coaches - here's a 'must share' with your players

[Mr HiSchool]

As high school football season starts today - here are some sobering numbers

• 15,585 high schools in the US play football as of 2013-2014.

• 1.1 million high school football players nationally.

• 6.2% of high school football players will go on to play at the college level.

• 772 colleges and universities play college football (from FBS to NAIA and JuCo)

• About 70,000 college football players at all levels

• 38 college programs have added a football program since 2010

• Just .5% of college football players made opening week NFL rosters in 2014, meaning that 99.5% of college football players go on to other careers.

• 75% of FBS student-athletes graduate (an all-time NCAA high), compared to a 59% graduation rate for the general student body.

• Average NFL playing career lasts 3.3 years

Put your education first

 

[Sayitdontsprayit]

Athletics are the #1 dropout prevention! Great post.

 

[Choctaw_fan]

Great stats! I had always passed on the quote that 1% make it to the NFL but it's actually .5%.

It's good to hear that college sports has such a high graduation rate and that athletes will graduate more often than non-athletes.

One more stat I would like to see is the percentage of college athlete who went pro early then got their degree. Once the career is over, you definitely need something else to fall back on. With online college so readily available, there's no reason not to finish!

 

[Pipe Dreams]

No. Set the bar high in both.

Practice as hard as you can.

Finish your work. Don't take 0's... If you get 0/50 on an assignment in a 1000 point class, say goodbye to 5% of your final grade.

 

[GetBackCoach]

If you care for more sober numbers click the link below.

http://www.usdebtclock.org/

 

[Neutral 0bserver]

Per Mr HiSchool's post, 75% of all FBS student/athletes earn their degree. Wonder what the statistics are for football players only?

Taking things one step further, what percentage of kids playing HS football in 2015 will go on to sign an NFL contract and end up earning enough money over the span of their playing career to live comfortably for the rest of their lives without ever pursuing a second career?

Precious few HS kids have the luck and talent to become scholarship athletes and receive a tuition-free college education. For those fortunate few, the most serious mistake most of them will ever make is leaving school without earning a degree.

Football is NOT forever. It is rarely the end all, cure all. How many HS athletes are rational enough to understand this?

Note to a special poster: In 2011-2012, Chris Rainey's sanctions at UF were being discussed on this forum. After Nu'Trelle made a remark deemed critical by a staunch Rainey/Lakeland supporter, this special poster reminded Nu'Trelle that Rainey would soon be drafted into the NFL and would likely be paid more money in his first 2-3 seasons than Nu'Trelle could earn over a lifetime.

The special poster/Rainey/Lakeland fan was partially right. The Steelers drafted Chris & signed him to a 4 year contract in 2012. They released him the following January after he was arrested for battery. Indianapolis signed Chris in 2013. He lasted 3 weeks before being cut due to an unspecified violation of team rules. In September 2014, Arizona signed Chris to their practice squad. He was cut 9 days later. Later that year, Chris was signed by Montreal of the CFL. They cut him this past June.

So here's the deal special poster, how much you care to bet that Chris Rainey's football earnings from 2012 to present (3 season's worth) exceed what Nu'Trelle have earned in his non-football career?

 

[GetBackCoach]

I'm like, "Damn, I'm glad I'm Chris Rainey. It's real nice to be me.''

http://www.everydayshouldbesaturday.com/2006/12/06/its-good-being-chris-rainey

 

[Choctaw_fan]

Yeah Neutral, the athletes who do not get full rides and must keep up their grades to maintain academic scholarships help the stats tremendously. That's one reason why I so strongly support college baseball, softball, gymnastics, etc. Many of the baseball players pass on great offers to go to college to increase their baseball knowledge and earn a degree.

When athletic programs announce their graduates, few are from the football or men's basketball programs. Although, I just read today that Frankie Velez from the Gators earned a Masters in International Business. Not bad!

 

[Cat_Scratch]

I probably said this before...
As a baseball coach I stress grades. I tell the players that grades are more important than their batting average. The colleges want the best player with good grades and will always go with the athlete with the best grades that have the same baseball skills. It's never to early to teach the kids the importance of an exceptional education.
As a coach I ask all my new players which college they want to go to? Then I use that as a tool.

 

[Neutral 0bserver]

Spin the clock back quite a few years ... too many more than Nu'Trelle care to count.

He was coaching youth football and most of the players were 12-13 years old. One day after practice, Nu'Trelle asked, "How many guys on this team hope to make it to the NFL?"

As is normally the case, almost every guy raised a hand. Next question was "Why?" That question invariably leads to answers that involve "fame and fortune".

Next Nu'Trelle suggested, "Between now and tomorrow think about how much money you'd like to earn your first year in the NFL, then think about how much per year you hope to earn after you're done playing. What will you do AFTER football?"

Not surprisingly, most kids expected to make tons of money in the NFL, therefore very few even bothered to consider "Plan B", let alone come up with any ideas.

Year after year, the best and brightest thinking always came from the handful of kids who doubted they would cash-in big from playing pro ball and this season was no different.

One of the most determined kids on the team said he hoped maybe he'd get a chance to play in college, but his goal was to be a military pilot, then possibly he'd move into a career with the airlines.

Hearing that, Nu'Trelle nodded and said, "If I were you, I'd write out a plan on how to accomplish my goal(s)."

The kid reached into his backpack and handed Nu'Trelle a spiral notebook. The plan(s) had already been set to paper. Inside were Plan A, Plan B, and - as a last resort - Plan C.

Plan A was to seek an appointment to one of the 4 military academies and go to Flight School
Plan B was to enroll in ROTC at college, be commissioned as an officer and go to Flight School
Plan C was to work & pay for Flight Lessons to obtain the hours needed to get a commercial license.

Plan B worked. After earning his undergraduate degree, the Marines taught the young man how to fly. He's been with Southwest since getting out of the Corps.

If Chris Rainey would have had the same amount of intelligence and backbone as this kid, no one would be reading about Rainey's escapades and shaking their head.

 

[Cat_Scratch]

That's a great reply Neutral. I would like to use it when talking to my athletes.

 

[Cat_Scratch]

Hope you don't mind that I posted your Plan B post on the National board when responding to a parent with questions about his child's future. I respected it that much.

 

[Choctaw_fan]

Neutral, did you coach my son? That sounded so much like him except his plan C was to join the Army and become a Ranger. Thank goodness plan A worked out.

BTW, he's now in instructor pilot school. At 28, he'll be teaching others how to fly planes.

 

[Pipe Dreams]

High school isn't hard. Period. It takes effort and interest.

If I were a coach, I'd stress this:

Love four things, in no particular order.
1) Football and your team
2) An outside interest that you can apply to school
3) Your family
4) Your philosophy or God

 

[GetBackCoach]

High school isn't hard. Period. It takes effort and interest.

If I were a coach, I'd stress this:

Love four things, in no particular order.
1) Football and your team
2) An outside interest that you can apply to school
3) Your family
4) Your philosophy or God

I get 5 from that.

 

[Bartow.Billy]

4
3
1
2

 

[GetBackCoach]

I think it's great how so many people put #4 on the top of their list.