A resource for athletes transitioning to life after sports
Breaking the Stigma of “Student-Athlete”
Currently, as many of you who have followed my journey thus far as a blogger know that I am working on my Ph.D. My focus is on the student-athlete group. Of course, I have a passion for this particular group, seeing that I identify as one and truly believe that athletics in college and prior to college, built the platform of the person that I have become today as a business professional. Of course, my experiences and obstacles that I have had to go through as an adult and my family background all contribute to who I am today and my ability to keep pushing through failures, but my time as a student-athlete allowed me to control my anxiousness in hectic and adverse business settings, work with a team, possess leadership qualities, and receive criticism despite my belief of if it is right or wrong.
As I began doing research on the student-athlete group many years ago, I found that what we feel to be true as we consider our struggles as student-athletes is in fact, true. We don’t notice the effect that negative perceptions have on the student-athlete group and frankly, don’t have the time to sit back and evaluate how we are affected by these negative perceptions. Research commonly explains the following: Student-athletes are judged negatively by their non-student athlete peers, student-athletes are judged negatively by faculty and staff, and student-athletes lack academic motivation.
Student-athlete psychological
Student-athletes who leave college after feeling like they were never worthy of achieving academically carry that same mentality along with them when they go into the professional world. During college, many student-athletes develop self-doubt because of the negative perceptions of others.
Student-athlete development
According to the literature, student-athletes do not go through the same development channels as their non-student-athlete peers. One of the reasons student-athletes are not able to experience the development stages that non-student-athletes do is because they must follow all the rules. The rules of their coaches, the rules of the NCAA and the rules of others with expectations of student-athletes. Taking advantage of academics in college and holding ourselves to our own standards as a student-athlete, rather than listening adhering to the negative perceptions of others is huge! Understanding your abilities and worth early in the realm of both athletics and academics will help develop you into a great professional, despite judgment or doubt of others!
Student-athlete responsibility
Krystal Beamon (2008) conducted a study on former student-athletes to understand their perceptions of Exploitation of DI universities – Used Goods is the term that former student-athletes used to describe what they felt about their university once they were done competing. Many have stated that after a student-athlete is done with sports, the university is done with them. They come in as a 17 or 18-year-old student-athlete with aspirations of being the greatest to come and when they are done playing, there is no follow up. Once you are used for what the university needs to use you for, you are no longer needed. You are also, on your own to survive for yourself and your family no matter how little you did academically at your institution.
The first step in breaking this negative stigma related to the student-athlete group and former student-athlete group is understanding. Really, understanding that these obstacles faced by current and former student-athletes are real!
Practice what we preach. Yeah yeah yeah, …we all hear about the importance of education but fail to see how it benefits us when we are done with college, right? I have realized as I have been in the business world post-college that it’s not necessarily the major that you are in that preps you for professional work. It is, however, super helpful that you start to advocate for yourself and what YOU want to study in college, you find out what you enjoy and what you don’t enjoy and you learn how to want to perform academically despite the negative perceptions you get from everyone else surrounding you. Those negative perceptions will ALWAYS exist. Even after college. People/Humans are envious of success, they may be prejudice of your race, they may be judgmental because of your family background. There is ALWAYS going to be someone who does not want to see you win! College education and us “student-athletes” taking academics seriously, preps us for all the hate!
That also goes for families of student-athletes and student-athletes themselves. Continuously discuss the importance of education. It is hard to focus on this is the midst of excitement around recruitment and school and required test to take to get into college etc. But we (family and friends) become enablers if we only discuss athletics and how sports will open many doors. This is true, but the excitement will end and, in most cases, so will your time to play sports. As a mother, I would love for my daughter to compete in sports because I know how much sports have helped with my development into who I am today, but I want her to do it right!
6 Replies to “Breaking the Stigma of “Student-Athlete””
Casey, This a great topic / area of study. Maybe a topic to explore is the bridge btwn academic success & professional career… The lack of experiential study (internships)… that later develop into career relationships.
Hi Carrick,
Thanks for your comment. That is so true. That is also a common study topic for the student-athlete group and something that is in critical need for deeper focus. For me, the issue would be that there are so much emphasis and money involved in college sports now that nobody takes the time to act on the obvious issues of the lack of transition plans that exist in college athletes to assist student-athletes in comfortably making a professional living outside of sports after dedicating so much time to sports leading to the transition point.
CM
Another great article with amazing viewpoints. I’m hoping in the near future companies will begin to eye more student athletes coming out. The constant discipline we go through can mean a lot in any business field.
Hey! Sorry for the later response. I was finishing up my PhD which took me away from my blog unfortunately but I am back on it again. Thanks so much for reading and I completely agree with your comment! Time to recognize what a student-athlete adds!
You made some decent points there. I regarded on the internet for the problem and located most people will go together with together with your website.
As I began doing research on the student-athlete group many years ago, I found that what we feel to be true as we consider our struggles as student-athletes is in fact, true. We don’t notice the effect that negative perceptions have on the student-athlete group and frankly, don’t have the time to sit back and evaluate how we are affected by these negative perceptions. Research commonly explains the following: Student-athletes are judged negatively by their non-student athlete peers, student-athletes are judged negatively by faculty and staff, and student-athletes lack academic motivation.
That also goes for families of student-athletes and student-athletes themselves. Continuously discuss the importance of education. It is hard to focus on this is the midst of excitement around recruitment and school and required test to take to get into college etc. But we (family and friends) become enablers if we only discuss athletics and how sports will open many doors. This is true, but the excitement will end and, in most cases, so will your time to play sports. As a mother, I would love for my daughter to compete in sports because I know how much sports have helped with my development into who I am today, but I want her to do it right!
Casey, This a great topic / area of study. Maybe a topic to explore is the bridge btwn academic success & professional career… The lack of experiential study (internships)… that later develop into career relationships.
Hi Carrick,
Thanks for your comment. That is so true. That is also a common study topic for the student-athlete group and something that is in critical need for deeper focus. For me, the issue would be that there are so much emphasis and money involved in college sports now that nobody takes the time to act on the obvious issues of the lack of transition plans that exist in college athletes to assist student-athletes in comfortably making a professional living outside of sports after dedicating so much time to sports leading to the transition point.
CM
Another great article with amazing viewpoints. I’m hoping in the near future companies will begin to eye more student athletes coming out. The constant discipline we go through can mean a lot in any business field.
Hey! Sorry for the later response. I was finishing up my PhD which took me away from my blog unfortunately but I am back on it again. Thanks so much for reading and I completely agree with your comment! Time to recognize what a student-athlete adds!
Love this blog, I am a student athlete myself.
You made some decent points there. I regarded on the internet for the problem and located most people will go together with together with your website.