@fenwaysouth posted:Three things immediately come to mind without even blinking....
1) The work begins before you step foot on campus. You want to be in the best shape possible to compete for future playing time with bigger teammates and more experienced teammates. Spring playing time is won in the Fall.
2) Stay ahead of your academics. If there is a freshmen requirement for study hall, you need to be there. Too often players fall behind on their academics and get in the coaches doghouse.....coaches are checking, so don't think for a second academics are optional.
3) Be a great teammate. The reality is you won't like everybody and everybody won't like you, but when you are in the clubhouse or on the practice field be a great teammate and support everybody.
#1 is a given. #3 I think is awesome advice. I have a freshman son now and what I see is falling behind in academics. In college, you need to be even more structured with your time and make sure you have a process you follow so you don't miss anything. I personally can not wait for in-class learning to come back so RJM's correct advice, go to class, happens. Learning remote is full of distractions and for those of you who had your freshman defer a year, I think that was smart. So #2 on this list is very important because it's so easy to fall behind (parties, girls, baseball even in the age of covid). The problem is with 18/19-year-old young men is that they tend to learn by doing (falling behind) rather than by listening to advice. My son will be fine in the end but the midterm scramble to get grades up is just an unnecessary unforced error.