By Malte Ahrens
Staff Writer
A big sports career with glory, fame, media publicity and maybe lots of money is the dream of almost every teenager. Those who have ever thought about this while growing up or competing in their sport at any level realize quickly how difficult achieving this dream can be. The reality is, just a small number of athletes will end up becoming professional.
Opportunities of playing sports in college are already low, when the number of people playing in high school is compared to the people going on and playing in college. In their annual report from 2020, the NCAA states that less than 10 percent of all high school athletes go on to play college sports.
Source: 2020 NCAA Annual Report
Realizing that the dream of going pro is already over for more than 90 percent of the other athletes after graduating high school gives an idea of how hard the business is. That stresses how important it is to get an education for student-athletes to pursue other opportunities after graduation.
Willis Pooler, athletic director at Lindsey Wilson College in Kentucky says: “Our primary goal should always be to produce graduates while assisting in the overall positive development of our student-athletes.”
“Our primary goal should always be to produce graduates while assisting in the overall positive development of our student-athletes...”
“I think at a certain point you realize where the journey is going,” Michael Burdick, a member of the 2020 LWC NAIA National Champion football team, said. “You see where you are and where other people are at that point, and you start to compare. "
Both Pooler and Burdick agree that student athletes are aware of the low chances of going pro.
"I believe its important to stay realistic,” Burdick added.
According to Lucas Arnold, a professional soccer player from Germany, being able to continue the sport he played his entire life and staying in contact with his friends while also staying active is amazing.
"I don’t have to do my workouts in a gym by myself,' Arnold said. "I have my amateur club to do the workouts together with my teammates.”
While athletes are mostly done with their sports after their high school or college career in the United States, the European sports system seems to have more to offer after graduation. Courtesy Photo.
While athletes are mostly done after their high school or college career in the United States, the European sports system seems to have more to offer after graduation. In many sports and especially the more popular ones (Soccer, Basketball, Tennis, etc.) amateur clubs and Sunday leagues exist. People still play their sport in their free time, not for a scholarship, not for the education, but to balance their work-life and free time. Getting out of the offices and playing the sport they loved their entire life definitely can be a positive impact on their health.
Although both systems have their benefits, the fact remains that it is difficult to become a professional athlete. The American system is strong in supporting education when combining sports with school and college, while European sports benefit the long-term goal of staying active.
Comments