#9 The Payoff

            By now we have talked about all the hard work and dedication that goes into becoming a successful student-athlete. Many people after being told to do all this hard work would ask, “What’s in it for me?”. After discussing mindsets and mentalities in the 5th blog (The Mindset) it seems almost contradictive to humor this question. However, it’s a very honorable question due to its extensive response.
             For starters, becoming a successful student-athlete will, without a doubt, form anyone into a better human being. The hard work forms life-long, positive habits and destroys negative habits as well. Good habits will make life infinitely easier by preventing easy mistakes and eliminating self-defeating actions that prohibit success. These good habits aren’t merely seen in the classroom or on the field. These habits will migrate and settle into daily life outside academics and sorts. Once you retire from the game and graduate from the classroom these habits will still be there, engraved in who you are as a human being; a dedicated beast with an unstoppable passion for growth and success. With that being said, you will find yourself to be a more likeable person because of your reliable and good-hearted personality. You will find more success in your career because being a part of the work force will not seem like hard work because you have already seen hard work and have made it your custom. You have become disciplined, passionate and dedicated to the grind and no employer could ever question your work. You will find more success as a parent. For instance, when that child wakes up crying for the 100th time at 3 in the morning and you had just had a long day the day before, you will have the strength to get out of bed and treat that child with every bit of love and respect it deserves. That child will have a mother/father that cares about their growth and success as a human and not only a student-athlete. This domino effect breeds human excellence. Your home will flourish for generations. Life will be easier, happier and much more comfortable after undergoing the transformation made by becoming a better student-athlete.
            So, the next time you feel like getting the homework from a friend or sleeping in on the weekends when you should be hitting the gym, think about the effects it will have in the long run. Think about the potential you have just lost. Think about how much harder it will make it when the next task comes your way.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

#7 The Recruitment Process On average less than 10% of high school students have the chance to continue their careers in athletics at the college level. Those odds alone should inspire any student-athlete to push themselves even more. The way the recruitment process is handled can make or break a student-athlete’s chance to play at a school. Skills and IQ Many people believe that recruitment starts after the sophomore year of high school but that is not true. It begins freshman year. Here a student should obtain the highest grades they possibly can. They should begin learning advanced techniques and next level ideas for their sports. They should begin mastering these skills and ideas to prepare themselves for what college coaches look for. There are many tools to get a player to that level. Talking to a coach who has had college experience about what that player is lacking in their skill set is the greatest way to go about the skills and knowledge side of the recruitment proc...
Read more
#2 The Big Decision Deciding to become a student-athlete at any level is a decision that should not be taken lightly. Joining/continuing a sport is a hefty investment of time, money and energy to add to the intensity of academic life. The mere action of going forth into a season is a full-hearted commitment to a team, a coaching staff and all the supporters who selflessly invest into a student-athlete. Not only do student-athletes make a commitment to all those other people, but they make a commitment to themselves. Playing a sport will consume their life physically, mentally, financially and socially. An old coach of mine once told me, “any job worth doing is a job worth doing right. If you are told to clean a toilet you will do that to the best of your ability.” Playing a sport requires that an athlete give 100% of themselves 100% of the time regardless of what task they are given. You never know when you are being watched or who you are talking to; that man cleaning the field ...
Read more
#1 What is a Student-athlete?       What is a student-athlete? Student. Athlete. “Student” comes from its two Latin words of origin; the verb studere , or applying oneself, and the noun studium , a painstaking application. The word “student” was created in the English language to literally mean “a painstaking application of oneself”. In fact, the great philosopher Plato went as far as to say that “to learn is to suffer.” In many ways Plato was correct in that the byproduct of learning is most times a form of individual suffering. The practical meaning of student as defined in the English dictionary is “a person who is studying at a school or college”. The verb studying being heavily influenced by the verb studere . “Athlete”, on the other hand, comes from the Greek word athlon , or prize. Athlon is the root of the verb athlien , or to compete for a prize. These Greek phrases are most famously known in the context of the early Olympics held in Greece where ...
Read more