Let’s take it back to June of my junior year in high school. THE RECRUITING PROCESS. Man! I was set on where I wanted to go, and who I wanted to play for: University X. I originally didn’t really care to play college ball, but then a shift in my game and the way I saw the court opened up …
You are what you post
“Don’t ever let a 140 character Tweet cost you $140,000” -Jamy Bechler (Leadership expert and former college basketball coach) Why is it that the things we love sometimes are so bad for us? For example: if we eat too much candy, we’ll get cavities, and if we shop too much, we’ll have no money. Sometimes, the negative effects of our …
Confessions from the bench
If you’re a high school basketball player, you probably hope to get a scholarship to your Dream School. You anxiously wait for the brief check-in emails and phone calls from college coaches. You put up your biggest smile to mask your fear when visiting your Dream Team. If someone asks you, “Are you sure you want to do this?” you …
My DIII Coach
My coach from high school was just inducted into my home state’s Coach Hall of Fame. By number of wins, many consider him to be most successful high school coach of all time. In any sport. As a result, our team did great things, including winning a national high school championship. In fact, every player on our high school team …
Why I Chose Ivy League
One athlete’s decision between an Ivy League program, and a traditional Division I powerhouse. I distinctly remember my first recruiting visit to a big-time school. It was on a Saturday—the day of their first home football game. I was invited to go onto the football field with the basketball coaches before the game. I remember the privileged and special feeling …
Transferring: Advice from a former DI and DII college athlete
Why one college basketball player decided to transfer — and what you can learn from it. My lifelong dream was to play Division I college basketball. I grew up in a very competitive family. Both my dad and uncle played college football in the Big Ten, and I attended my brother’s football, basketball and baseball games from a young age. My brother’s …
Ozell Williams is a symptom of a bigger problem in amateur sports.
What Coach Williams did was wrong. But society’s attitudes towards coaches and athletics are just as much to blame. Something disturbing happened at East High School’s recent summer cheer camp: teenage athletes were held down and physically forced into the splits, while screaming in pain and begging for it to stop. East HS is located in Denver, and its cheer …
Good athlete? You’d make a great employee.
How I realized that playing basketball made me better at everything else. When I was a kid, there were two things I loved: basketball, and learning. I used to play basketball until my arms and face were coated in sticky sweat, and then go up to my room to read aloud to my stuffed animals (they were great listeners). When …
The life of a college walk-on
J.J. Watt. Clay Matthews. Scottie Pippen. These three sport icons all have one thing in common: each of them was a college walk-on. Looking at the athletic success they’ve each achieved, few would realize the barriers they overcame. However, for walk-ons to succeed, they all need the same thing: determination, and a shot. I was a college walk-on. Like many …
Don’t get screwed by college sports: get a good degree
It’s an awesome opportunity to play sports in college. Your teammates serve as a built-in group of friends, you get cool gear, and an athletic scholarship can even pay for part or all of your education. What could go wrong? Well, if your “education” actually means earning a degree in something worthless, a lot. There’s a funny thing going on …
