AJC > Sports > Highschools > Blog > Archives > 2006 > May > 19 > Entry
Playing just for free ride is really sad
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Once upon a time, say, a generation or more ago, most kids played high school sports simply for the sake of it. Sadly, just like dollar-a-gallon gasoline and sweet soul music, those days are long past.
Now, too often it’s all about the scholarship, baby.
What a loss. Because that scholarship paper chase has changed high school sports, and not for the better. No longer is just playing the game, while making memories and friends assured to last a lifetime, what it’s all about. Kids (and/or their parents) have their priorities skewed.
How sad. Because the raw numbers tell us most kids (and/or their parents) are setting themselves up for a hard fall. Some say your child has about a 1-in-10,000 chance of landing a full ride to play sports in college, and that’s one of the more generous estimates.
And even if your child is truly among the gifted few, finding a match made in athletics heaven is hard. Schools you want may not want you. And vice versa. Plus, in most cases, athletics scholarships are year to year — renewable at the school’s discretion.
I say all of that to say this: There are many wonderful reasons for kids to participate in high school sports, but using the team — and teammates — as vehicles to finance college should not be the prime one.
Many kids (and/or their parents) could learn from Kevin Noone.
A very fine receiver on pass record-setting teams at North Gwinnett High, Noone passed on playing in college. There was the chance to be a preferred walk-on at Division I-AA Southeastern Louisiana to play for his high school coach, Dennis Roland. Too far and too uncertain for Noone’s liking.
And surely one of those recruiting services, whom you pay to get your kid’s name out to mainly smaller schools, provided another avenue for matriculation. Instead, Noone deposited his visions of playing football in the memory bank and focused his sights on his future.
“I decided I wanted to be just a regular student, have fun and concentrate on my studies,” said Noone, who attends Young Harris College. “I got a lot out of high school football, and we had a lot of fun.
“Playing for coach Roland is going to stick with me for a while. I learned a lot from him, and it was the most fun I ever had. But I was ready to move on with my life.”
Like many fathers, a part of Peter Noone desired to see his son play on. Unlike too many, though, he understood, and accepted Kevin’s wishes.
“He could have gone further,” Peter Noone said, “but wanted to do other things.” So for the Noones, and the vast majority of families participating in high school sports, the prep playing days were the last. And, they say, the tops. “Best four years of my life, watching him playing high school football,” Peter Noone said. “I wouldn’t trade it for the world. My kid grew up so much, characterwise.
“I mean, it’s so competitive today. You can be a great high school player, that doesn’t necessarily mean you are going to be a great college player. So have fun in high school. … We had a blast.”
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: J.C. Clemons
Comments