Senior SZN
This is what I would say to student-athletes who are seniors right now:
Nothing is as it was.
Everything is as it should be.
But you’re still getting screwed.
In normal order there would be one more season for you to showcase your preparation, catch the eyes of a collegiate program, perhaps prove you deserve a scholarship.
Some of them, let’s call them the 1% signed in November and are good. This season would have neither helped or hurt their collegiate athletics dreams.
But the other 99% they are now invisible.
Well, not invisible, but are being judged by their junior years.
Because paying for potential can get coaches fired.
Spring senior athletes need to understand, especially in track and field, that the athletics world is a “but what have you done” industry.
What it is not, is a “you might be able to….” industry.
So parents, coaches, and athletes reaching out to coaches right now talking about what they would have done is nice…
because it’s forward thinking, and ambitious, and those are characteristics of high performers.
But potential doesn’t factor into a coach’s decision to offer these coveted dollars.
Right now, across the entire country, coaches are scouring the internet, the transfer portal, TFRRS, looking for athletes, and they can only go off of what’s there, now.
So what do you do?
If you had a decent junior year and you were putting in work and you KNOW, based on actual data derived from training sessions that you were on your way to a magical season…
what do you do?
when your opportunity to showcase that preparation no longer exists?
What do you do?
You bet on yourself.
But Tianna, what’s that even mean? I do believe in myself!
That’s great news. But that’s not what I mean.
I mean there are a few things you absolutely need to be doing right now in addition to believing in yourself like,
DO NOT let your grades slip.
I know you’re at home, I know it’s weird but do not let this happen. And if there’s anyway to do anything to improve your grades ask your teachers if you can do that too.
Start thoroughly researching college coaches, their programs, and the degree programs.
A lot of athletes view the recruiting process like an old school courtship. Sitting back and letting coaches come to you.
But, this is a life choice YOU are making. You don’t have to wait on anybody. You want to be in the Pac-12, you want to run in the SEC? or the BIG 10? Find out what it’s going to take.
How do you do that?
Pull up the results of the previous conference championship online.
As it stands (meaning based on your verified performances where do you sit?)
Would you make the final?
Would you score points?
Pull up the results to last years NCAA championship.
Would you make it out of regionals, do you make the final, do you score?
These are the questions coaches are asking themselves about every athlete that appears on their radar right now.
These are literally the money questions. The answer to these questions decides scholarship offers.
So what if the answer to these questions is no?
If the answer is no you probably haven’t gotten too many “full-ride” offers. And although that’s the holy grail for us athletes (parents want that too) it’s not a reflection on what the coach thinks about you, it’s indicative of where you stand in the conference.
So what do you do if the answer is no and you aren’t hearing offers with the dollars you imagined you would from the coaches you wanted to hear it from…
My answer to you is the same: bet on yourself
for one year.
If you identified the school you want to go to, the coaches you want to be coached by, but the coach can’t justify a full scholarship or maybe any dollars at all right now, go to that school anyway. If your family can afford to foot the bill (apply for FAFSA, and all the grants and other scholarships that you can) for one year while you go show out and earn your scholarship DO THAT.
If you aren’t in a financially sound enough position to pull that off, your family really needs you to get a scholarship or college might not happen, consider choosing the best available local option. This keeps the bill WAY down. I mean, find the BEST available coach and program in that area and CALL THEM.
I’m just going to come out and say it- it may be time to consider a situation you may have previously considered “beneath you”
We are so caught up in brand name programs that we forget that physics doesn’t give AF about any of that. There are good coaches in Division One and Division 2. At big schools and little schools.
Here’s another little-known-fact some programs won’t even bother recruiting you if they think you won’t give them the time of day…and they’ve got money for you.
If you find a coach that suits you in a place you wouldn’t have considered previously because we are in unprecedented times your PRs and victories won’t come with an asterisk that says: *but they went to such-and-such school*
Anyway…let’s say you’re at one of those programs and things go really well and now you’re turning out performances that captures people’s attention…you could consider putting yourself in the transfer portal with the hopes that your “dream” program reaches out to you and you can transfer in.
That’s risky- because if you are on scholarship at your current school that program does have the right to take your dollars away once you’ve entered the transfer portal.
You can also stay where you are because like I said, physics doesn’t give AF about your enrollment. You aren’t blocked from registering for the Olympic Trials because you didn’t go to a Power 5 school.
You still count.
Your performances still count.
You still matter.
You’re still a collegiate athlete.
And arguably most importantly your degree counts too.
Right now per the NCAA, athletes aren’t allowed to visit schools, anyone desiring to sign right now will do so without meeting the coaches in person, or visiting the campus unless they got their visits in before the lock-down.
It was stressful enough already to make a choice about college.
It’s down right difficult now, sight unseen, and no way to capture the vibe of the institution.
And on top of that you aren’t sure about prom, senior pictures, or graduation.
It really really sucks.
But you can make the best decision you can for yourself anyway.
You can still set yourself up for your future in both life and sport.
Yes you can. Even in this. How do I know that? I know because you’re in the house. And you being in the house right now means you care enough about yourself, your family, and your future to do the right thing.
That kind of integrity will serve you forever.
That’s how I know, that you can do this.
You can.
And you will.
Bloggers Note: Shout Out to Coach Charles Ryan who helped me understand this scenario from the coach’s perspective so that I could better understand how to tackle this subject from an athlete’s perspective.
In summary senior athletes right now need to do the following:
Keep grades Up. Remember that there are no athletics without the student part.
Research the Conferences, Collegiate, and Degree Programs of Interest
Pick up the phone.
Interview Coaches ask about their training philosophy (believe me I haven’t met one coach who won’t talk you to death about their approach to training).
Understand the Dollars- don’t ask about money until you’ve familarized yourself with that conference and what it takes to score in that particular conference. This will allow you to more easily remove the emotion from the conversation. As it will help establish more realistic expectations going in. But also, consider investing in yourself. Put your money where your mouth is…as they say.