Anyone who has ever spoken to me regarding coaching at the collegiate level has no doubt also seen me hop up on my soapbox and speak about the educational value of college sports. This statement holds true, also, for those individuals who have interviewed me for a coaching position. I rarely have anyone disagree with my statements and, if anything, fellow coaches tell me that they feel the same way. The dilemma I face on a consistent basis is that these colleagues of mine are only paying lip service, and behave in the complete opposite way. This blog article is simply outlining why I am so passionate regarding college athletics as a method of education, and why I feel we are on a downward slide moving away from education and academics.
I was never an outstanding track and field athlete. In fact, I was even below mediocre coming out of high school. With PRs at 39' in Shot Put and roughly 130' in discus I was pretty run of the mill. Luckily I had a coach in Kunle Lawson who took an interest in helping me improve when attending Lynchburg College and decided to become a division III athlete as opposed to accepting much larger offers to play football(my primary sport in high school). While a senior in high school, no one and I mean NO one recruited me for track and field aside from Lynchburg. One small program in New Jersey which shall remain nameless even told me that I was too small to throw Discus or Shot Put for them, but maybe they could try to teach me hammer. Imagine that, a division III program turning down an in-state athlete because of physical appearance without even watching them compete.
I bring up this anecdote because it exemplifies some things I feel are wrong with collegiate athletics. In an admissions driven sport (track and field) NO student athlete who is willing to compete for a program should feel undervalued or as though they aren't good enough to be part of the program. Compare athletics directly to academics for a minute, we often as coaches have student-athletes who arrive at college with low GPAs who need to work and mature to improve their grades in order to be in good academic standing and receive their degrees on time. There is little to no difference between this example, and a student-athlete who has yet to mature and grow athletically. As an educator, it is your job as a coach to help that student athlete improve and reach their athletic potential. Simply because they are not as developed as others on your squad is no reason to treat them differently or act as though they are a waste of your time.
In the academic world, the primary job of a teacher/instructor is to create an environment in which learning can take place. That is all. The goal is not to throw as much information at a student as possible or to teach directly towards a test so they pass, it is to create an environment where they are able to learn. Athletics should be treated the same way. The goal should be to create an environment where a student-athlete can reach their athletic potential and mature as an athlete. For each athlete this environment will be different, but the goal remains the same. Some athletes I have coached told me that I explain things too much to them, some student-athletes ask me even MORE questions about my program design and why certain drills are utilized. Neither athlete is "better" than the other, they just require a different type of environment.
Aside from creating the practice environment, the educational coach(trademarked Gregg Schmidt 2014!) must also care for the mental health of the student-athlete. College is a tumultuous time, especially for underclassmen, and the coach will always have outside issues to deal with regarding their student-athletes. I feel that most universities are way behind the curve when it comes to counseling and caring for the mental health of all students, not just student-athletes. The worst thing a coach can do is show the student-athlete that they don't care about their lives, or that it isn't their job to help them. A term educators are taught early on is "In Loco Parentis" which means "In place of the parents". This term means that in the absence of the parents, the educator is in charge of the growth and heath of the student athlete. I take this responsibility very seriously, as many of my former athletes can attest to, and am sickened when colleagues neglect their responsibilities.
In closing, I am not writing this article to slight or attack any other coaches or to list examples of things they do wrong (although the list is quite long!), it is simply a plea to my colleagues to understand their responsibility to the athletes that they work with and also to take it seriously and not for granted. Throughout my career I have been the direct "supervisor" so to speak of nearly 500 student-athletes and care for each of their growth equally. The goal as a coach is not to have the most national champions, or all americans, it is(or at least should be) to help each athlete reach their potential not only as an athlete, but as a human being.
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