Well its that time of year again. When all the kids go back to school. Whew! So glad I don't have to go to class anymore. However, I always did like going back to school. Not because I was so excited about learning but because I would be able to catch up with friends that I hadn't been able to see all summer. Summer is a time where people go their different directions. For me and most of my closest friends we stayed together playing Senior League Babe Ruth and All-Stars but a lot of my other non baseball friends were estranged during the summer. I am sure that they had fun on summer vacation or worked to make some extra cash. Lord know when I wasn't playing ball I was working. So their wasn't too much laying around during my summer vacation.
Going back to school meant that instead of working 35-40 hour weeks and trying to play ball another 6 - 10 hours per week life would slow down a bit. It was a time to get geared up to make a good impression on my new teachers and try to get off on the right foot in the classroom. I wanted to make sure that I got ahead in the classroom because I knew that come February, baseball would start and my focus would be on the field not in the classroom. So I would try to get ahead and stay ahead.
Today's blog is mainly for all the incoming high school freshman baseball players or any freshman athlete with aspirations of playing your sport in college. Your grades start now! The recruiting process (academically) begins the first day you step into high school. All the grades you made before this day are insignificant compared to now. Your high school transcript does not include your K-8th grade grades. I cannot stress how much better your accumulative high school GPA will be by your junior or senior year if you start your freshman year with great scores on your work. Buckle down, get your work done, do it well and turn it in on time. Be organized. Do your reading, ask questions, participate in class. Start with good study habits and your life will be so much easier. Gone are the days of the dumb athlete going to college to play their sport.
There are several reasons that college coaches like to recruit players that are good students. One reason is that good students are not going to be a liability when it comes to eligibility. Good students make their grades and stay eligible to play. Another reason that college coaches like to recruit players that make good grades is the fact that the coach can lean on your academics to get your family some financial aid from the school rather than the athletic program. This provides some relief to his scholarship budget. Taking these things into consideration I would hope that you will start this year with as much enthusiasm as possible to not only do well in your chosen sport but to also in your classwork.
Good luck this year and I hope that you hit it out of the park...with your grades!
