Obstacles Of Being A Collegiate Athlete

Growing up as a kid in the 21st century, you are always being told to make something of yourself. “Never let your talent be wasted.” “Do something with your life.” These are the ideals that my dad instills in me every morning as I prepare for school. He saw the potential in me but knew that there would be obstacles that could get in my way of my future, if I did not overcome them. The next phase of my life, as it is for most teens, would be college. Many teenagers desire the next level of education after high school, but with that, comes another increase in amounts of obstacles. The obstacles continue to increase if one gets the opportunity to play collegiate sports, which is a desire for many young athletes. Playing collegiate sports destroys
All you see, as a normal American citizen sitting at home, is the glam and fortune of these athletes as they score touchdowns, hit home runs, or make baskets, but what you do not see is the magnitude of hours spent studying and prepping for classes, with the little time they have to themselves. Studies undertaken by CBS News Team shows that, on average, college athletes practice from 7-9 hours a day; including evaluating film, to weights, and finally field or court time (1). Some may even say it is a full time job. This only leaves 3-5 hours maximum for college athletes to study so that they can still obtain the proper rest needed to function for the next day. Keep in mind that players will need time to actually go to classes, eat, and participate in many other daily activities. A childhood friend, Jacob, experienced this when he was recruited to play football for the University of Houston. “It felt like I could never get anything done. As soon as I got out of practice I had to go straight to class, and then I spent all night studying only to have to get up and do it all over again,” he stated. “I never had time for myself and I was constantly tired from the never ending cycle of football and academics.” He was constantly having to focus on activities that were not going to prepare him for his future. He felt that he did not have an adequate
The chances are slim to none to make a professional, well paid, team. Statistically, 1 out of every 150 high school athletes will go to college and participate in sports, followed by only 0.09 percent of those athletes advancing to a career in major league sports (NCAA Research, 1). Of those that do advance, the average time to play professional sports is three years. All of your hard work and time will be wasted on something that did not help you in the long run. These so called student are going to college solely to play sports, not get an