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Control the Process; Don't Let the Process Control You

I recently had the great privilege of serving on a select panel in Webster, NY for the presentation of Mr. Bob Bigelow.  Bob is a former first-round draft choice who played four years in the NBA.  

He competed collegiately at the prestigious University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. More recently, Bob co-authored the book Just Let Kids Play, and he has conducted more than 500 presentations like the one I attended throughout the country.  The focus of these talks is the importance of sports in a child’s life. Bob is a perfect example of how gifted athletes can leverage their athletic skill as a marketing tool to a great education. The Ivy League’s U Penn is an awesome school academically, where "special" players like Bigelow can take advantage of the quality education they received as a result of their athletic prowess. 

Though the audience appeared to hang on each of Bob’s comments, I was concerned that they may have missed some of his key points.  During the Q&A session following Bob’s presentation, their questions were targeted more on the pressures that come with being a "one sport" athlete, athletic scholarships, and the inconvenience of year-round competition.  I was unsettled that the focus of the audience was not on how sports can contribute positively to a child’s life, but instead on the burden to be borne by the student-athlete and their parents that seem to overpower every aspect of what should be a positive experience.  I hope I am wrong, but my fear was that these folks have overlooked the wonderful opportunities and benefits that come from participating in athletic programs at all levels. 

In my experience, as kids develop their athletic skills and preferences, they also intensify their aspiration to play at the next level.  I’ve learned that participation in athletics can be an extremely powerful and effective tool in marketing the student-athlete for college.  Applying one’s athletic abilities as leverage to gain acceptance into a higher academic institution is a mighty powerful motivation.  With every passing day, the expectations of college admissions personnel intensify, and student-athletes need every bit of ammunition they can assemble to make the strongest case possible in order to gain acceptance into the school of their dreams.  Leveraging one’s athletic skills can only help. 

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