College athletes and time management

Sherman is dead on. 

The one fallacy that he is helping to carry on with his comments is the "free education" line.  I am sure he got a free education, most college athletes do not.  Even most college football players.  

Most college baseball player get zero money, or very little.  Their day on average probably runs from 6 am until 7 or so pm, not counting home work and personal study time.  

So it goes.  

Love him or hate him...

 

The first time I paid any attention to Richard Sherman was when he went on that tirade while being interviewed after winning a playoff game.  Not sure if hate is the right word, but certainly no love.

 

Since then I have learned a lot about this guy.  He is very special.  Not sure love is the right word, but definitely changed my mind and certainly no hate.

Like PG, Sherman just came across wrong to me. The more that I read, the more I like about him.

 

I will also admit that I didn't like Andrew McCutchen when I first saw him. Then I started reading articles about him and now he is one of my favorite non-Cardinals.

I had a similar metamorphosis on Richard - and I watched him play in college a lot.  In college, he transitioned from a very good receiver to an elite DB.  He is very articulate, yet comes from a tough, tough background.  He's someone who definitely beat the odds and I really respect that a lot!

 

I think Richard is spot on too.  I understand the point on full rides above.  But I put this up to hopefully have a place where parents see, from a visible athlete, what being a college athlete is really like.  It is HARD - and I think its important, among many other factors, to try and honestly assess whether or not your son (or daughter) is ready for this.

Time management is so important to any college student. But for a student-athlete, it's imperative.  I feel it starts in HS, particularly for those student-athletes where academics just doesn't come easily.  And if one thinks being a student-athlete is "hard" in HS, college is way, way harder.  I found a surprising amount of college student-athletes just don't make is past their Freshman year because they just can't manage the load. That sometimes makes me wonder how they ever got recruited in the first place.

Throwing 90+ hides a lot of flaws.

lol. . .yeah, you're right about that.  And throw in some booster parents too. 

As the parent of three boys (one graduated, two still in college)I think time management by itself is a concern for any college freshmen parent.  I can't help wondering if they are prioritizing and taking care of business first.  

 

Looking back, I don't know how my parents did it because they had plenty to be concerned about.  

nice video, he makes some good points...very well spoken. Maybe if I got to listen to him more I would hate him less - the truth is I don't get to listen him very often but I do get to see his actions in between plays every weekend in the fall and I still hate those. it is hard to separate the words from the deeds, maybe if he played for a coach who...oh never mind I am sticking with hate Seattle across the board.

 

I do think we can all agree Mr. Sherman is much better mouthpiece for the organization then Mr Lynch!!

One of the brightest, most eloquent professionals today.

 

Topical, but it would be more relevant if there was something similar from a Drew Storen/ Steve Piscotty.

 

How the hell did Andrew Luck major in Engineering? His brain must weigh 30 pounds.

However, he does get jersey colors mixed up a lot.

Stanford does out outstanding job of helping their student-athletes in an accommodating way that the athlete get the classes they need for whatever major they might have.  From my experience at Stanford, I don't thing any other college does it better.

I've never been a fan of Sherman's on field behavior. But  was smart enough to draw publicity to himself. Away from the game he's intelligent and articulate. He's from Compton. He's a shining examples there aren't any excuses in life. There are only obstacles to hurdle.

On a serious note, one of my top questions for a university (that I hope my son will listen to as a criteria) is the academic/tutoring/guidance assistance that they provide athletes in staying on course for their degree.  My niece had an athletic four year ride at TAMU, and her parents said that basically, you have to mess up to not get a degree.  The academics was highly emphasized by the University and Athletic Department.

Good points--a little different persona than the Sherman-Erin Andrews interview. He puts things in perspective. After-all they are student -athletes, not athletes-students. Son is finding out that majoring in engineering is difficult path but doable. Definitely not for everyone.

Luck was an architectural design major.  Still not easy, but I don't think it is considered engineering.

Couple of notes...

Topical, but it would be more relevant if there was something similar from a Drew Storen/ Steve Piscotty.

I know Drew quite well.  I know his father even better.  Drew played with our son at Stanford, and now as a teammate with the Nationals.  In fact, I saw Drew and talked with him just this past weekend in DC.  Really, really nice young man. Always has been.  They were both at Stanford at the same time as Richard Sherman.  I am quite confident Drew (and our son too cause I've heard nearly all of this from him personally) would say nearly all of the same things Richard did...'cept for the fully free education part. 

On a serious note, one of my top questions for a university (that I hope my son will listen to as a criteria) is the academic/tutoring/guidance assistance that they provide athletes in staying on course for their degree.

Having experienced Stanford firsthand with our older son, it may surprise you to know that they are pretty hands-off until you request help.  Different experience than our younger son at Washington where 'help' was applied in a mandatory manner from day-1.  As a parent, I probably liked the 2nd approach better.  Both seemed to work though...graduation rates at both schools were at or near 100%.

If my son was good enough I would love for him to go to Stanford, Northwestern, Rice, Military Academies or Notre Dame where academics are put first.

 

 

It was years ago but I majored in Engineering and played baseball.  I was late to practice on either Tue or Thur in the fall due to a lab and I brought books on road trips but it really isn't THAT hard to do.

My son is taking all AP in HS, fall ball, and another EC club.   Trying to get him in good habits at home before he heads to college.

I teach in the one of the STEM fields at UNC-CH and can tell you rigorous science programs make it very hard for student athletes.  Predominantly because of the multiple labs per week. All that said, however, when I have had a student athlete in one of my classes they have never been whiners or have asked for special dispensations. Over their short HS and College careers they have been forced to develop uber organizational skills that they use to cope with the work load. Just this week I chatted with a junior/senior softball player in my advanced class and asked if she was a student athlete.  She didn't even want to confirm it, her words were only... I've got it covered... don't worry about it...

 

Kudos to all student athletes who've got it covered on their own... through F'ing hard work...

 

 

Well, you guys at UNC-CH did take a black eye in your attempts to "help out"  student athletes recently.  So maybe they have become especially wary about wanting or seeking help ....   

 

That's a joke, by the way  -- I hope not too tasteless seeming.  

 

The particular people involved with that particular scandal actually betrayed a great university and betrayed the student athletes they were trying to "help."  I believe their hearts were in the right place.   But they made things worse not better.  

 

 

I love Richard Sherman.  Love the way he plays.  Love the way he is willing to speak the truth --directly and forcibly.  Really upset me that he got labelled a "thug" by certain people so easily.   

poke in the eye taken in the intended (good) spirit...  I knew I was putting myself out there for a bit of ribbin...  I can take it, but like you, I'm quite certain that the non-revenue programs are wearing more crap than they deserve to be and are a bit sensitive about it and are trying to keep a low profile.  I have a student athlete of my own and so i can appreciate all the competing demands on their time better than most of my colleagues, who only see the (never-ending) bad headlines. 

 

I wouldn't wish the level of scrutiny UNC has been under on any other athletic program in the country... even those i despise.

 

 

Please excuse the language but this was hilarious, and consistent with everything I've heard about RS:

http://deadspin.com/richard-sh...s-priceles-922762394

Make sure he is also doing his own laundry and getting up on his own (with an alarm) and all will be well. 

Timely topic for me.  My son is a freshman in the Patriot League and has been at school for one month.  He is doing well but he is amazed at how little free time he has.  He and all of his freshman teammates complain about two things, being tired and being hungry.  I was not surprised that they are tired, but the hungry part is interesting, as the meal plan he is on allows him to three all you can eat meals a day.  With all the lifting, running and practice that's not enough.  We were up for parents weekend last week and I dropped off a bag of protein powder and this seems to have helped.  The good news is that he seems to be managing his time well and is happy, so its all good...so far.

My son's program seems to be something of a laggard in getting the guys out on the field in an organized team fashion.   I was chalking this up to it being a D3.  But I gather from some conversations and posts on this board that even  some D3 have already held first team scrimmages.  At his school, they are doing weights in an organized fashion, but everything else is still up to the players.  No scrimmages,  No team practices.   I wonder what's up with that.  Maybe it has something to do with  cold weather vs warm weather locales.  I mean down in So Cal they've got a long time left during which they can still be  outdoors.  Maybe in some places, you don't want to be outdoors come November, say.   So perhaps you get your off season allowed coach supervised practices in earlier.   But that's just a guess.