Decision-making is a part of everyday life. Student athletes are
faced with countless numbers of choices and options that will
inevitably shape their future. Rewards for the right choices
are often great; however, poor choices sometimes have undesirable,
far-reaching consequences. Sometimes, in the short term a choice
might seem worth the risk, but it is also important to remember
that an "inch" of pleasure can result in a "mile"
of pain. At a given point in time, drug taking may seem like
a good option, but is such a decision based upon sound principles
of responsible decision making? One
may ask:
What is a responsible decision?
Making a responsible decision involves:
- Making sure that the decision is based upon accurate,
current information.
- Being fully aware of the important responsibilities associated
with being a student athlete.
- Showing consideration and caring for the well-being and
the needs of others, now and in the future.
- Incorporating into the decision a clear and positive sense
of one's physical, mental, social, financial and legal well-being.
This question should challenge every student athlete
to think about decision making and what success in athletics
and academics means, without using drugs. Consider the following
formula:
GENETICS
+
FOCUS
+
MOTIVATION
+
COACHING
+
ADAPTABILITY
+
REST & NUTRITION
+
INJURY MANAGEMENT
+
LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE
+
USE OF INTELLIGENCE
+
POSITIVE USE OF EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE
Out of this list it seems at first that genetics
is a factor that is unchangeable and not worth examining. This
is not entirely true. Every individual's attitude to his or
her innate ability can have a powerful influence over how that
person develops his/her potential. So, choosing to be willing
to work with one's genetics is an all-important factor in personal
development.
Everyone who reads the formula above should know that many famous,
elite athletes were not highly gifted genetically. Hard, consistent
work helped many student athletes to compensate for average
inherited ability, and they achieved outstanding results during
their collegiate athletic careers.
GENETICS
Some student athletes are naturally gifted with
excellent genetics, for example, natural speed, agility, acceleration,
size, hand-eye coordination, ability to grasp concepts quickly.
These are important factors that help a student athlete succeed
in collegiate athletics and academics; however, many student
athletes have succeeded without having been born from a superior
gene pool. There are examples of outstanding athletes who succeeded
after overcoming major physical set backs; Ernst Icicle of Germany
who only had one arm, played on the German World Cup winning
team. The Brazilian Garrincha overcame severe deformities in
his feet to be on the Brazilian World Cup winning team. The
American cyclist Lance Armstrong overcame his struggle with
cancer to win the 1999 Tour deFrance. Boston Celtics star Larry
Bird was not renowned for his lightning speed or jumping ability
but worked hard and long to become one of America's all-time
greatest basketball players.
FOCUSING ON THE RIGHT DECISIONS
The ability to focus and not let unnecessary distraction
affect one's goals are an essential part of becoming an elite
complete student athlete. How often do we hear about individuals
who have good intentions to work hard and reliably, but who
allow unnecessary distractions to veer them off course? The
ability to stay focused is important on the court or playing
field, and when a student athlete attends academic classes.
Deciding what to eat, whether to stay out late at a party, go
to class, complete university assignments on time, avoid unnecessary
distractions, all test an individual's ability to stay focused.
According to psychologist Steven Ungerleider (1996),
the world famous golfer Jack Nicklaus suggests that intense
focus and unwavering concentration are the only ways to approach
a serious game. Another famous golfer Chuck Hogan believes that
errors occur when an athlete allows distractions away from the
game to undermine the intense focus that the athlete needs to
be successful.
Sometimes people talk of a coach as a great motivator.
Some coaches have a strong influence over their student athletes
but no coach ever won a championship without the total commitment
of the individuals on the team. Student athletes need to be
driven also by an inner self-motivating force. The coach can
be compared to the starter in an automobile. The coach can be
an important influence at important times but reliable and consistent
commitment from every individual on the team is needed to keep
the team running smoothly. Student athletes who are committed
to do well in college as students and as athletes maintain a
high level of enthusiasm for their studies and their athletic
program.
After he had interviewed 51 Olympic athletes U.S.
Olympic sport psychologist Steven Ungerleider (1995) concluded
that success in athletics is about passion,
identifying your goals, perseverance and pushing through obstacles
and disappointments.
ACCEPTING COACHING/TEACHING
Being a student and an athlete means belonging to a team, as well
as being actively enrolled in a program of academic study. This
involves listening carefully to a coach or professor and being
willing to accept and think carefully about important coaching
points and new ideas in the different areas of academics. Coaches
can demand acceptance of their ideas, but only the athlete knows
in his or her innermost thoughts how much of the coach's ideas
they are willing to accept. The elite student athlete considers
the ideas of the coach, and what he/she is taught in team workout.
In the classroom the student athlete considers the ideas of
the professor, what he/she learns in the classroom, and seeks
to find ways to best apply his/her newly acquired skills and
knowledge.
U.S. Olympic athlete Kenny Moore validated the need to listen
carefully to the coaches when he said: "He (University
of Oregon coach Bill Bowerman) worked our asses off, but he
also knew balance and would caution us against overtraining
and possible injury." (In Ungerleider.S, Quest for Success,
1995, p. 64). Although not the most naturally gifted marathon
runner, Moore developed into one of the world's best over the
marathon distance of 26 miles 385 yards.
ADAPTABILITY
Adaptability means being willing to change attitudes, strategies,
and carefully made plans, ideas, and to abandon rigid attitudes,
so the student athlete responds successfully to new and unforeseen
challenges. Student athletes who are flexible, and can quickly
adapt their knowledge and ability effectively to changing circumstances
succeed in the dynamic arena of athletic competition and the
classroom. Frequently, situations in athletics and in the classroom
call for different applications of skill and knowledge. Those
who can rise to the occasion are most often rewarded with the
success of achievement.
Former Olympic 800 meter and 1500 meter gold medallist New Zealander
Peter Snell stated that: "it is mainly a particular understanding
of the personality characteristics that leads one to identify
the high achievers in sport. If you factor in stress management,
resiliency factors and coping responses, the whole package is
there. That's the driving force that will make an individual
do whatever it takes to get the job done." (Ungerleider,
S. 1995. p. 179).
REST AND NUTRITION
What difference does rest or eating right makes? Fatigue from
staying up too late too often, regularly missing meals or eating
a diet of "junk food" could mean placing second instead
of first, finishing a milli-behind in time, or being unable
to endure an exhausting practice. In the classroom inappropriate
nutrition and lack of rest can lead to inability to recall important
information for an examination, or lack the energy to do creative,
critical thinking. Student athletes who disregard rest and nutrition
and consider it a random event in their lives over which they
have little control or interest may run the risk of performing
below par in athletics and academics.
From 20 years of working with elite athletes Dr. Steven Ungerleider
recognizes that rest and relaxation are important factors that
are necessary to create the most effective environment for mental
rehearsal and mental preparation before an important athletic
event. U.S. gymnast Julianne McNamara included relaxation in
her preparation before winning gold and two silver medals at
the 1984 Olympic Games. (Ungerleider, 1996).
Nutritionist Jean Barilla (1999), has emphasized the importance
of balanced nutrition to boost the immune system against sickness
and provide support for dealing with stress. Student athletes
face many physical and mentally stressful situations and need
to make sure that they eat a variety of foods that provide a
plentiful supply of nutrients.
MANAGEMENT OF INJURY
Have you experienced the frustration of being injured, forced
to sit on the bench, felt excluded? Waiting for an injury to
respond to treatment and finding activites to substitute for
the excitement and thrill of being involved in athletics is
a major challenge to every student athlete who suffers an injury.
What happens in these circumstances is a challenge to the student
athlete's strength of character in staying focused on recovery,
remaining involved in the program of study, and carefully following
the instructions of the coach, team trainer, and team physician.
Student athletes need to seek positive ways to channel their
energies while recovering from injury.
Former U.S. Olympic cyclist Leann Warren was a world-class middle
distance runner in the 800 and 1500 meters. After repeated injuries
from running she changed to cycling and won an Oregon cycling
championship. She said: "after nine knee surgeries, it
was time to hang up the spikes and refocus my energies to cycling.
" (In Ungerleider, 1996, p.79). An injured student also
has time to master academic skills that they had less time for
when they were competing.
LEARNING FROM SUCCESS/NON-SUCCESS
Former UCLA coach John Wooden once said that he did not expect
his players to express excessive elation about winning or excessive
dejection about losing. He has said that outsiders should not
be able to tell whether the team had won or lost by the reactions
of the team members. Basketball coach George Raveling said that
"sometimes you can win and still lose, and sometimes you
can lose and still win." The message in the words of these
two great coaches is clear for all student athletes. The elite
student athlete looks at results in their sport or the results
of their classroom endeavors as a part
of their growth and development. Each outcome, whether a success
or a disappointment is an opportunity to learn and mature. The
manner in which a student athlete reacts to success or disappointment
can mark his or her upward or downward progress in the future.
EFFECTIVE USE OF INTELLIGENCE
Elite student athletes are prudent in how they use their energy.
Elite athletes know when to put on the pressure and when to
conserve energy. They sense the important moments and time their
efforts accordingly. How many times do we hear the comment that
an individual seemed to perform "effortlessly?" Many
realize however, that the performance was not really effortless.
It was made to appear so because of many hours, days, weeks,
and sometimes years of careful, dedicated preparation. It is
an illusion to think that an elite student athlete has achieved
excellence by taking short cuts. Elite athletes know that high
levels of performance require intelligent application of mind
and body.
As 1980 Olympic Track and Field athlete Mary Osborne Andrews stated:
"what we know about peak performers and high achievers
is that these are individuals that are able to imagine what
they want before they ever get it and can balance the priorities
in their life in the process of reaching it" (in Ungerleider,
S., 1995, p. 121).
POSITIVE USE OF EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
To be a student athlete in a major university is a unique lifetime
opportunity to excel in athletics and academics. How to make
the most out of this opportunity is unique to each individual
student athlete. Many experiences will challenge the individual
to make important choices that will shape his or her life in
the future. At the end of four or five years, most student athletes
will not join the professional ranks. Instead, they will use
the skills in new and different careers; less than 10 out of
every 1,000-student athletes who compete for four years in athletic
program across the United states will be drafted into the professional
sports. So it is important to take advantage of a university
education and perhaps go on to own a business, become a doctor,
lawyer, accountant, follow another important and respected profession
or occupation.
Do you sometimes wonder what became of former collegiate athletes?
Take a look at the following short accounts of individuals who
were student athletes, like you.
Roger Bannister, who was the first man to run
a mile in less than four minutes, became a successful medical
doctor.
Olympic gold medallist in the 800 and 1500 meters
Peter Snell became a physiologist and is now the director of
the University of Texas South Western Medical Center Human Performance
Laboratory.
Five times Olympian fencer Peter Westbrook received
a bachelor's degree in marketing from New York University and
became director of the Peter Westbrook Foundation Outreach Program
for disadvantaged youths.
Olympic gymnast Julianne McNamara was student
at UCLA and pursued a career in acting and starred in two films,
and has been a sports newscaster for CBS, NBC, and ESPN.
Olympic high jumper Louise Ritter received a bachelor's
degree from Texas Women's University and owner of her own sports-fitness
business.
U.S. Olympic decathlete Bruce Jenner received
a bachelor's degree from Graceland College and has worked as
a television sportscaster, writer, businessman, and as a promotions
director for children with dyslexia. (Ungerleider, S., 1995).
This is a small list of the diverse occupations
that former student athletes followed after they finished their
careers in athletics. Many more student athletes who are less
well known to the general public have also successfully established
themselves in worthwhile, enriching careers.
References
Ungerleider, S. Mental Training for Peak Performance. Pub. Rodale
Press, Inc., Emmaus, Pensylvania. 1996.
Ungerleider, S. Quest for Success. Pub.WRS Publishing,
Waco, Texas. 1995.
(The Formula for Success and the Self-Assessment
Inventory developed by R.Tricker, Ph.D., Oregon State University.
Not to be reproduced without permission).
This quick self-assessment questionnaire
is based on the formula in this website. It is intended to provide
you with an appraisal of your current status and will allow
you to estimate in which areas you can focus on to improve your
ability. Your decision to work on a personal area of weakness
could help to shape your championship potential.
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