Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Small Town Athlete
Are you from a small town? Know an athlete that could have gone pro? I’m sure your answer is yes. There are a lot of playground and small school athletes that could have made it to the next level; whether it was on a college, semi-pro or professional level. Very few athletes from small, not heavily populated areas make it to the big leagues. Sure, there are some athletes from small towns that make it to the top of the ranks of their preferred sport; for example, Deion Branch-New England Patriots, Phillip Daniels-Washington Redskins, Willie Harris-Washington Nationals & Buster Posey-San Francisco Giants. Those are just a few of athletes that are on a very small list of talented small town athletes that have made it big. So my one true question is; what should talented small town athletes, coaches & schools do to garner more attention? Tell me, what do you think.
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A lot of the problem is that there is a misconception that the athlete from the small town, in a small league, from a small school, for some reason does not have the physical ability to play Division 1 sports, let alone profesional sports.
ReplyDeleteI am an assistant baseball coach in a small town, but I have double-AA baseball experience and have played with (and against) some of the best athletes in the game. It is not just the athletes that have that attitude that they can't play at the highest levels, but the coaches and parents as well.
How can we get these kids (girls and boys) to believe that they can play at the higher levels if we continue to tell them that they can't? We can't.
I have found through life that attitude is a choice, regardless if things are going well or bad. Attitude can be greatly helped, or hurt, by the opinions of the people we know and trust. I blame the coaches and parents for this.
Yes, it will be more difficult to have a Division 1 or professional scout come to see a player in a small school, in a small town when they can see 5 athletes in a big city in the same day. But it only takes 1. If that 1 goes on and is successful, then coaches will ask, "you know anybody else in your school or league that can play?". That will immediately add credibility not only to your school, but the whole league.
A coach that is concerned about the mental toughness of todays young athletes.
From the school of the team that is playing in this video only one was heavily recruited and went on to a Division 1 program, (Georgia). Others went on to play at the Division 2 level, (Brevard College, Newberry College, Albany State University). One that just graduated, walked on at Georgia State. My brother was on this high school football team, and if it wasn't for my mom taking him to a personal trainer, he probably wouldn't have gotten an athletic scholarship. The head coach was not one to make sure his boys got attention; even though he received a football scholarship from South Carolina, and the assistant coach would always try at the last minute to get boys a scholarship at the last minute.
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