The former student athlete interviewed in this case is Hayden Blessing, who currently is in a sports career at Mercer University. He used to be a varsity basketball player at the Oklahoma Baptist University. He asserts that his being an athlete helped him get through college in four years, and he actually ended up graduating with a university diploma. Thus he credits his being an athlete for being able to finish college and obtain a diploma, which in turn aided him in getting his job in sports at Mercer University.
He cites a number of advantages of being a student – athlete. One is that he was popular because he was an athlete, and the knowledge that he was known by many students and teachers often kept him out of trouble. He only had to think of his status as a player-student, and he would avoid all the signs of trouble early on. He also makes mention of a material advantage – that he did not have to pay tuition for college as he had a scholarship, and this scholarship would also cover his board, lodging and other university expenses. He also cites many teachers that were very understanding and considerate of his situation as an athlete; but that there were teachers who did not care if the team played out of town and he would be absent because he had to travel with the team, or that they had just played an official game for the university and that he would not be able to finish a certain requirement.
It is his opinion that in trying very hard to balance his collegiate life as a student and as an athlete, that he was unable to have social life while in college. His entire college life was devoted to the athlete side of things and the student side of things. He managed going through games, practices, training sessions, conditioning and weights sessions, while at the same time attending classes, study hall, research sessions and simply staying in school doing schoolwork and completing his academic requirements. He lamented that the non-athletes simply did their academics and had extensive and colorful social lives, while he did not get to have any social life then.
Blessing also states that today is quite a bit different for student athletes because universities and colleges today endeavor to provide their student athletes with more resources that would help them cope with the rigors of being a student and an athlete all at the same time. He also points out that there are schools who do not bother to help a student athlete complete his course, but simply let the athletes play without checking on their responsibilities as students. These schools, he said, sadly do not come to the aid of the struggling student athletes. However, aside from the additional resources, he says that more and more schools closely supervise their student-athletes and help them such that they are able to obtain their diplomas and degrees. He credits his coaches with imbuing him with a sense of accountability, and he says that this also helped him complete all his academic requirements such that he was able to graduate with a degree.
The Student Athlete as a Leader
Based on the interview, Blessing made mention of the fact that his coaches instilled in him a strong sense of accountability, and this is actually what helped him get through his quite difficult student-athlete life. Accountability is a new paradigm in sports management. Athletics directors are accountable to their own sports associations and to their own academic community as well. These directors must therefore be able to communicate this accountability and the accompanying responsibilities to the student-athletes (Kissinger and Miller, 2009). Being accountable to a community or to a larger group of people means that one can be depended upon to reach certain goals and objectives. This is one characteristic of a leader – that he can be relied upon to steer a group of individuals to reach certain objectives and goals.
The student-athlete can be developed and can serve as a leader because he always has the desire to compete and to win in any competition that his team participates in. Athletes also tend to inspire one another so that all of them are competitive and can follow their coach’s game plan at all times. Being able to motivate and inspire others, and to be competitive at all times are also said to be the characteristics of leaders.
Personal Perspective
Also, as Blessing mentioned in his communication, that he admittedly had a tough time while being a student-athlete, such that managing and being able to overcome these challenges and difficult times helped him deal with them, resulting in positive outcomes. Not having any social life for a young male basketball player is terrible. One knows of the student-fans that adore their basketball teams, and follow them everywhere they play, even if the venue of the game happens to be out-of-town. It took a lot of willpower for Blessing not to participate in partying and socializing with adoring fans, and instead to concentrate on his studies may have been truly difficult for him – he knew how to deal with these “tough times”, and this is actually training for leadership already.
Leaders are also quite a disciplined lot – they are disciplined so that they can set out what they have to do without any delay. Thus the rigors of being a student-athlete truly require one to be disciplined enough and to resist “temptation”. This means that he should be able to concentrate both on being the best student and the best athlete that he can be. He should resist skipping classes for reasons other than fulfilling his duties as an athlete, and strive to be a good student always. Thus it is difficult to think about why athletes are sometimes poor students. They cannot be poor students when they can inspire others, when they have the discipline, and when they can overcome the roughest and toughest of times. Blessing is indeed an excellent example of how being a student-athlete can groom someone into becoming a leader. The student-athlete is dependable and responsible, and these are also qualities of leaders.
The drive to win can also later be translated into the desire to compete in the real world either as an athlete or a professional when one graduates from college. As an athlete who is competitive, this drive will never go away. This is why many collegiate athletes who turn into professional athletes go into professional coaching – their drive to win just never wanes, and they also want to remain competitive. This is why one’s training as a student-athlete will probably lead one to become a leader in a few years, or when one graduates from college. It is the discipline that one develops, as well as the rigors of being a student-athlete which drive him to first be inspired, together with his teammates, and then later on, to inspire others in his chosen career after graduating from college or university. Working as part of a team will also help the student athlete be able to lead others in the future.
Reflection
Any which way one may look at the situation, it will never be easy to balance one’s collegiate life as both an athlete and a student. It is tiring enough to train for a game or a season, but to manage getting good grades and playing very well for one’s school is an arduous task to say the least. Blessing is right in saying that there are teachers who are understanding and considerate, but that there are also teachers who will test the athletes to the limits of his industry and patience.
However, a student-athlete must always bear in mind, that he is a student foremost – that is perhaps why the term is “student-athlete” and not “athlete-student”. Studies are still a priority. While being an athlete will provide one with the added skills and fortitude to finish projects and games with excellence, nothing beats an athlete who was able to obtain his college or university diploma. The diploma will always provide him with something that he can hold on to if he is unable to enter the realm of professional athleticism, or if he himself decides to either put up his own business, or enter the professional world later in life. If he is able to do this, he will not go the way of many professional athletes who were not able to earn for their “rainy days”. We have all heard the sad stories of former professional athletes who have ended up in poverty, or who were unable to continue with their standards of living when they were famous and earning millions of dollars while in action. A student-athlete’s priority is his studies, and he must, in the end be able to balance his athletic life with his studies so that he is able to obtain a degree and be prepared for the future.
References
Blagg, D. and Young, S. 2001. What Makes a Good Leader? Retrieved from: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/2141.html
Kissinger, D. and Miller, M. 2009. College Student-Athletes: Challenges, Opportunities and Policy Implications. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, Inc.
