Teen Identity

I was at a high school varsity soccer game the other day.  I happened to not have a child playing and was talking to another friend there without a child on the pitch. 

We got to talking about the adjustment to college.  Eventually, we were talking about the adjustment from being the “big star” in high school sports to being a “small fish” at the college level.

The long and the short of what we decided is that teenage athletes - both at the collegiate and high school levels - make being the sports star their identity.  When moving from one level to the next, that identity, in most cases, changes.  So, at a time when a 18 year old is living away from home for the first time, adjusting to living with someone they don’t know, adjusting to no parental influence, this same teenager is adjusting to a complete change in identity.

Teen athletes need to realize that what other people think is not what is important in their decisions to play at the varsity or collegiate level.  Teen athletes need to know that who they are may be a part their athleticism but that should not be their all. 

Look at the numbers - there are over 1 million high school football players in the US.  There are not even collegiate programs to absorb, even if talent dictated it, that number.  There is a whittling down.  Then, look at the number of professional football teams.  There is not enough to absorb the number of collegiate athletes, even if you include arena football, Canadian football.  The numbers are worse for the female athlete.

Please make sure that teen athletes have an identity out of their sport.  It will be their life eventually.

Dorm Rooms Make News

Okay, so I have seen more dorm rooms in the last four years than your average 40-something, but I was shocked to find out that dorms are making the news.  BusinessWeek.com and Forbes.com are both headlining articles about the extreme cost of living in a dorm. 

I could not believe my eyes as I was reading the information.   One article spoke of a dorm room being over $10,000 for a school year.  That works out to about $1,000 a month even though not all of those months are full months.  That is one heck of a house payment or apartment.  I have four children - a hard word to use when one will be 22 this year - in college.  Only one has moved off campus and that was not by choice but due to transferring and no on-campus housing being available.  The difference between the ancient but recently remodeled dorm room at one private college and the townhouse that was not in much better shape but more like real life is $500.  The difference between brand new apartments on one campus and the old dorms is about the same.

My one off-campus student lives in an all inclusive apartment complex that is on the campus shuttle route and is less expensive than the apartments the university has on campus.

The entire situation amazes me.

All I Can Say is…Wow!

All I can say is wow!  Not only do they expect “teenagers” to arrive at school in perfect shape, they also expect those first year students to adjust perfectly.

First there was the May mailing of the summer workout plan.  It was laid out perfectly.  It made sense and included a nutritional plan also.  It was complete and a great start.  Did it work?  Yes and no.  Self-motivation, unless involving shopping or hanging out, is not necessarily my 18 year old’s forte.  She went gangbusters at first.  Then, senior activities from high school got in the way.  It was hard to pick back up.  She knew she had to be to university on August 10 but high school graduation was June 23 so that was barely seven weeks of saying goodbye to lifelong friends.  On top of that, when you add in everyone’s family and work schedules, she was feeling the pressure already.

She worked and worked.  Held down a 15 - 25 hour a week part time job so she would have some spending money at school.  Got up to workout at 8 am so it fit in with the family car schedule.  Ate as healthily as you can expect with all the parties and picnics going on.

Then, came the packing.  She didn’t really concentrate on it.  Rather, she thought everything should go.  Big mistake.  First, she was in a temporary room for four days (more on this aspect of being an early arrival athlete on another day) so packing consisted of what was needed for four days of double sessions and what would be in storage.  This is where the downfall was.  She didn’t really check things out.  Her sister and I did a lot of packing for her.  She was too busy saying goodbye.

Well, the list of things left behind grows daily.  Every trip up there is filled with at least a bag of “her” stuff.  We are not talking a quick trip.   She is four hours away at university.