you can see the end at the beginning, you aren’t going to get off to a very good start. This one is all about multitasking. The most valuable athletes are those who can play the most positions or at least know what everyone’s responsibilities are. Same goes for the professional world. If you have a marketing focus, learn finance. If you are thinking about player personnel, gain experience in sales. If you have a desire to work in a particular career, it is always important not to develop tunnel vision. Never get so micro that you can’t keep your eye on the big picture. The 360-degree view is the best.
SECRET: RIDE YOUR SUCCESS WHEEL
Your success wheel will be different than that of your teammates, and your wheel is always customizable to the success you desire. This is one of those occasions where it really is about you. Consider your wheel your guide and road map to live by while in college. Most of the aspects in your wheel will apply to life as well, which is why it is even more important to develop your wheel early, to update it often and—most important—to follow it closely.
Bill Shumard, a former Division I Athletic Director, and now CEO of Special Olympics Southern California, provides a unique perspective on what parts of the success wheel he thinks are most important. He notes “having served as Director of Athletics at two NCAA Division 1 universities, I believe the student-athletes’ ‘success wheel’ is indicative of the key components making up the life of a student-athlete.” Shumard’s perspective provided considerable input into the success wheel we present here. The following box provides his view on the three most important aspects (in his view) of the wheel of success.
. . .
BILL SHUMARD
(CEO of Special Olympics Southern California)
Mentors
As I look back upon my career that has spanned more than four decades in collegiate, professional, and amateur sports, my ability to select and emulate strong mentors has been a key ingredient to any success I may have enjoyed. Fred Miller was the Athletics Director at Long Beach State when I was an undergrad student working in the Sports Information Office. I admired Fred’s leadership style and his ability to be the “face and voice” of the university’s athletics program. He was clearly the one who first inspired me to pursue a career path to become an AD.
When I moved to the Los Angeles Dodgers, I was part of a front office team that was included among “America’s Top 100 Companies” because of our strong ethics and impeccable business practices. I reported to Executive Vice-President Fred Claire, who was chiefly responsible for the Dodgers’ uniquely successful organizational culture. I patterned many of the habits and disciplines I practice after Fred’s leadership. When I moved to the collegiate level, I reported to Mike McGee, the AD at USC. Mike was a former football player and coach, with a doctoral degree in business & organizational leadership. Mike’s sense of loyalty and unwavering financial acumen made a strong impression on me and patterned my own success as an AD.
When I became AD at my alma mater, Long Beach State, my president—Bob Maxson—had a strong background AND a keen interest in intercollegiate athletics and how it should be positioned/prioritized on a college campus. Dr. Maxson epitomized the power of encouragement, and brought a great sense of pride and tradition to a relatively young university. My leadership style is largely part-and-parcel of the leadership habits of Claire, McGee, and Maxson. I recognized each of them as a strong, admirable leader and would regularly pick their respective brains on a multitude of topics. I was fortunate that they took the time and thought enough of me to invest in my future. I will be eternally grateful.
Networking
A student-athlete has an incredible opportunity to meet and connect with a multitude of diverse people—including university administrators and faculty; coaches and support staff; boosters and volunteers; other student-athletes; the campus; and the community at large. While the student-athlete has many competing priorities during their time in college, connecting and establishing relationships with like-minded people at various stages of life and career is invaluable.
The student-athlete must begin to establish a reputation of integrity, trustworthiness, and loyalty to everyone in their respective universe. This will set the student-athlete apart from others and will lead to initial opportunities in establishing a career while building life-long relationships. I would also note that the student-athlete should establish themselves as a “giver” and not a “taker.” In other words, always be willing to help others in need instead of just asking for favors and advantages. This is an important part of character development.
Time Management
It is a safe assumption that a student-athlete’s weekly schedule, in the midst of a competitive season, is in the neighborhood of 70–80 hours a week. When you factor in class time, study hall, practice, physical training, training room, and travel, the student-athlete’s time demands are incredible. When I was an AD, I would tell our student-athletes that, if they were successful in managing their collegiate career and obtained a degree, time management of their actual career would be relatively easy in comparison. Being a collegiate student-athlete prepares one for a successful personal and professional life that can be rich and full. As one matures and moves through life after college—establishing a career; perhaps getting married and starting a family; and becoming a productive member of society—having mastered time management as a student-athlete in college will be a key ingredient in that success.
. . .
The success wheel as developed and outlined above is a useful tool for student-athletes. So, where do you start? Let us provide a few straightforward steps to follow.
Step 1: Create Your Own Success Wheel
Review the ten aspects of the success wheel explained above and create your own “wheel” with each aspect defined specifically for your situation and reality.
Step 2: Follow Your Success Wheel and Revisit It Frequently
It is one thing to just create your success wheel, but another thing to follow it. Revisit your wheel at least once a month and track your progress against each aspect of your wheel. Importantly, while tracking your progress, make sure you hold yourself accountable. It is easy to get caught up in everything going on around you and forget your wheel. Don’t be that slacker!
. . .
Author Viewpoint—JAKE HIRSHMAN
I graduated with my undergraduate degree in three years while also being a student-athlete, and I couldn’t have done it without my success wheel. Of course there are other aspects outside of the wheel that are important, but we thought these were the most important and overlapping.
I prioritized my academics over athletics because I knew my chances of going pro were slim, especially with the mix of injuries I had. I was driven to reach my goals and succeed in baseball, but it was more important to get good grades and gain experiences to build up my resume.
My relationship-building started in my sophomore year as I started to have classes for my major. I created relationships with my professors, coaches, teammates, and other administrators around campus. Looking back, this helped open doors for opportunities during the following year of school.
At the University of Redlands, I took advantage of the career development office because I was able to receive help on interview preparation for graduate schools. I was able to get my resume reviewed and other key skills sharpened.
Obtaining multiple mentors while I was in college was one
