so you won the bcs championship! now what?

So you won the BCS Championship! Now what? Last week’s impressive shut-out BCS Championship game crowned the Alabama Crimson Tide as the country’s best collegiate football team. Roll Tide! With so much at stake for collegiate programs to both go to and win bowl games, it is amazing to see how players respond on game day. Some, like Trent Richardson, play fantastically, greatly enhancing their national audience and professional potential. Others falter in the spotlight, similar to the struggles of Jordan Jefferson and LSU’s offense, potentially damaging Jefferson’s impression on NFL scouts. How does winning or losing a championship affect the value of an individual player? The reality is that of the nearly 250 players that suited up for the game last night, likely only 5 of them will have a career in professional football. That equates to 2%. Great for those 5, but what happens to the other 98%? Tough odds for such a fleeting moment, do you think? Unfortunately, what often happens when you combine good athletes in big-time programs, like LSU and Alabama, is a whole lot of travel, practice, film, and more practice. So what goes under-developed is the preparation required for that 98% to be successful in life after sport. Yes, believe it or not, there is life after sport. And when many of these athletes have been living and breathing their sport since Pop- Warner leagues, hoping for a chance to make it to the pros only to fall short, the reality of all the time and energy spent on the field does not always translate to useable skills in the non-sporting world of employment. How can individual players increase their value in the real world? How can student-athletes improve their potential for success? The sure-fire answer is to focus on development off the field as much as, if not more so, than development on the field. Explore areas of interest and begin to establish a network immediately. It is never too early or too late to find another passion outside of sport. And most importantly, never take for granted the fragility of being a competitive athlete – what seems a sure- thing is only an injury away. AspireU Consulting Be prepared - life after sport.

Upload: sabrina-thomas

Post on 10-Mar-2016

216 views

Category:

Documents

3 download

Report

Download

Embed Size (px):

DESCRIPTION

Alhletes consider options for life after sport.

TRANSCRIPT

So you won the BCS Championship! Now what?

Last week’s impressive shut-out BCS Championship game crowned the Alabama Crimson Tide as the country’s best collegiate football team. Roll Tide! With so much at stake for collegiate programs to both go to and win bowl games, it is amazing to see how players respond on game day. Some, like Trent Richardson, play fantastically, greatly enhancing their national audience and professional potential. Others falter in the spotlight, similar to the struggles of Jordan Jefferson and LSU’s offense, potentially damaging Jefferson’s impression on NFL scouts.

How does winning or losing a championship affect the value of an individual player?

The reality is that of the nearly 250 players that suited up for the game last night, likely only 5 of them will have a career in professional football. That equates to 2%. Great for those 5, but what happens to the other 98%? Tough odds for such a fleeting moment, do you think?

Unfortunately, what often happens when you combine good athletes in big-time programs, like LSU and Alabama, is a whole lot of travel, practice, film, and more practice. So what goes under-developed is the preparation required for that 98% to be successful in life after sport. Yes, believe it or not, there is life after sport. And when many of these athletes have been living and breathing their sport since Pop-Warner leagues, hoping for a chance to make it to the pros only to fall short, the reality of all the time and energy spent on the field does not always translate to useable skills in the non-sporting world of employment.

How can individual players increase their value in the real world? How can student-athletes improve their potential for success? The sure-fire answer is to focus on development off the field as much as, if not more so, than development on the field. Explore areas of interest and begin to establish a network immediately. It is never too early or too late to find another passion outside of sport. And most importantly, never take for granted the fragility of being a competitive athlete – what seems a sure-thing is only an injury away.

AspireU Consulting

Be prepared - life after sport.