I asked my housemates what they thought it must be like to be a good athlete in high school and pretty much have your whole life set for you, with a full ride to college and a huge network of jobs ostensibly handed to you.

She argued that student-athletes probably work harder than the people that support themselves to get through school. This is probably subjective sport by sport, but overall, is life easier or harder for the student-athlete?

10/21/2008 3:25:43 PM

uh yeah

They have to get up retarded early, do crazy workouts, go to class (because unlike us slackers their attendance is usually monitored), are accountable for their extracurricular activities (like getting drinking tickets and the like)...

They definitely have to put the work in. It's NOT a free pass at all.

10/21/2008 3:31:31 PM

Mr. Fowler, you have put this all in perspective and I thank you.

10/21/2008 3:33:13 PM

Um, nothing is easy. I played HS baseball with a kid who pitched for Stanford in the CWS final game and then was drafted by the Rockies (he pitched in the bigs very briefly). Kid was the hardest worker I've ever met. I imagine most elite level athletes are similar. You don't get to that level without a great work ethic unless you are a FREAK.

The "college life" that most of us are used to likely was never seen by most of these athletes. Of course banging out lingerie model like chicks probably isn't seen by most of us...

10/21/2008 3:36:40 PM

at least, Ronny bitched about it enough that I figure it's probably not too fun

10/21/2008 3:43:27 PM

on a related note i saw mike glennon checking out a book in dh hill this morning.

10/21/2008 3:50:45 PM

student athletes are forced to sit in a room 2 hours a day everyday in study hall


even if they have absolutely nothing to do for any of their classes, and they cannot leave. if they miss they are punished by their respective teams.

so even if they arent studying they still have to sit in these rooms monitored by study hall people for two hours a day...instead of gettin to go straight home after a hard days practice

ALSO for football you have to go to the murphy center before classes and sign in AND then you have to be in class because they send coaches and coordinators to randomly check on the athletes for attendance

i know cuz i played football and did track. thats how it is. a student athlete's life is not a cakewalk. the only thing they get is a slightly better selection of foods at dinner time in Clark and at the murphy center dining hall.


other than thatits practice,class, and study hall

10/21/2008 3:53:11 PM

shouldn't this be in chit chat or something?

10/21/2008 3:54:34 PM

it's somewhere in the middle. You have some athletes (depending on sport) that work out all the time, spend hours doing schoolwork and studying, practicing, etc etc. Some atheletes put in what is required and have plenty of time to ease through everything else.

The reality is some things they work very hard at, some times of the year they are more stressed than anyone, but other times they live the life of luxury and party it up.

10/21/2008 3:58:04 PM

because college students dont party it up, nor does any single college student live a luxurious lifestyle

10/21/2008 4:12:21 PM

I'm sure plenty of them don't have to work as hard as an average student IN THE CLASSROOM but they definitely work their asses off in many other areas.

10/21/2008 4:13:39 PM

Quote :

"shouldn't this be in chit chat or something?"

I thought I might get more relevant posts from people that talk about sports all the time.

10/21/2008 4:25:10 PM

the exception would of course be players who know they're going pro early, so they do jack shit their final semester. i can't really blame them, i probably wouldn't care either

10/21/2008 4:54:06 PM

its enough work that some people quit and just pay tuition instead

10/21/2008 6:21:06 PM

Quote :

"its enough work that some people quit and just pay tuition instead"

aint that the truth

10/21/2008 9:27:44 PM

so do walk-ons have all the same requirements as scholarship players?

10/21/2008 9:36:31 PM

I personally don't find work that is mentally easy but physically hard as strenuous as mentally hard work.

10/21/2008 9:37:14 PM

Quote :

"ALSO for football you have to go to the murphy center before classes and sign in AND then you have to be in class because they send coaches and coordinators to randomly check on the athletes for attendance"

so I guess this is either the TA McClendon rule or TA totally missed the memo

Quote :

"so do walk-ons have all the same requirements as scholarship players?"

depends on how much they want to be on the team

plus, scholarship students already have a scholarship and may or may not have to work as hard to maintain it

Quote :

"student athletes are forced to sit in a room 2 hours a day everyday in study hall even if they have absolutely nothing to do for any of their classes, and they cannot leave. if they miss they are punished by their respective teams"

that's not completely true, not everyone has to go to study hall in W-B (though it probably depends on the team and the individual's gpa)

[Edited on October 21, 2008 at 9:44 PM. Reason : asdfghjk]

10/21/2008 9:40:08 PM

^ That was my thinking when I made this thread. Plus, most athletes gravitate towards Business and CHASS, which is also mentally menial, but it sounds like they are on a military-esque regimen and accountability system. No free lunches.

10/21/2008 9:41:18 PM

It's hard to do bad when you're an athlete. We had to have 90% attendance for study halls, and with all that time sitting there you might as well study. Studying and class attendance, plus free tutors on call, and professors knowing you're an athlete make it pretty easy for school. The hard part is only getting to go out at most once a week when people in your dorm or around campus are doing things. I pitched for baseball, so it wasn't real hard for me to get to go have fun as long as I knew there weren't 6AM workouts, but I wouldn't trade the time as an athlete. At least I actually went to class back then.

10/21/2008 9:47:38 PM

Quote :

"so I guess this is either the TA McClendon rule or TA totally missed the memo"

i must have missed it when TA wound up graduating

and study hall is in Case, not so much in W-B anymore

[Edited on October 21, 2008 at 9:59 PM. Reason : d]

10/21/2008 9:58:40 PM

this thread is a good read

10/21/2008 10:02:59 PM

Even though it may be more work in a day-to-day routine sort of way, I guarantee that athletes who know they have a slight chance of making the big leagues don't have much problem staying motivated. Thus making it easy for them cause they know they will be future high-rollers. Mario Williams fits the bill for this case.

Whereas, you have Joe the Plumber, who's doing alright with his 3.5 GPA in Business, dates an average chick, and knows he will just be a number in the business world when he graduates. Things are hard for him cause he loses his motivation about halfway through.

10/21/2008 10:47:44 PM

not really

you are assuming that everyone that plays collegiate athletics even wants to play professionally

you assume that they hold no value to themselves or society other than their performance in a given sport

10/21/2008 11:02:09 PM

i think the point has been made that they work hard.

just want to add my 2 cents: when i played baseball in high school, i actually did better during the season because the demanding schedule kept me structured and i kept my nose to the grindstone. there was never any time to lollygag, nor did i ever feel like slacking.

[Edited on October 21, 2008 at 11:21 PM. Reason : ]

10/21/2008 11:21:01 PM

Quote :

"the only thing they get is a slightly better selection of foods at dinner time in Clark and at the murphy center dining hall."

And the tests before they are given.....

Oh sorry. Was I not supposed to tell that?

10/22/2008 1:11:17 AM

I lived with a football player for 2 years


Test reviews were the test w/ the questions the professor omitted crossed out.

He was a nice guy, but I envied him. A free pass is a free pass. And it happens at our school, all the time.

10/22/2008 1:25:42 AM

iguess

[Edited on October 22, 2008 at 1:28 AM. Reason : s]

10/22/2008 1:28:10 AM

god damnit jonathan williams

http://www.witn.com/home/headlines/31674659.html

yet again you ass-fisted us with your thuggish lifestyle

10/22/2008 11:40:37 AM

10/22/2008 11:50:16 AM

Nice.

10/22/2008 6:25:47 PM

It was hard work. Much harder work than being a "typical" student. In addition to classes and grade requirements set by the team, there is also the extensive list of physical demands on top of that. Being a full time student is enough for most people, try adding 4am workouts, mandatory study hall, countless hours of practice/film/meetings, and it is certainly hard work.

[Edited on October 23, 2008 at 9:22 AM. Reason : All of this has been said.]

10/23/2008 9:20:49 AM

I meant to say is it easier for people who are scholarship athletes, since they have everything paid for and usually get those "gimme tests" academically and they also get all the exercise they want. The only downside is no free time.

I can't knock it because I've always been a fat slacker when it came to classes and exercising. I also had three jobs in college, while being a full timer and trying to build a comedy career.

Alas, I think I've gotten my answers in this thread from the entire cross section of people, so thanks everybody!

10/23/2008 3:47:31 PM

Quote :

"so do walk-ons have all the same requirements as scholarship players?"

yea if your GPA is low enough or if you seem to begin sliding theyll put you on the program

Quote :

"Test reviews were the test w/ the questions the professor omitted crossed out. He was a nice guy, but I envied him. A free pass is a free pass. And it happens at our school, all the time."

and those test reviews are available to every student, you are not allowed to exclude students when giving out review material. They are just offered at the Study Hall areas so you have to go get them.

[Edited on October 23, 2008 at 4:04 PM. Reason : d]

10/23/2008 4:03:40 PM

It sounds almost militaristic.

10/23/2008 4:05:22 PM

They may have spent a lot of time working out and in the film room, but I could have beat all their asses at Unreal Tournament if they had ever accepted my challenge. I could have gone to the gym at 4am for an early workout, but I was too busy closing out my fragging practice for the night.

10/23/2008 4:51:46 PM

ftw

10/23/2008 5:29:13 PM