Commissioner at the Pac-12 Conference)
I think it’s very important to have an academic plan, do internships, and travel during the summer. Traveling exposes you to new perspectives and provides you with new experiences. You don’t necessarily have to have a plan that is divorced from being an athlete, such as coaching, training, or strength and conditioning. I have seen a lot of student-athletes be successful and go into ancillary careers such as those. Every student-athlete should have two paths that they want to follow that are not “playing sports” related, so that the last time you suit up, you are not in a crisis afterwards. For example, one of the most important parts of your plan is graduating, and having a graduate school plan because advanced degrees are what help you get the jobs that you can sit in for life, generally speaking.
. . .
Goals may change and dreams may get upended . . . but failing to plan is planning to fail. Why let that happen when a little effort can set anyone on a path to a much more fulfilling future?
Secret 2
Understand Who a Student-Athlete Is
. . .
Author Viewpoint—DR. NORM O’REILLY
I was fortunate enough to be a student-athlete during both my undergraduate degree (Nordic skiing at the University of Waterloo) and master degrees (swimming at the University of Ottawa). Although they are two major Canadian universities, Waterloo and Ottawa would be the equivalent of Division II colleges in the United States (from an athletics perspective). Both have formal and resourced athletic departments and a full slate of sports, but scholarships are low, facilities sufficient (but not great), and ticket sales for events low or nonexistent in some sports.
I believe I was successful as a student-athlete: getting named an Academic All-Canadian, requiring both academic and athletic success. Life as a student-athlete was challenging, to say the least, and full of sacrifices, mostly on the social front. Parties missed, events declined, hanging-out with my roommates at a minimum.
As an undergraduate student, in a challenging science program, I was very focused on individual learning (lots of studying) and a large amount of class time: 15 hours in class and 15 hours in labs. Five days a week of classes, including Friday afternoon labs. As a graduate student, less class time but enormous responsibilities as teaching assistant, research assistant, and reading.
As an athlete, I focused efforts on competing and performing at a high level. My sports were both individual but with training and competition as part of a team. Between 15 and 25 hours per week training and at least 10 weekends away each academic year for competition, sometimes more. 5 a.m. practices regularly. Friday night practice. Saturday/Sunday morning practice. Team meetings. Coach consultations. All on top of challenging academic schedules.
I don’t believe my experience is atypical for most student-athletes.
. . .
THE SECRET IN A FEW WORDS
Secret 1 told you to follow a plan. This is vital to the student-athlete or really to anyone with any objective at all. This leads us to Secret 2, which will give context to your plan. You are a student-athlete. Being a student-athlete is a special experience, and a privileged one. Yes, a small percentage of student-athletes are super-privileged and may go professional, but this book is not for them. It is for you, someone who will live four years of your life in a unique way. Like Spider-Man and Peter Parker, you’ve got a double role, even a double personality.1 And, you need to be very good at and focused on each.
On one hand, you are a high-performance athlete. Respected by other students, under massive pressure from your coach and teammates, fortunate to have a scholarship (in many cases), and surrounded by support structures that few athletes of your level outside of the NCAA can even dream about. On the other hand, you’re a student, one of more than sixteen million college students in the USA, a learner making your way in the world, trying to get ahead, and seeking a job one day. You have to approach each role separately, find time for each, and be successful in each. Get poor grades and you are off the team. Bad performance on the field, no more scholarship. Yes, your privileged role is coupled with a lot of pressure. And, wow, you get to do this for four amazing years. Many of those sixteen million would change spots with you in a heartbeat. So, the secret is simple: know who you are, relish it, and leverage it to the max. It will be, for many if not most of you, the best years of your life.
UNDERSTAND WHO A STUDENT-ATHLETE IS: A STUDENT-ATHLETE OR AN ATHLETE-STUDENT?
This book and the secrets within it are written for student-athletes who will not go pro. Several of the authors of the book were athletes in this situation. The gender of student-athletes is a factor to consider because—although male and female athletes alike rarely manage to become professional athletes—there are statistically more opportunities (though still very few) for male student-athletes, so female student-athletes often have a better understanding than their male counterparts of the reality of being a typical student-athlete.
There are many contexts comparable to this reality. Think about music, where very few who dream of performing professionally ever establish a career as a professional musician. And, of those who do, few achieve the success they dreamed of. The same can be said for fashion designers, authors, journalists, and artists. Although some do “make it,” most need to find another path to a sustainable career and a life outside of their passion.
As a full-time student in college in the United States,2 you are one of sixteen million. However, as an NCAA student-athlete, you are one of fewer than five hundred thousand. Yes, only 1 in 32 students in the USA has the status you do. You are special. You have earned privileges.
However, with great power comes great responsibility.
So, “special” and “privileged” are coupled with “pressure” and “risk.” Let us explain.
The path for most student-athletes in most sports is similar (and we’re quite certain you can relate). As a high school student, you were likely the big fish. Academically you did very well (or well enough), and athletically you were a star. You won championships, you captained your team, other teams in your district feared facing you, the media attention in school and local publications piled up, and you’ve got boxes of awards, medals, and honors that most of your friends covet.
Yes, you were a big deal. And, because you were that big deal, fortune shone on you and you got the chance to become an NCAA student-athlete. Perhaps you’re a Division I, Division II, or Division III recruit. You might be on a “full-ride” scholarship or you might have “walked on” and barely made the team. Whatever the path, you delivered the academic and athletic credentials to become a 1-in-32 student-athlete.
Very cool. You have the “power.” But, the pond just got bigger. You’re still a big fish but with a lot more swimming to do! And let’s be clear, there are fish bigger than you. There always are.
So, what exactly is the great responsibility you face? Well, it manifests itself as pressure, and it has multiple sources:
1. Your parents (grandparents, guardians): You are the apple of their eyes, they brag about you at their local curling club, golf
