The Class of 2021 has surely faced some challenges over the past year; here are ways student-athletes and parents can prepare for the future.
Life is pretty strange at the time of the writing of this blog post. We are still in a global-pandemic, approaching our one-year anniversary in fact. We are in the midst of the changing of Presidential regimes and political unrest. Students are slowly returning to classrooms while numbers continue to climb. And here you are, a student-athlete still being asked not only to show up to classes and to perform well there, but to continue to excel at your sport. It’s a lot.
Parents, I want to applaud you for however you’ve handled your situations over the past year. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how rough it’s been at times. We at Free Game Program want to help ease some of the stress and anxiety that surely comes with having a child playing a sport at this time.
I want to take some time to specifically address the student-athlete Class of 2021. High school and college seniors. This has to be a strange time for you. In one case, some of your seasons are either over or have been canceled. Some of you are still playing. In another case, some of you have secured your college scholarships and some of you are still hoping to do so. Some of you are about to be thrown into the real world with school and athletics behind you. Again, I understand, it’s a lot.
We at Free Game Program want you to know that we understand and empathize with you at this time. We’re also here to help. This blog post will serve as a guide for the student-athlete Class of 2021 to give you some things to think about and to answer any questions you may have regarding your future.
Time is of the essence for you guys, so let’s dive right in.
Things every Class of 2021 student-athlete should be doing
It’s still hard to tell what the next year of pandemic life looks like right now, but we can only control what we can control. At Free Game Program, it is our mission to produce well educated, professionally successful, and civilly responsible student-athletes while using sports as the vehicle to a lifetime of financial freedom. In other words, we want to make sure that each and every student-athlete that we encounter is prepared for life after sports, whether they finish playing at the amateur, collegiate, or professional level. The ball stops bouncing. The bats stop swinging. Enter a phrase that applies to your sport here. The point is that student-athletes need to be ready for that day.
Free Game Program is here to help you prepare. Whether you’re a high school senior or a soon-to-be college graduate, here are a few things every Class of 2021 student-athlete should be doing. We’ll get into specific scenarios later in this blog post.
Every 2021 student-athlete should be completing regular mental health checks.
One thing that must happen before anything else is that you have to be okay. Health should a bigger priority than it’s ever been. Not only is COVID-19 still around, but the state of the world in 2021 is also enough to make one worry night and day. Free Game Program suggests having regular self mental-health checks to make sure you’re always on top of your game.
Here are some other self care tips student-athletes can use:
- Get enough sleep.
- Maintain a healthy, balanced diet.
- Get outside to enjoy nature.
- Talk to someone about the good and the bad occuring in your life.
- Explore hobbies outside of your sport.
You can also check out our previous blog post ‘Playing in a Pandemic’ here.
Every 2021 student-athlete should finish strong academically.
This should go without saying, but we’re aware of how the pressures of college recruiting can make us forget about the importance of handling business in the classroom. Maintaining good grades is important for several reasons.
High school seniors need to get accepted into college and want to be eligible for both athletic and academic scholarships. Student-athletes often forget that they can receive academic scholarships in addition to athletic scholarships.
College seniors will be competing with other graduates for entry-level positions. A great GPA is a way to separate yourself from the pack. Also student-athletes, I know most people promise that they’re done with school once they graduate from college. However, a lot of people consider and do eventually go back to school to pursue secondary degrees. Just in case you decide to one day, you’re going to want to make sure you finish undergrad well. Your GPA will be a determinant in your admission to graduate school.
Every 2021 student-athlete should gather their academic transcripts, their athletic film, and their professional portfolio.
Alright. We’re handling business in the classroom. Now it’s time to gather your materials! This will be a transitional period for you. The best way to get where you’re going is to know where you’ve been. Whether you’re getting ready for college or the real world, it’s important to be able to showcase your work. After all, we are in the world of sports. Life can sometimes feel like a competition, even though it shouldn’t. We can’t change the way the world works in that aspect. But what we can do is control what we can and play to win.
If you’re a student-athlete, you should be gathering all of your film, transcripts, and any professional work you’ve completed throughout your academic career. For one, these things are just always good to have handy as a student-athlete. Second, you can promote yourself with these materials and put yourself in a best-case scenario for the future.
Every 2021 student-athlete should be promoting themselves.
Once you have access to your film, transcripts, and other things, it’s time to start promoting yourself as a student-athlete. High school seniors who want to play at the collegiate level can use their film to create highlight tapes to assist in their college recruiting process. College seniors can use their highlight tapes as keepsakes or to promote themselves if they want to go pro.
Transcripts, internship coursework and other resume and portfolio assets can be used to explore professional development.
Every 2021 student-athlete should be looking for internship/employment opportunities.
As we discussed earlier in this blog post, we don’t know what 2021 looks like. A lot of student-athletes in the Class of 2020 played their last games without knowing it. We simply don’t know if sports will make it through all of this year. A word we’ve used a ton already and will continue to use as a staple of Free Game Program is ‘prepare’.
In the event that sports are coming to an end for you in the near future, let’s prepare. If high school seniors aren’t able to secure scholarships, It’s not the end of the world. Free Game Program suggests lending attention to other areas of life. Professional development in addition to the efforts being made to continue the pursuit of an athletic career is ideal. College seniors seeking employment, this applies to you as well. Internships are a great way to learn what you want your professional path to look like. You can learn what you do and don’t like about an industry or company while gaining valuable networking and professional development skills that you’ll need in life.
Now that we’ve addressed the things that all student-athletes in the Class of 2021 should be doing, I’m going to briefly outline some specific situations and how to best manage them.
Scenarios for the high school student-athlete Class of 2021
High school student-athletes and parents in the Class of 2021, I’m sure this time period has been worrisome for you all, not only because of the pandemic and COVID-19 but the pressures that they’ve added to the college recruiting process. Eligibility rule changes have forced coaches and schools to maneuver differently in regards to the college recruiting process. Some student-athletes gained an extra year of eligibility, lessening the amount of NCAA scholarships available to the Class of 2021.
Not to worry! Free Game Program is here to support you throughout this process, no matter your situation. Below you’ll find a list of scenarios that may apply to you and some quick tips on how to navigate them. If you have specific questions, you can always reach out to us here or on our socials @freegameprogram.
I am a Class of 2021 high school student-athlete who has secured a college scholarship offer.
Congratulations! Free Game Program wants you to know that we are proud of you and wish you the best of luck wherever you decide to continue to pursue your education and further your athletic career. Next steps:
- Commit—It’s probably best that you go ahead and commit to a school that has offered you a college scholarship as options are already few.
- Stay healthy—It’ll be imperative that student-athletes maintain their health heading into this unpredictable year. When we refer to health here at Free Game Program, we mean mental as well physical.
- Get ready for college—Wrap up with some good grades! Be sure to apply and enroll into the school you’ve committed to. Search for potential remote internships in case sports are canceled or postponed.
I am a Class of 2021 high school student-athlete who has not secured a college scholarship offer.
Try not to stress yourself out about the college recruiting process. If your high school career is coming to an end and you feel that you can play at the next level, here’s what you can do:
- Gather film—Collect as much athletic film on yourself as you can and create a highlight tape. If you need help making a tape, shoot us a message and we can help you have one made.
- Promote play on social media—Posting highlight tapes to social media apps like Twitter and Instagram are a great way to get people buzzing about you. Share the tape with your coaches and ask them to share it with their network of scouts and coaches.
- Become open to the possibility of Junior College if you’re not already—Given the changes in eligibility, NCAA coaches will be looking for experienced players in the coming years. A great way for student-athletes to hone their skills out of high school is to attend a junior college and compete there. You can gather more film and not lose a year or two sitting out. Essentially. you can obtain your Associate’s degree while continuing your athletic career and pursuit of an NCAA scholarship.
- Look into internships—sports may not make it through 2021 whether you have a scholarship or not. Be prepared. We can help with that too.