Our Students' and America's Love For Sports

THIS IS CHAPTER 7 FROM MY BOOK "HOW TO MESS UP THE AMERICAN EDUCATION SYSTEM"
Student-Athletes are many times (rightly or wrongly) perceived as leaders. Beginning in elementary school and especially in middle school/into high school, we must show student-athletes and their parents the benefits of being academically and character eligible for 4 year universities. It’s all a matter of priorities and focus PLUS all of the above and subsequent concepts discussed in this manual. 
The entire 365 student-athlete success system is based on being academically eligible as a regular student” for 4 year universities. In California (and most states), merit based grants kick in by having at least a 3.0 academic GPA. We have curriculum and workshops based on showing student-athletes the $80,000 plan. This plan really illustrates how to truly make yourself attractive to college coaches by having a 3.0 academic GPA or higher. This plan really illustrates how to make yourself attractive to college coaches by daily showing high quality character and leadership. There is so much emphasis on court, field, pool, etc... prowess in our society, it has diminished the focus on gaining knowledge and building character. The interactive Ebooks, the adjoining workbooks, the parent process manual, and PDF classes (outlined back in chapter two) all work 2gether to give educators, coaches, students, and parents 24/7 access to motivation, knowledge, and inspiration regarding the process of becoming a college student-athlete. The materials give you 24/7 access to what will build character skills that will serve you in your sport and (more importantly) for the rest of your life. The workshops for the students as well as for the parents lay the foundation for turning the tables on the existing system.  
FOR FREE LESSONS ON THIS TOPIC AND OTHER MINDFULNESS/MENTAL WELLNESS TOPICS GO TO 
the-365-success-system.teachable.com    
AND WHAT IS THE AMERICAN STUDENT-ATHLETE SYSTEM CURRENTLY DOING?

The American youth sports scene is lying to our kids...our families. This statement is coming from someone (me) that daily acknowledges and publicly states “Basketball saved my life”.  

Let me show you some statistics regarding the % of high school student-athletes that get an NCAA athletic scholarship. Actually these statistics reflect the % of high school athletes that compete in college sports. The % of those on scholarship is less.
Men’s Basketball 7.1% Women’s Basketball 3.8% Football 6.9% Women’s Track/Field 6.0% Men’s Track/Field 4.8%
Look! These are for Division I, II, and III! The % of high school men basketball players that play Division I collegiate basketball is 1.0%!! The % of high school women basketball players that play Division I collegiate basketball is 1.2%!Men’s Lacrosse is 12.4% but most of that is Division III. Women’s Lacrosse is 12.6% with most of those spots in Division III, also. You can go to http://www.ncaa.org/about/ resources/ research/estimated-probability-competing-college-athletics for the complete list. This chapter isn’t about squashing any kind of dreams. Go for it! But the system is banking (literally) on our kids’ mindset that sports is the only way to success. So, from someone who turned down scholarships out of high school and played Community College ball and then went to an excellent NAIA basketball school on an athletic scholarship go for it! BUT!!
The amount of athletic scholarships out there is like super little...the amount of academic based grants and scholarships is really, really way more. If you factor in economic need with an academic GPA of minimum 3.0...the amount of grants and scholarships goes up even more.
As you can see, we need to shift the emphasis of “sports are my way out of __________” to “academics and character are my way out of ___________” If you are in an AAU or 7 on 7 or Club Team situation and they don’t have a higher priority on academics vs athletics, you need to either find a situation that does OR create this new priority within your organization using my stuff or something like it. And hey, if your child/athlete is academic GPA 3.0 and above, character driven, mental health is strong, and just wants to gain athletic skills...it’s a great situation! The SportWorld SuperCamp back in the summers of 1977 and 1978 built my skills, gave me exposure to college coaches, and showed me I could hang with the best high school players in the western U.S.. But, my high school GPA was 3.0 including some honors classes...as the saying tells us “Where focus goes...energy flows”
Again, sports saved my life. It allowed me to be the only one in my family to go to college. It formed my whole world-view. It broke down societal issues for me. It gave me an outlet to show the character I was building. However, Youth sports has been co- opted by greed, power, money. Are there exceptions? Certainly. The vast majority, however, of organizations parents pay money to for “athletic exposure” don’t care about the whole child. We need to collectively change this system.
LISTEN! WHEN WE CHANGE THE FOCUS OF ATHLETICS AS THE WAY OUT...WE WILL CUT THE SO CALLED “ACHIEVEMENT GAP” IN HALF IN A VERY SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME. IT’S A REALLY IMPORTANT WAY TOMESS UP THE SYSTEM.
PROVIDE REAL MENTAL HEALTH ASSISTANCE

The statistics in Chapter One show how we as the American Education System are truly letting down our students and families. We are amazingly letting down our student-athletes and their families as well. As Phil Jackson states “We spend so much time lifting weights, making our bodies stronger...but so little time in strengthening our mind.” We have to stop having our children identify only as an athlete. Why tell you that??? Because I have a lot of my former students that were massively successful (Professionally and Division I) in their chosen sport tell me to tell you that. I mean, let’s look at this whole sports thing in a positive light. Your child/student gets into a Division I program. The athlete will be in meeting after meeting...Workout after Workout...Practice after Practice...Flight after Flight. They will have to fight for their “education”...especially if they are in one of the big money making sports. Let’s say they make it to the professional level. They play...make some money... then they’re 26 and their body wears down or someone younger took their spot. What do they do for the next 74 years of their life??? 

We have to make mental health a priority for our middle school and high school student-athletes. The PDF classes and Ebooks listed in Chapter Two are a big part of meeting that need. What’s interesting is, when mental health improves...performance in the sport improves. Anxiety amongst athletes is real...Depression amongst athletes is real...Our kids deserve our help. There has to be a massive and precise system of finding students and student- athletes in need of mental health assistance and then provide the assistance.
IT STARTS TODAY! 2gether we will!!