements. No two students from one college were seated at the same table. My D was dining with ladies from Smith & Wellesley. She said that after all the formalities of introductions & where you are from,
the conversation went in one direction. What am I doing here? I have a paper due on Monday!! A test to study for!!</p>

<p>I would have loved to be a fly at that banquet. Would not want to be
waiting tables or serving food to those ladies.</p>

<p>I Talked with D at 11pm that night & she abrutly told me she couldn't talk. She was working on her paper that was due on Monday.</p>

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<p>It's a tough road. My hat's off to her!</p>

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<p>Proudtobe:</p>

<p>I get tired just reading about your D's schedule. </p>

<p>The sad thing is that Div. III sports doesn't have to be like that. I think it's a pretty good guess that none of the women on the Swat, Smith, or Bryn Mawr teams are prepping for the WNBA draft. If they are all sitting at the banquet wondering what they are doing there, then somebody at the schools should get the idea to change the schedule.</p>

<p>They could all agree to practice three days a week and still play each other in a schedule of games that isn't a back-breaker right before finals. It's kind of absurd for the woman's b-ball team at places like Swarthmore and Bryn Mawr to have expectations of practice schedules like a Div I BCS football program. It's supposed to be a fun extracurricular, not a forced death march. Why not play the Seven Sisters tournament over Thanksgiving weekend?</p>

<p>I don't know what the answer is. Div III was originally supposed to be a walk-on sport division, like intramurals except that you play other schools. Somehow, it's gotten a little out of control and the NCAA is so geared towards professional collegiate sports that they are unwilling to show any leadership.</p>

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<p>I-Dad, it teaches them when they become leaders, say business leaders, never forget that the decisions you make directly affect the underlings, the worker bees - put yourselves in their shoes. Stupid, stupid! A nice banquet to recognize the coaches, athletic directors, all their hard work, oh yes give the MVP an award - meanwhile the players are frantic because of missed study time!</p>

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<p>I just checked. The Swat women's b-ball team plays 25 games in approximately 40 days of school (not counting a month off in the middle of the season. That's absurd.</p>

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<p>Thank you so much for starting this topic. I have a daughter who is a junior in high school and is very committed to tennis (she is also a very good student.) She is currrently talking with coaches at some Division III schools and I have real concerns about the amount of time that being an athlete will take from her normal college experience. She currently practices everyday and plays tournaments on weekends, so she is well aware of the things she has given up to do this sport compared to her friends at school. My basic concern is that she will spend all her time socializing with the team and not getting to know other people on the campus at social events which ususally happen on the weekend. Often when I look at the team rosters I notice very few seniors that play. I presume that they all give up at some point. She has a passion for her sport, but like someone said earlier, she will not be playing anywhere near center court at the US Open. Other than the benefit of playing a sport you love, what are the other benefits of playing a Division III sport in college when it demands so much of their time and there is no plan to play it porfessionally?</p>

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<p>There are benefits, mambowme, as well as trade-offs. Otherwise, no one would do it! :) The team bonding usually benefits the kids, as they get to know other students from various academic areas.
You will probably just have to let this play out (pardon the pun) with your daughter. She may really enjoy playing for a year or two, and then give it up as her academic demands, and her academic passions, start to conflict more than she's comfortable with. It's a personal decision only the students can make.</p>

<p>I do understand your concerns, though, as I felt the same way.</p>

<p>It would be wise for her to look into schools with the schedule and expected time committment in mind. Some LACs are more intense sports-wise than others.</p>

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<p>"That's absurd."</p>

<p>I-dad, with those three little words, you may very well have summarized the combination of school and athletics. No matter at which level you look, absurdity seems to be the motto: from lowly high school participation to the all mighty Div 1-AA. On one hand, you see disguised professionals who receive tests with questions such as "How many points does a three-point shot yield?" and schools that barely graduate anyone who plays for the competitive teams. On the other hand you see the incredible pressures put on student-athletes who are foremost students. </p>

<p>It also seems to get worse by the year. The stories of students trying to do homework in the back of cold vans is all too frequent. The pressures of coaches to play for the school team is ever present, and so are retaliations when someone does the sensible thing aka focusing on school work. One has to wonder where it all started and why it is allowed to continue. </p>

<p>And the saddest part of all, for all the efforts in high school or college, student-athletes often have to fight the "it's-so-easy-for athletes" syndrome or that the student did not "entirely" deserve to be there.</p>

<p>:(</p>

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<p>An idea for kids looking at DIII sports.....you could consider a club team at a big Div I University.</p>

<p>My D attends a top public where the varsity athletes really do have a lower SAT# & GPA required at admissions and have study assistance. She is not a Div I athlete there, her sport is a club sport. The season is in spring, but her team began working out as soon as school began, there are work outs every day, but Sunday...some days have a morning and afternoon offering, so you can choose the one which works for you. There have been some games & even travel to a tournament. Thus far, everything is pretty flexible. If you have an academic need, that comes first. By offering workouts 6 days a week, most people can fit in 3-4-5 most weeks.</p>

<p>It is definitely more casual, allowing the fun of competition without that overwhelming pressure. The club team does do a lot of fund-raising, much of which seems to be working at campus sporting events, so, that's pretty fun and they drive themselves locally; so, they do not have everything planned for them, but I do believe the step down to a less intense level of commitment could be a good thing for kids who truly enjoy being part of a team, but want to relax a bit.</p>

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<p>Somemom, my son's experience is much like your daughters: he plays tennis on the club level. A good number of his teamates are actually former nationally ranked players recruited for Varsity, who just found it too demanding to stay on the team. Because of those players, plus the large number of kids at the school who were committed tennis players in h.s., it is quite competitive to make the club team, and the quality of the tennis is excellent. But the demands are considerably less and way more flexible, and there's much less travel. And the nice thing besides getting to play a sport he loves is the opportunity to get to know some of the student-athletes, which just broadens his whole college experience.</p>