Being A College Athlete

I will be raising some differences and some similarities between college athletics and professional athletics and show how each pertains to social and individual obligations. I would like to first talk about some advantages of being a college athlete. First of all, there are no trade possibilities. Depending on the performance in the games, one may be set back to a non-starter role, but will still be part of the same team as long as the academic GPA is at, or above, the passing level. If not, a player could be suspended from the team until such levels are met. However, this can go either way. I also believe there is much more pressure to excel in college sports, due to the fact that people need to perform at their very best each and
every day to advance to the next level in their sport. More on individualism, due to the fact the player must make a name for themselves in order to have a better chance to be able to advance to the next level of competition. It can play a part on the social aspect, whereas if a player does not give their 110% ever game, their performance can and will affect the fans, team and even future scouting prospects. There is also the position notoriety factor that plays into this as well. In college athletics, one is usually up against similar to lesser skilled athletes; therefore it is not as difficult to compete for a role on the team. This can affect both social and individual aspects, since there may be less players trying out for the said position. It could be easier for a player to be selected based on this. Some of the disadvantages in college athletics will be discussed next, starting with the rules of the NCAA. Some of these rules state that athletes cannot accept meals, clothing cars, car repairs, allowances, or money from friends, coaches, boosters, agents, and so on. Players cannot even take part in interviews. This can affect the social and individual aspects of playing on a college sports team. Social, because some of these items could sway the player’s decision where they choose to play if advanced to the next level; individual, since all of these items help the player live and maintain a better style of living while in school. Injuries can affect a player’s social and individual mentality and how it affects or could affect their career. Injuries are the nemesis of a player. In the social arena, they would be off the team until possible rehab is complete, if return is even an option. It can also affect the individual in that having an injury could determine the player’s eligibility to perform at the next level and could place them at a different style of living than where one would want to be if there was no injury at all. Poor performance on the field is also attributed to a disadvantage of college athletics. This lack of performing at the highest level or doing the best one can possible do can be detrimental to the player’s future. Performances below standard will almost definitely drop the value of the player when being selected into the next level of competition, if they are even considered to be eligible or good enough to participate. Education is, in my opinion, the most critical criteria that a college athlete must face in order to maintain a relationship with any extracurricular activity.
Education needs to be placed on the forefront, while athletics should come after, regardless of how good the athlete may be in his or her choice of sport. Unfortunately, this is a drawback for some athletes – having to maintain their eligibility. Some students maintain great grades during high school and possibly are awarded a scholarship to a school of higher learning so to speak. When all too often, the only reason they are awarded to go there is to play the sport they excel in. These actions can and will play an important part in the athlete’s future, if they do not have a back-up plan in academics. I remember not too long ago, a few high school graduates that were awarded scholarships to college to play football. I had asked one of the students what study they were majoring in. They said to me they did not know, they were going to be in home economics course to start. I think all too often, some colleges focus on the person as a whole. With this continually happening year after year, one would have to ask themselves how smart the children are in our society, or does it even matter as long as they can throw the ball seventy
yards? Some advantages of being a professional athlete include, the money they make while playing the game they worked hard for all their life. Contracts are large enough to afford an easy retirement after the first signing. Obviously, the money factor plays a part in everything that someone does. With that being said, a player’s social and individual life is better since they can afford to purchase beautiful homes, cars, etc. These people can afford lives of luxury rather than live paycheck to paycheck. In professional sports, I believe there is less competition compared to college sports. Typically, on a baseball team, one could be trying out against one or two other players to make it into the starting line-up. There could be some changes in the line-up or even using players in positions to justify the odds of certain things that happen during the competition. This would most definitely create more of a teamwork atmosphere among the players, and the fans would appreciate what they were doing for the good of the team. There are also no rules in professional sports that hold back players on making money.
Players can have sponsors, commercials, schedule speaking engagements, etc. These things are focused on the individual and social atmosphere. One can get to see their favorite player at speaking engagements and interact with them. Quite a few athletes are on commercials promoting products as well Disadvantages of being a professional athlete include injuries. As I had stated earlier, injuries affect both the player as an individual and also their social structure. With an injury to a professional athlete, it can be a sign of things to come in a player’s career. One injury leads to another and the next thing that happens; the player may be out of a job. The team is also affected due to this, since they may have to incorporate a back-up player into the position until the injured person is able to return, if at all. Money management in professional sports is usually not talked about too much in the public. It is however, an important subject for the player to be able to know who to trust when dealing with his or her capital. Sports agents would have to be monitored closely by the player and be sure all monies that are owed to them are sorted out
accordingly. Another disadvantage, I believe, is the high visibility professional athletes have-every day, every game. The media and the public take every opportunity to scrutinize professional athletes on the performance of a play, or lack thereof. Due to this scrutiny, player’s self esteem can be altered, whether it is good or bad. Also the public listens to all scrutiny by the media, since they make it so easy for us as the public to buy into their opinion. In conclusion, it is my opinion that within these two groups; the college athletes and the professional athletes, that regardless of the levels of competition and the different rules they may have, they both are very similar, looking at the broad picture of their social interactions and how they may be affected as individuals.