Summer 2017 really cruised by us all, didn’t it? It seems like it was only a couple of weeks ago that I was covering Plant City softball in Vero Beach. Time flies when you’re having fun.
So, I don’t know about you younger readers, but I’m glad summer vacation is over and you all got back in the classroom on Thursday. Since the 2017-18 school year is only one day old, I don’t think it’s too late to give you athletes some tips on how to get the most out of your season (and year).
Hit the books hard
Trust me, no one is kidding when they say your grades are just as important to your athletic career as your ability to perform on the playing field. If anyone tells you otherwise, they’re not being honest.
Getting good grades will keep you eligible to stay on the team. It’ll put you in the running for college scholarships, as virtually every program ever will take the athlete with the higher GPA when choosing between two of the same athletic skill level. You may not be crazy about math class, world history or English, but you’ve got to power through if you want to give yourself more freedom post-graduation. It doesn’t matter what you do after you leave high school — every recruiter, admissions staffer and employer out there wants to find someone with a healthy work ethic.
And if you’re struggling, it never hurts to ask for help. A good place to start is in the locker room — I’ve heard of plenty of athletes who have gone and do go out of their way to help tutor their teammates.
Plan for the future
If your goal is to play college sports, it’s not always enough to simply play well and hope you get noticed.
You may get some attention that way, but it’s almost always possible to get more — which can sometimes lead to getting better scholarship offers. Your coaches will help you with game film, Hudl and whatever else you may need, as well as putting the word out about you themselves, but you can also engage in some self-promotion to get eyes on you.
I know of several athletes who got good scholarships from the schools they wanted to attend by simply getting in touch with the coaches. They’re not always going to be able to go to your school and find you, even if you’re just what they’re looking for in an athlete, so it doesn’t hurt to reach out via email. And it’s always good to remember that, even if a coach visibly likes you, you’re still competing with other high school athletes for a scholarship and roster spot and you’re only going to win if you maintain a good relationship with the coach(es).
Don’t be dumb about the Internet
Somehow, not enough kids (and parents, and coaches) know how to use social media in such a way that doesn’t get them in trouble with their schools and/or potential college programs. We just saw this over the weekend with the Little League softball team booted from a championship game because the coaches took a photo of the team flipping the bird at the camera and wrote a caption referencing the opponent it had just beaten. The worst part is that it’s so easy to not put yourself in those situations.
It doesn’t matter what you do to protect your account, even if you post under a pseudonym, make your profiles private or whatever: someone you know will see what you post and, if you’re not careful, they will make sure something questionable comes back to haunt you. The last thing you need to do is prove to the world how cool you think you are.
If you’re thinking about making a post containing something you could get in trouble for, don’t do it. That includes but is not limited to making obscene gestures, throwing up gang signs, drinking booze and/or doing drugs, cussing someone out, bullying, bragging about breaking the law and promoting violence. Tempting as it may be, it’s not going to help you do anything positive.