Studying, not basketball, academics.

This article is for the youngsters out there however feel free to read on if you like or start a topic of conversation in the forums.

I was running through my ideas list for the blog and deciding what to write on when I heard my mom talking to my brother about the whole school situation and how it will be affected because of COVID-19. To be honest the whole shout down has put an emphasis on the whole holiday part of education because now everyone is at home and it can be difficult to focus and get school work done to try and get a head start on the term. And between you and me we are not the most academically gifted family out there and its not for a lack of trying we just aren’t good with sitting in classrooms all day. I struggled with ADD at school and my brother is ADD and ADHD which can be useful almost anywhere except in the classroom but its a working progress, hes getting better week by week, and his marks are getting better and better.

P.S. Cambridge academics doesn’t help either.

So where am I going with this? Its simple, your academics are more important than your sport or any other activity you do outside the classroom! But why? How will finding x on a diagram help me on the basketball court, again, simple, its doesn’t and it won’t BUT... if you cant pass a Math test you cant play. Most if not all high level programmes around the world are academically motivated, meaning yes you can play ball but what else can you do? This “philosophy” (if I can call it that) has proven to make great players and business men out of elite athletes such as, Jimmy Butler who has a degree in communications, Victor Oladipo majored in sports communication, Jeremy Lin has a degree in Economics from Harvard university, and a surprise to most Kelly Olynyk is actually an accounting major and nearly qualified for an MBA. Yes Kevin Durant did graduate from law school. In a lot of schools overseas players play according to their academic record, so if they don’t show up in the classroom then they definitely wont get to show up on the court. Sounds harsh right? That’s because they have to be, its all part of a long term plan that any decent coach should have: my players need to excel on AND off the court. Also what are you going to do after you retire? Your money will only last so long and you don’t want to know how many players retire and end up working in McDonalds (yes that’s true), or a player experiences a career ending injury and is forced to retire and the league or team doesn’t want anything to do with them, what then? Because you have a piece of paper behind your name (a degree or diploma) you can now go into another job and not have to worry about providing for your family because you don’t have a job. Most teams that are looking to sign players will DEFINITELY look at your academic history and that will be a huge factor in them deciding whether you will play for them or not.

As a coach myself I stress to my players how important their academics is. You wont realise it now but you’ll thank me later, its obviously not the most fun thing you could be doing but think long term. Knuckle down, do your school work and secure your future!

Feel free to get in touch and let me know what you think, feedback is always appreciated.

Also, head over to the forums and start a conversation or discussion on academics.

Have a good one!