What’s with the headline? Well, it relates to high school and college sports. Read on to see what it means.
The quotation, “Iron sharpeneth iron” from Proverbs 27:17 is true. I had the phrase printed on the back of my team’s tee shirts the last three years I coached high school wrestling. Only one person ever commented about it, and he liked it.
The reason? It’s true. We do rise and get better when surrounded by achievers. In high school sports, it’s one reason why parents transfer their athletic-star children from one school to another school–a new school that has stellar facilities, better-than-average coaches, and winning records.
Transferring is ‘better’ for them. But what does ‘better’ mean? And is it the right thing to do?
I can offer informed answers because–over my many years in education and coaching–I’ve seen many young men and women transfer for sports reasons. For example, one wrestler’s family rented an apartment for their son 100 miles away from home so that he could wrestle in a more competitive league and have more competition in the practice room. As it turned out, ‘the iron sharpening’ in the wrestling room couldn’t compete with the happenings in that apartment. He returned to his home school the following year. Another family rented a townhouse so that their son could play football at a school about twenty minutes away from home. The son spends a few nights in the townhouse to make it a ‘home.’
Both examples illustrate the length parents and their children will go. It happens in many sports, and it happens all over the country.
I don’t automatically say it’s a bad idea. I’ll always listen to a family talk about why they want to move a son, daughter, or the entire family to a new school district for athletic benefits. But I must say that I also have a grasp on a larger picture.
First, making that move doesn’t always end up helping an athlete as much as he or she thinks it will. Second, the option is something affluent families are more likely to pull off successfully. David Sills, featured recently by ESPN, is a good example.
I know that the situation is changing. I see it all the time in North Carolina. But irrespective of family income, I have trouble with the message that often gets sent to young men and women about transferring for sports reasons. It often goes something like this: “Hey, the grass is greener over at Podunk High, so let’s enroll you there. We’ll rent something in that district to use as an address. You’ll be surrounded by winners and get a college scholarship. It’s a bit of a drive, we know, but the college money will more than pay for the travel time and rent.”
This kind of transactional behavior (that is, doing this to get that) is rampant in our country. But is it the right? Ethical? And is that hoped-for scholarship worth the lessons being taught? And just what is being taught to young men and women?
–“We’ll cheat to give you an advantage.”
–“Being part of a more-glittering program is better than being associated with a less-glittering one.”
–“The coaches over there are ‘better’ than the ones over here–not in a variety of ways–but in an athletic way, which is the most important way.”
–“Let’s turn our backs on helping our program improve. Let’s focus instead on just doing what’s best for me.”
There are other approaches. Here’s one.
A young man I know played football for a high school that won three straight Virginia 4-A state football championships. He was team captain his senior year. After graduating, he enrolled at (the time D-3) Davidson College in North Carolina where he played football all four years. There, he again became captain during his senior year.
Davidson College football (photo, VisitLakeNorman.org)
But unlike his high school experience, the Wildcats lost many games, won few, and did both in front of sparse crowds. But all four years, my young friend worked and led and learned. After graduating, he joined the Army dive team and was a leader in the Middle East and at home. Today, he’s earning a graduate degree in business.
I learned about his football experience while serving as an editor for his grad school papers. As we talked, I was impressed by how much his high school and collegiate experiences had influenced him. He mentioned the winning seasons in high school only to show contrast with all those losing seasons at Davidson. Both experiences ‘sharpened iron’ by growing his character and enhancing his leadership skills. Losing, you see, requires more from us than winning.
What’s it all mean? Parents, if you have a future Tebow or Jordon or Woods, remember the numbers in the headline of this article. I’ll tell you what they mean. On average, about 2% of high school athletes receive college scholarships in basketball and football at the D-1 or D-2 levels. What they receive at public universities averages about $18,000 a year.
Are the lessons being taught worth that sum? Any sum? Think about that when the topic of transferring is being considered. You be the judge.
