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Choice to pick a college for a sport or for a better degree
I am a high school senior and im stuck about the obvious problem all seniors face...what college is right for me?
Heres my problem....I am a pretty talented wrestler, not amazing, but talented. I am ok at school not the best. My dad really wants me to go to a 2-year school that already has an interest in me to wrestle for them and he thinks it will fit my academic abilities better. But i really have a good 4-year school picked out im already accepted, and i have friends that go there. and they have a very competitive wrestling program I love wrestling it was basically my life in HS...but i probably wont start actually wrestling for them for a long time, I even went through the thought of just ending my wrestling career, I ended high school on a good note...maybe it is time to end. I feel like with wrestling gone I could focus more on school and maybe some things i couldnt do since I was so committed to wrestling. I love the 4-year, even without wrestling, but it is really hard to let go of wrestling.
Thanks!
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Although it hasn't been that many years since a high school education became a universal requirement for most decent jobs, a college degree is not alway enough today.
This is true in sports, at least as much as in any other career. Today, a Master's Degree is becoming the standard for advancement in athletics.
In the college arena, this means that if you aspire to be a Head Coach, the Athletic Director of the school or an administrator anywhere, you should plan on getting your Bachelor's and spending another year or more working for that graduate degree.
Many schools now offer a Master in Athletic Administration or a similar degree. A "similar degree," for example is the Master of Education in Intercollegiate Athletic Leadership, beginning Summer, 2006 at the University of Washington. The curriculum is guided by a national advisory board, to present a balance of issues in different sports, different types of colleges, regions of the country and the diverse backgrounds of students and leaders. It's led by UW faculty from the College of Education, the School of Business and the Athletic Department, with the help of professional people from the sports industry.
This sport administration degree program is different from most, because it is specifically designed to prepare you for working in a college or university system.
The Program Director, Associate Professor James Antony says the UW has initiated the IAL program because nobody else is focusing on the unique working environment and cultural structure of the college setting. Even the University of North Carolina, which also has a Master's program directed toward college jobs, uses a broader approach in this sense.
Understanding the structure of these college organizations is critical, but other areas covered include things like financial management, strategic planning, public relations and fundraising. The input of professional sports people is important, because they all have a strong relationship with the college world.
The North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM) lists about 200 universities and colleges in the USA alone that offer Sport Management programs by clicking here.
NASSM also maintains lists of universities offering sport management programs in Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand on this website.
Seattle University has a new program for a Master in Sport Administration and Leadership (MSAL). Instructors come from schools throughout the university and from all around the sport industry. The program grew from a graduate track at nearby Seattle Pacific University (SPU) that began in 1986. Graduates of the SPU program have gone into these careers:
Interscholastic sports - 55%
Intercollegiate, Professional and Olympic sports - 30%
Sports production - 15%
These graduates have gone to the top in the sport industry, working for Boys & Girls Clubs, YMCA and YWCA, cities and counties, health clubs, public and private schools, community colleges, universities, foundations, television, NCAA and other sports and recreation associations, sports businesses and professional teams.
"The curriculum and instruction in the MSAL program are designed to prepare graduates not only to work in the world of sports but also to have the commitment and capability to help make that world more just, ethical and humane," says Professor Dan Tripps of the new Seattle University program.
He believes that "the sports world desperately needs ethically grounded leaders who can inspire the best performance and behavior from their athletes, coaches and staff."
Masters degree programs graduates have experiential education, exposure to people from around the sports world and practical experience that set them apart from the ex-athlete, the coach who's done nothing else, and the graduate of a four-year program that's limited in scope and short on doing things. With a Master's degree, they can choose positions like these:
* Athletic Director
* Assistant Athletic Director
* Assistant Sports Information Director
* Associate Athletic Director
* Associate Dean
* Business Owner
* Director of Communication
* Director of Development
* Director of Operations
* Director of Public Relations
* Director of Programs
* Director of Sales
* Director of Facilities
* Executive Director
* Head Coach
* Legislative Services Associate
* Principal
* Superintendent
* Sports Reporter
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I can understand where you are coming from, I was always an athelete in high school, a very very good athelete in high school. I played softball, basketball, and volleyball and did well in all 3, once senior year was rolling around I had a few colleges that wanted me to play volleyball for them and everyone around me was pushing me towards this, but I didn't know if thats what I wanted to do. The schools that wanted me to play were not really that good in the areas that I wanted to major in and I really didn't know if I even wanted to continue my sports career in college.
In the end I chose a local community college that was cheaper and that suited what I wanted and am going to transfer to the local university in another year, I stopped playing sports and although I do miss them I do not regret my decision. You have to do what makes YOU happy, it doesn't matter what anyone else wants because you are the one who is going to have to go to the school and the wrestling practices if you choose to continue. You need to sit down make a list of pros and cons of each school and decide which one is really best for you, what you want to do, and most importantly what will make you happy. If your parents do not agree with your decision just let them know that you made an educated decision and you believe that the college you chose is best for you now and your future :)
Hope I Helped :)
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I think going to the 4-year school will be MUCH better for you in the long run. I don't think going to college just to play a sport is the greatest idea; after all, it doesn't guarantee you a career in the sport, it doesn't ensure that you will be a WWE superstar. And you said so yourself, you're talented, but you're not super amazing at it.
If you don't see yourself turning this into a career, if you can't picture doing it in ten years, twenty years, forty years, go with the 4-year school. In this economy, having a stable career is vital and getting your degree can put you on the the right track.
Also, you're not letting go of wrestling by going to the 4-year school. You said so yourself that it has a good wrestling program!
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I played football all 4 years of high school. Could have gotten onto the UT secondary (the team that trains the team that plays, I would have proudly sat on the sidelines all season =/) and I didn't. Doc told me that I'd need a knee replacement before I finished college if I did.
Argue education. Argue it hard. A 4 year education gives you a base that cannot, under any circumstances, be taken away from you. It means that you can then, if you choose, spend 2 more years getting a masters in something and make 100k a year.
For you, if you like wrestling so much, you could become a kinesiology major or something similar, become a physical therapist. It takes 6 years, but you're guaranteed a good job in a growing field at this point.
You could work 40 hours a week, make 90-100k, and have plenty of time left over to coach and be a physical trainer for a high school team. Or something similar.
Push education. There are way more options than you've probably ever considered.
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I think it depends on your major. At my school they typically make you graduate as soon as you have 120 credits which would force me to graduate a semester early, but since I’m double majoring I won’t have all of my requirements satisfied until the end of 4 years. My roommate is going into her 4th year in the fall and will have enough credits to graduate by december but she wants to stay for her super senior year and will be allowed to by the school because she’s an engineering major and they are allotted 5 years.
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