A Different Point of View

[jwsavhGT]

I know this has been a rough season for GT fans but I wanted to bring a different point of view to the conversation. The following article is from a link that one of our young players posted to Facebook.

I know that several people on GTSwarm have participated in collegiate sports so I would be interested in knowing if this article is a true picture of how things are.

You Thought You Loved Football then They Gave You A Scholarship

http://www.gridironstuds.com/blog/you-thought-you-loved-football-then-they-gave-you-a-scholarship/

 

[B Lifsey]

Interesting and I think a lot of truth in the article in regards to many aspects of the HS to college transition. I'd also bet that a few players feeling they made a bad decision going into college ball can effect others on team.

Concerning that one of our young players posted link to it...

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

There is a lot of truth to that article. Those guys grind every day. I think most know what is in store for them prior to their arrival. I think our staff makes that part clear to recruits. A player linking to the article doesn't concern me over much.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

I don't know if it's accurate for most players but it sounds like it is. As I said before, I respect the hell out of our players who are trying to do it all. D1 football and academics. Based on my college experience, for me that would have left little over afterwards. But the reward for good work is more good work, so they are on the right course.

I remember the story of Sean Bedford pulling an all nighter the night before the ACCCG. Had to finish a project as I recall. He's turned out ok. (tic - great)

What does concern me most about the team this year is that these players have probably never gone through a losing season in their lives. I don't know how they will respond but I don't think they have given up yet. They looked like **** against UVa but they weren't sitting on the sidelines (other than the O or D starters not playing) and appeared to be trying to pick each other up.

 

[Jerry the Jacket]

Not that unusual for a young man to second guess a decision. I think the challenge and commitment that college football requires has the potential to shape a young man's life in a very positive direction. If you can see it through, tough it out and accomplish the goal of completing the process, you should have the confidence and character to face whatever life throws at you. So many young people choose the easy way and are not willing to make the sacrifice it takes to be successful in life. Football is a great proving ground for a young man to set his life's course.

Go Jackets!

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

I wonder how some of our players might think about that.

 

[JacketFromUGA]

I was a D-III athlete and didn't get a scholarship so I can't fully attest to the validity. Sounds rational though.

 

[alagold]

It certainly makes a difference in how successful a guy is.That's why so many hi school stars just fade out--too much work,too tough

 

[takethepoints]

I was a D-III athlete and didn't get a scholarship so I can't fully attest to the validity. Sounds rational though.

So was I and I can vouch for every word in the article. And my experience was - wait for it - 51 years ago, God in heaven help me. Now the interesting thing was that I went into a program that thrived on the "secondary recruiting market"; i.e. our coaches when around to Div 1 schools and picked off players who they had recruited (no numbers limits in those days) and who turned out to be a step too slow or 20 lbs. too light. Most of the starters on our team (except our terrific tailback and 2 others) had played at Div 1 schools first. It showed in our on field performance and in attitudes off and on the field. When I got back home and got into a pick-up touch game with some friends, they all asked what had happened to me. "College football," was my answer.

 

[Bennett]

I posted this article on Facebook and can tell you that it is very accurate. Fans don't know anything about what being a college athlete entails. All they see is the results on Saturdays. The thing that used to eat at me (which I think was mentioned in the article) was we used to get a $6 per diem for dinner after a game. $6?!? Really? Not sure if you've ever hung around a few 300 lbers but $6 ain't gonna do much for a meal

 

[4shotB]

I have a good friend who played college FB along time ago.Good enough to get some inquiries about trying out for "the League" as a free agent. He hated playing college FB but knew it was the only way he could afford to get an education (back before things like the Hope etc.) He treated it as a job he had to do to get degree.Knew other guys who played at Auburn and FSU who were less than glowing about their days.Before getting to know them, I had the naive idea (as most of us do/did) of pom-poms, rainbows, pep rallies and "win one for the Gipper".


BTW, I thought when reading that article that you could edit and tweak it just a tiny bit and send it off to all those high school salutatorians and valedictorians and Beta Club members heading to Tech and the engineering school.

 

[GT1992]

I have a good friend who played college FB along time ago.Good enough to get some inquiries about trying out for "the League" as a free agent. He hated playing college FB but knew it was the only way he could afford to get an education (back before things like the Hope etc.) He treated it as a job he had to do to get degree.Knew other guys who played at Auburn and FSU who were less than glowing about their days.Before getting to know them, I had the naive idea (as most of us do/did) of pom-poms, rainbows, pep rallies and "win one for the Gipper".


BTW, I thought when reading that article that you could edit and tweak it just a tiny bit and send it off to all those high school salutatorians and valedictorians and Beta Club members heading to Tech and the engineering school.

That's the right attitude. It did ease up winter quarter.

 

[JacketFromUGA]

All I know is I swam DIII and we pretty much had to buy everything for ourselves including meet day snacks and all our equipment.

I really think people need to be educated on what these kids are having to do for "their free education"

 

[Lee]

A lot of truth in that article in terms of what life for athletes looks like. It sounds like it was written by someone that never played or played sparingly though. A lot of the stuff they put us through is to find out who really wants to be there and weed out the ones that don't.

I admit that there were tough times and it was a lot different than high school, but it made me grow up real quick. I thought I worked hard until I got to Tech. Working out and conditioning at my own pace as a senior in high school was just a little different than having finishing a paper at 2am and trying to decide if it was even worth going to sleep since I had to be at the stadium at 4:30am for conditioning because a few guys were late the day before. Follow that up with a full load of classes, practice, and mandatory study hall which left us with the hours of 9pm-5:30am for "free time."

Unlike traditional students, we couldn't miss class if we had a "rough night" or were exhausted from our workouts because they had someone making sure we were there. If they checked and we weren't, we had to run for the majority of practice. And as you know class at GT means something totally different than it does at say, UNC, UGA, Bama or most of the big time schools we compete against. I honestly don't know how football players did/do it. It was hard enough for me, I can't imagine having to put all that time in the film room, learning a playbook...etc and then having to "get out" of GT.

All this to say that yes, life as a SA was tough, but I'm better for it. Now if I never played, I don't know how much of that I would've put up with. Being able to go out and compete with the guys I was struggling through those morning workouts with made it worth it for me.

 

[GTJake]

I played one year at the Junior College level, this was a while ago (1977) ... I found out real quick, even at that level, what a huge step-up it was from HS.
I played ST's and short yardage situations and at times wondered if it was worth it.
This was in a small town that was wild about the team and we were good ... bottom line for me, there is little compared to the adrenaline rush of game day !!
Sustained a concussion injury late in my freshman year and was recommended that I quit football.

 

[GTech63]

I have a good friend who played college FB along time ago.Good enough to get some inquiries about trying out for "the League" as a free agent. He hated playing college FB but knew it was the only way he could afford to get an education (back before things like the Hope etc.) He treated it as a job he had to do to get degree.Knew other guys who played at Auburn and FSU who were less than glowing about their days.Before getting to know them, I had the naive idea (as most of us do/did) of pom-poms, rainbows, pep rallies and "win one for the Gipper".


BTW, I thought when reading that article that you could edit and tweak it just a tiny bit and send it off to all those high school salutatorians and valedictorians and Beta Club members heading to Tech and the engineering school.

I thought similar thoughts. Now add playing Div 1 football at a school that requires yiu to go to class and do the work. Real college work. I darn near puke seeing UNC cheat take the field. They should have been roasted.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

I thought similar thoughts. Now add playing Div 1 football at a school that requires yiu to go to class and do the work. Real college work. I darn near puke seeing UNC cheat take the field. They should have been roasted.

I played DIII Baseball at the US Coast Guard Academy. While the athletic pressures may not have been as rigorous as a DI team, I can promise you that the academic and military pressures were quite arduous. The only upside was that, unlike @JacketFromUGA above, all our gear and uniforms were provided by the taxpayer.