I found this masterpiece of what it takes to play College baseball and the choices and questions that need to be asked. Not sure if it has been posted before but I hope it will help some people.
https://new.berecruited.com/at...r-get-asked-to-leave
36 Reasons Why 33% of College Athletes Quit, Cut or Get Asked To Leave!
January 13, 2014
36 Reasons Why 33% of College Athletes Quit, Get Cut or Get Asked To Leave!
If you know any high school juniors or seniors who are in the college selection process or any college athlete who is struggling with lack of playing time or is contemplating quitting send them this blog entry, it might really help them!
-------------------------
My name is Zac Corona; I am a redshirt freshman baseball player at Delta State University. DSU is one of the most successful NCAA baseball schools in the United States. I play for a baseball legend, a winner and a great man. His name is Mike Kinnison he is not only an incredible baseball coach but a constant mentor. I have been at DSU since the Fall Semester of 2011. Every semester I come back to DSU, an athlete has quit, an athlete drops out or an athlete is asked to leave. Attrition occurs in college athletics at all levels of the NCAA.
--------------------------
33% Will Quit or Asked to Leave Before They Graduate
No matter how much a recruit falls in love with the school, the sport, the facilities nearly 33% will quit or be asked to leave before they graduate. The scenario of quitting or failing is far from unique.
Brown University Statistic: Nearly one-third of the recruited athletes in the class of 2011 — 70 out of 221 — had quit their sports by November 2010, according to a report submitted to the provost by the Compliance Office. Director of Athletics Michael Goldberger, who said the numbers are very similar year to year.
------------------------------------
The 36 Reasons Why College Athletes Quit, Get Cut or Get Asked To Leave
Skill Level Not Good Enough /No Playing Time
Reason 1: Many high school stars get cut from their college teams because the player is not good enough for college competition.
Reason 2: Because the school recruits better freshman and transfers. Many juniors and seniors are replaced by these players.
Reason 3: Lack of playing time is another reason for attrition. Many athletes quit because their playing time is dramatically reduced which creates discouragement and eventually leads the player to quit.
----------
Work Ethic and Desire Not Strong Enough, Can’t Handle College Level of Competition
Reason 4: The athlete no longer has the passion to practice, excel or work at his/her sport full-time.
Reason 5: The athlete is not competitive enough on a daily basis.The athlete does not give 100% effort in practice drills everyday. The athlete cannot handle the day to day grind of college athletics practice preparation.
Reason 6: The athlete does not work hard enough in the off season. The athlete is not a dedicated 12-month athlete.
Reason 7: The athlete does not individually train enough outside of team practices. To become better athletes must individually train during their sport’s season.
Reason 8: The best schools bring in a large recruiting class every year which means you have to earn your position every year. Many athletes cannot handle that constant competition during the offseason and in practice. The competition becomes greater every year; it also makes the older players (juniors & seniors) more expendable.
Reason 9: The college competition for playing time is taxing and constant. This puts the athlete under so much stress to perform many cannot handle that expectation level. Many athletes that quit say "it wasn't fun anymore".
Reason 10: Many athletes go into culture shock because it no longer feels like youth sports, highschool sports or club AAU sports. Many college head coaches don't even talk to their athletes. Only the assistant coaches talk to the athletes. Being a college athlete is a job that requires 100% committment and annual improvement for you to keep your annually renewable scholarship.
------------------
Player Too Focused on College Lifestyle or Not Mature Enough
Reason 11:The player spending too much time drinking and chasing the other sex.
Reason 12: The player does not take their student athlete responsibilities seriously enough. Many atheletes are very socially immature and it causes them to fail in college.
Reason 13: Some players get kicked out of school for illegal drug use, underage drinking or on campus drinking.
------------------
Parents or Student Athlete Selected the Wrong Coach or Wrong School
Reason 14: Many college athletes are so focused on only playing for a Division 1 school that they impulsively accept a smaller division one offer because its divsion one. That socially driven decision soon becomes that college athlete’s worst nightmare. Many of these athletes will end up at three different schools during their four years of eligibility. Being at three different colleges kills continuity for the athlete and usually makes their college athletic career very unrewarding college experience. Unfortunately many end up quitting the sport forever.
Reason 15: Many parents don’t interview the coach enough, selecting the wrong coach is a huge mistake. My father told me "if the coach doesn't love your skill set you are not going to that school. Most parents don't do this, remember recruiting is a courtship, if the courtship isn't close to perfect the relationship will probably fail. Its the same in selecting a coach/mentor. You are not playing for a school you are playing for a coach, if that coach isn't extremely confident in you as a student athlete you are going to have a miserable college athletic experience. Interview the coach a couple of times on the telephone and in person.
Ask the coach:
*What do you like/love about my skills?
*Why do you think I will succeed at your school?
*Where do you see me in two years?
This is your decision, this has to be right. Select the best coach to help you succeed. This coach will be your mentor for the next 4-5 years.
You need to make the right choice if you want a rewarding college athletic experience.
Reason 16: Many schools and certain teams have a very definite culture, that culture might not fit the college athlete’s personality or the athlete's work ethic. Ask the coach about the school's and team's culture.
Questions like:
*What kind of athlete succeeds the most at this school and on your team?
*What is expected of me?
Without asking these questions the athlete's career usually ends badly.
***Reasons 14-16 could all be avoided if the family and student athlete:
*Do not panic and make a quick decision on a college selection.
*Thoroughly research each school and each coach.
*Don’t make a social decision ( a decision that is made to impress your friends or family).
Here is the real truth. no one cares if you are playing D1, D2, D3 or NAIA. That’s all ego and those types of decisions never end well.
Ask Yourself:
*Why would you select a coach who does not love your skill set?
*Why would go to a school that you are never going to get off the bench?
College athletics is probably the last time you will play an organized sport under a governing body, make it count. There are no do overs!
--------------------
Time Commitment Too Great
Reason 17: Many college athletes are not able to balance both academics and a full-time college sport.
Reason 18: Some athletes simply do not want to keep up with the time commitment that their sport requires.
Reason 19: Many great high school athletes who dominate their sport in high school show up on campus and get overwhelmed by their sport’s
requirements. After the first week of practice many athletes realize that they are not as good as they thought they were.
--------------------
Academically Not Mature or Motivated Enough
Reason 20: Many players fail out academically or get put on academic probation.
Reason 21: Many players can’t focus on studying after 3-5 hour practices.
---------------------
Home Sick / Miss Family
Reason 22: Some players have been brought up very ethnic and very family oriented. Many of these types of players cannot live away from
home because they miss their family and home too much.
----------------------
Injuries
Reason 23: Injuries sometimes creates a lesser athlete. Many athletes becomes less effective based on physical limitations after an injury. The bodies of athletes at the age of 20-24 become injured more than 15-19 year olds athletes. When you get hurt you become a lone wolf, you have to rehabilitate by yourself. Its very lonely and you don't feel like your part of the team. It's very discouraging.
Reason 24: Some athletes have career ending injuries.
--------------------------
Coach Change /Playing Style Change
Reason 25:When a head coach loses confidence in a player that results in less playing time.
Reason 26:When a head coach changes his/her playing style that results in less playing time for some existing players. The coach will also recruit different type of players to fit the new style.
Reason 26: When the head coach who recruited you gets fired that results in the new coach bringing in their type of players.
----------------------------
Mentally Not Tough Enough / Mentally Not Prepared
Reason 27: Non-prepared players and not mentally tough players
get overwhelmed with the daily competition and the 12-hour a day schedule. Coddled high school players hardly ever make it in college athletics.
Reason 28: Players that are not mentally tough miss the
constant reassurance and praise of high school athletics and club team
athletics.
Reason 29: Many times high school star players who have
experienced very little adversity at the high school level are sometimes not tough enough mentally. In college. competition is everyday in every drill. Many stars in highschool never had to compete everyday and many times they are not tough enough to handle the criticism and competition at this level. They can’t handle not being the star anymore.
Reason 30: Many times players that have always played for
family members and never had to compete for playing time are not tough enough to handle the competition to play.
------------------------
Team is Terrible / University not Invested in Your Sport
Reason 31: Some players quit because of their college team’s poor performance. Many athletes feel that their team has little room for improvement over the next 4-years so they quit. Why work this hard if the team always loses.
Reason 32: Some players realize that their university or college
is not truly invested in their sport. This becomes very discouraging and many athletes quit. This is why you need to interview the coach and other players. You have to find out if the school is vested financially in your sport winning. The athlete's only choice is to quit or transfer to a school that is truly invested in their sport succeeding.
------------------------
Life Goals Change /Passion Lost
Reason 33: Sometimes the athlete’s interest as a student athlete change. Some athletes grow intellectually in college and their life goals shift to where sports becomes less of an interest.
Reason 34: For 98% of all college athletes the only incentive to play is if they love the sport, and some college athletes just lose their passion and love for their sport.
Reason 35: Many athletes don’t get the same internal fulfillment in college as they did in highschool. Athletics is much less social in college and that is disheartening for many athletes.
---------------------------
Want a Greater Social Life / Want to Be a Regular Student
Reason 36: Some players do not want to give up almost all of their free time to compete in college. Their social life is a priority and they don’t want their social life to be stripped bare due to their 12-hour a day student athlete commitment.
-----------------
The Quitting Facts
Fact 1: The facts are that most student-athletes who drop their sports do so between their sophomore and junior years. Unfortunately reality does set in their junior year in college. If they are not playing — and the opportunity to play is limited as a junior — that’s where many college athletes drop-off and quit. Many college athletes see the end in sight and start getting involved in their major and other socially fulfilling activities.
Fact 2: It’s also a fact that more female athletes drop their sports than male athletes. Female athletes are six times more likely to drop their sports than male athletes through high school and college. Many women quit more often because they have less attachment to their sports, according to the Women’s Sports Foundation.
-------------------
*Many athletes really enjoyed playing, and they are completely dedicated, but the sport becomes too much for many.
*It becomes really hard and many just can’t handle it.
*Unfortunately, the facts are that when a school gives you an athletic scholarship, they own your time. It’s no longer a sport it’s a job and most kids can’t handle that type of full-time commitment.
*The bottom line is that college athletics is a full-time job. Most athletes love playing sports at the club ball level and in high school, it’s not the same feeling in college, it’s a business.
--------------------------
Its A Dream Playing College Sports But Demands a Full-Time Committment
It’s a dream for most high school athletes to earn an athletic scholarship, but most don’t count on a schedule that starts at 7 a.m. then requires the athlete to be in the locker room by noon to prepare for a four-hour shift of afternoon practices and weight-lifting sessions. Travel to games forced atheltes to miss exams and classes. There are also mandatory team meetings, study halls and weekend practices.
The demands of a college sport and your academic schoolwork will leave you with very little time for a social life. For many student atheletes that structure is a good thing. Being accountable between the ages of 18-24 is a good way to stay focused, but for some it’s just too much.
It’s a fact that college athletes are more productive than just college students, they get pregnant less, they fail out less and they are monitored more. It’s not fun but it’s fulfilling!
Its a Good Paying Job Playing College Sports
When a private school costs more than $40,000 a year to attend and the school is paying you $19,000 to play a sport. At 18-23, there is no one out there anywhere who is going to pay you that kind of money to do anything. And that’s how you have to look at this: It’s a job, but it’s a great job.”
Many Ex-College Athletes Regret Their College Experience Because They Didn't Give 100% Effort
Many college athletes do regret not using their college sports and academic time in college more productively. Many spent too much time time drinking and chasing the other sex. Obviously thats a lot of fun but your college athletic career is extremely short and many waste it not being focused. You can never get that time back.
I have found that many kids after college feel the same way. It’s hard to be focused like a mature adult when you are in college but it does pay off for the minority of college athletes who do.
-------------------
Quitting is common in college athletics and in life.
College sports are an enormous time commitment with multiple practices a day, games during the week, and tournaments out of state. College sports does not fill the same role as sports do in high school, Playing sports in college is about winning and competing at the highest level to help your team
and your college, it’s serious.
-------------------------
When College Athletes Fail-Coaches Get Fired!
Failure means many coaches will lose their jobs, it’s not high school fun anymore, it’s a business. It’s not a high school adventure anymore it’s a college Job and full-time responsibility.
-----------------------------
College Sports is More Fulfilling Than Real-World Work!
Some athletes are able to manage the student-athlete committment and some cannot. Whenever I talk to my father he always mentions that work is never as fulfilling as college sports. Being a full-fledged adult with many responsibilities is much harder than being a college athlete. He knows he played two different sports in college. He tells me
"If you can’t handle this college athletic work load now are you going to handle a job, kids and a full-time spouse?"
-----------------------------
Wrong School /Wrong Coach
Another reason for athletes quit sports in college is based on going to the wrong school or playing for the wrong coach. A bad coach can ruin an athlete’s confidence and make them hate the sport. My dad and I took our time selecting the right school and especially the right coach. Many athletes and families are not as thorough and diligent in selecting the right coach.
-----------------------------
You are a Student-Athlete Not a College Student
Many coaches try to warn recruits before they accept athletic aid. Many coaches tell their recruits that being a division one student-athlete is a full-time job. “It’s not even close to being a normal college student”.
-----------------------------
A Division 1 Student-Athletes Interview
The Division I athletes interviewed indicated that:
*They devoted at least four hours a day to their sport, not counting the time it takes to play or to travel to games.
*Classes must be scheduled in the early morning to free the afternoon for practices and games.
*Practices often last from 4 to 6:30 p.m., although several athletes talked about how they had to arrive early for treatment of injuries or to have old injuries taped or harnessed. Highly competitive, demanding practices come next.
*There is often a team dinner, perhaps a short meeting and a mandatory study hall in some cases.
*Weekday away games, which are common, can mean a bus ride that begins at 1 p.m. and a return trip that reaches campus at 10 p.m.
-----------------------------------
College Athletics Not a Social Club
A senior All-Big East soccer goalie, said it was usually first-year players who slipped up. “They get to college and want to be normal college students on a Friday night,” the seniors had to raid parties to usher the first-year players out of a building so they would head home to bed. “You have to make them understand that our team is not a social club.”
--------------------------------------
None-Revenue College Athletics Have to do Extra Work
Athletes from the nonrevenue sports also customarily have to do extra work on campus to raise money to pay for equipment or apparel not normally financed by the athletic department, like warm-up jackets.
A scholarship swimmer at a private division 1 northeast school had to cut short her Thanksgiving Day break at home last year because the swim team had agreed to clean the garbage from the football stadium bleachers to pay for some expenses.
“Look, we are fortunate to be athletes and we get tuition money to do it,” a scholarship swimmer added. “I have loved my time here. I’m going to get a prestigious degree, and I know there are a lot of people who would have wanted to trade places with me.
But I’d still say division one athletics is not meant for everybody.
Nobody tells you that.”
----------------------------
18 Life Lessons for Struggling College Athletes:
Lesson 1: Winners don’t give up. They just don’t. They get hurt. They feel pain. They cry. But they keep going.
Lesson 2: There is always a very good and logical reason to give up. That doesn’t mean it’s the right decision to make.
Lesson 3: You can always find friends and family members who agree that you should quit, ask yourself do those people have the life and
success that you want?
*Would the most determined or successful person you know agree with you quitting?
Lesson 4: The difference between winning and losing in college athletics usually just comes down to:
*Which athlete is the most focused in improving and winning.
*The athlete who has the most determination not to lose.
*The athlete who has the greatest personal work ethic outside of team practices.
* The athlete who can outlast the current bad situation.
The most talented and most liked athlete doesn’t always win in the long-term. Life is full of examples of this.
Lesson 5: What you think about and say the most you will eventually
do. If you constantly talk about quiiting you will eventually quit. Winning college athletes make time to think beyond the stress they are facing right now.
Lesson 6: If you keep practicing with volunteer coaches and keep moving towards where you want to be, you’ll eventually end up there.
You will also be respected by your assistant coaches and by your the head coach.
That extra work might lead to a game opportunity you didn’t expect. Practice harder when you are hurting the most. Work on your weaknesses, make them a non-weakness. Give your coaches a reason to play you.
Lesson 7: Always remember that the most important power in
the world is “will power”. If you “will” your goal of playing time then personally winning will eventually happen. It might not happen at your current school but it will at the school you transfer to.
Lesson 8: Just because you don’t know the exact next step to
take or the outcome it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take a next step in terms of effort, attitude and extra training.
Lesson 9: The first and most important step is believing in you. If you don’t believe in yourself, no else’s opinion or support will be enough to motivate you to keep moving towards your personal college athletic success.
Lesson 10: College athletic success comes down to the little things — self-belief, courage, and a relentless pursuit of your dreams of playing. This will happen if you really outwork and out believe your current reality.
Lesson 11: No amount of intellectual data can persuade you to stay engaged emotionally when you just want to quit, it’s important to see a
school psychologist or a really successful athlete to improve your current mindset.
Quitting is the easiest decision to make, every time you quit it easier to quit the next time. If you were an adult parent and had a child would you let them quit?
Lesson 12: The most likely winner isn’t always the person who ends up winning or getting the most playing time. Perseverance and having guts
to finish what you started matters for the rest of your life.
Quitting does nothing to improve your self-image or your confidence. The majority of the time the best coaches in all sports are not the superstars it’s the grinders.
The most financially successful are not always the Mensa graduates it’s the most talented, the most focused and the visionaries. The most consistent executives who have big dreams and believe in themselves are the people who improve the world "innovators".
Lesson 13: Stop the quitting habit; it’s a life success killer. Just because you gave up one time isn’t a good excuse for you to keep
giving up.
Lesson 14: Not playing, failing and being a bench player sucks. You’ll feel better when you get to where you want to be. It just hurts until you get there.
Lesson 15: Learning to “tough it out” is a life-long skill
worth mastering, 95% of athletes don’t learn how to“tough it out”.
Lesson 16: Don’t fail at the most important task (being a successful student-athlete).
*Becoming more social doesn’t give you a better self-image.
*Having a mate doesn’t give you a better self-worth.
*Personal achievement is the only way to improve your self-image “tough it out”.
*You will respect you!
Lesson 17: Many of your college team athletes might be better than you. Many might be faster, stronger and more athletic than you.
For you to win you have to become more focused, more motivated and less accepting of being just a reserve.
Use successful mentors (winners) not Facebook friends to keep you motivated. Prove to youryour coaches that you have more heart, that you can outhustle and outwork the better athletes. Compete in practice at every drill like it was the most important drill of your life. Keep fighting for your personal goal, great things will manifest because of your personal determination.
Lesson 18: Life will be 100% unfulfilling when you quit, finally
nothing else matters that much if you aren’t willing to tough it out. Your college athletic career is a finite career.
Its really short but it's worth fighting for. You have made it this far, now finish your college athletic career with glory and pride!
No real world job will ever give you the feeling of succeeding like college athletics does.
Go for it & Make it Happen!!!
.... 