twin58
03-12-2008, 10:56 PM
You guys - and young ladies - interested in playing lacrosse on a scholarship owe it to yourselves to take a look at this article in Wednesday's New York Times. It's more time-consuming than you think.
It’s Not an Adventure, It’s a Job (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/sports/12lifestyles.html)
The Scholarship Divide
It’s Not an Adventure, It’s a Job
By BILL PENNINGTON
Published: March 12, 2008
....
“...{I}t was a ton of work. Receiving an athletic scholarship is a wonderful thing, but most of us only know what we’re getting, not what we’re getting into.”
Dozens of scholarship athletes at N.C.A.A. Division I institutions said in interviews that they had underestimated how taxing and hectic their lives would be playing college sports. They also said others share a common misperception that athletes lead a privileged existence.
“You know, maybe if you’re a scholarship football player at Oklahoma, everything is taken care of for you,” Tim Poydenis, a scholarship baseball player at Villanova, said. “But most of us are nonrevenue-sport athletes who have to do our own fund-raising just to pay for basics like sweat pants and batting gloves. We miss all these classes, which obviously doesn’t help us or make our professors happy. We give up almost all our free time. Our social life is stripped bare.
“Friday happy hour or spring break? Forget it. I haven’t had a spring break since I was a sophomore in high school.”
....
“We love what we do, and it is worth it,” Poydenis said. “But everybody thinks every college athlete is on a pampered full ride. The truth is a lot of us are getting $4,000 and working our butts off for it.”
The life of the scholarship athlete is so arduous that coaches and athletes said it was not unusual for as many as 15 percent of those receiving athletic aid to quit sports and turn down the scholarship money after a year or two.
....
Emily Schaknowski, a sophomore lacrosse player on athletic scholarship at Delaware, said 5 of the 12 women she entered with were no longer on the team. Most had relinquished their scholarships.
This article is part of a series, "The Scholarship Divide," that ran on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Here are links to all the articles in the series. If anyone finds a blog or letters to the editor about the articles, please let me know, so I can link to them too.
The New York Times requires registration before you can read their articles online. I have been registered for years, and they have never spammed me.
The Scholarship Divide
These articles are exploring the chase for N.C.A.A. scholarships, the scarcity of athletic aid, and the challenges facing coaches and scholarship athletes.
Monday
Expectations Lose to Reality of Sports Scholarships (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/sports/10scholarships.html?ref=sports)
N.A.I.A.Reports Aid Differently (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/sports/10naia.html?ref=sports)
Average Scholarship Amounts by Sport (http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2008/03/10/sports/20080310_SCHOLAR_GRAPHIC2.html)
Tuesday
Recruits Clamor for More From Coaches With Less (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/sports/11coaches.html?ref=sports)
New Rules Threaten Sport's Tryout Process (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/sports/11baseball.html?ref=sports)
Number of Scholarships by Sport (http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2008/03/11/sports/20080311_COACHES_GRAPHIC.html)
Wednesday
It’s Not an Adventure, It’s a Job (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/sports/12lifestyles.html)
Divvying Scholarship Dollars Can Divide a Team (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/sports/12envy.html)
Back Story: Adaora Udoji Talks to The Times's Bill Pennington (mp3) (http://graphics8.nytimes.com/podcasts/2008/03/10/11backstory-pennington.mp3)
It’s Not an Adventure, It’s a Job (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/sports/12lifestyles.html)
The Scholarship Divide
It’s Not an Adventure, It’s a Job
By BILL PENNINGTON
Published: March 12, 2008
....
“...{I}t was a ton of work. Receiving an athletic scholarship is a wonderful thing, but most of us only know what we’re getting, not what we’re getting into.”
Dozens of scholarship athletes at N.C.A.A. Division I institutions said in interviews that they had underestimated how taxing and hectic their lives would be playing college sports. They also said others share a common misperception that athletes lead a privileged existence.
“You know, maybe if you’re a scholarship football player at Oklahoma, everything is taken care of for you,” Tim Poydenis, a scholarship baseball player at Villanova, said. “But most of us are nonrevenue-sport athletes who have to do our own fund-raising just to pay for basics like sweat pants and batting gloves. We miss all these classes, which obviously doesn’t help us or make our professors happy. We give up almost all our free time. Our social life is stripped bare.
“Friday happy hour or spring break? Forget it. I haven’t had a spring break since I was a sophomore in high school.”
....
“We love what we do, and it is worth it,” Poydenis said. “But everybody thinks every college athlete is on a pampered full ride. The truth is a lot of us are getting $4,000 and working our butts off for it.”
The life of the scholarship athlete is so arduous that coaches and athletes said it was not unusual for as many as 15 percent of those receiving athletic aid to quit sports and turn down the scholarship money after a year or two.
....
Emily Schaknowski, a sophomore lacrosse player on athletic scholarship at Delaware, said 5 of the 12 women she entered with were no longer on the team. Most had relinquished their scholarships.
This article is part of a series, "The Scholarship Divide," that ran on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Here are links to all the articles in the series. If anyone finds a blog or letters to the editor about the articles, please let me know, so I can link to them too.
The New York Times requires registration before you can read their articles online. I have been registered for years, and they have never spammed me.
The Scholarship Divide
These articles are exploring the chase for N.C.A.A. scholarships, the scarcity of athletic aid, and the challenges facing coaches and scholarship athletes.
Monday
Expectations Lose to Reality of Sports Scholarships (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/sports/10scholarships.html?ref=sports)
N.A.I.A.Reports Aid Differently (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/sports/10naia.html?ref=sports)
Average Scholarship Amounts by Sport (http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2008/03/10/sports/20080310_SCHOLAR_GRAPHIC2.html)
Tuesday
Recruits Clamor for More From Coaches With Less (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/sports/11coaches.html?ref=sports)
New Rules Threaten Sport's Tryout Process (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/sports/11baseball.html?ref=sports)
Number of Scholarships by Sport (http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2008/03/11/sports/20080311_COACHES_GRAPHIC.html)
Wednesday
It’s Not an Adventure, It’s a Job (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/sports/12lifestyles.html)
Divvying Scholarship Dollars Can Divide a Team (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/sports/12envy.html)
Back Story: Adaora Udoji Talks to The Times's Bill Pennington (mp3) (http://graphics8.nytimes.com/podcasts/2008/03/10/11backstory-pennington.mp3)