The Miseducation of the Student Athlete


Book Description

2018 DIGITAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST FOR BEST SOCIAL IMPACT BOOK The student-athlete's life: practice, gym, weight room, film review, repeat. Simply put, sports come first. Academics is a distant second. As the revenues generated by big-time college sports continue to skyrocket, virtually all of the debate involves whether (and how much) student-athletes should be paid for play. Kenneth L. Shropshire and Collin D. Williams, Jr., argue that "student" has to come first in student-athlete: the focus should be on prioritizing a meaningful education. In The Miseducation of the Student Athlete: How to Fix College Sports, Shropshire and Williams draw on new research to reveal that it has become increasingly difficult for college athletes to balance school and sports, much less a social life, leading to serious economic, professional, and emotional consequences for young people. Given that fewer than 2% of all college men's basketball and football players will play at the professional level, the other 98% of student-athletes must be prepared to find and perform well in jobs outside of their respective field of play. In this bold call to action, Shropshire and Williams explain how we got here and what can be done about it. They lay out The Student-Athlete Manifesto, a roadmap to increase the likelihood that student-athletes can succeed both on and off the field. They also offer a Meaningful Degree Model, which ensures education pays for everyone, along with stories of success that show it is possible to be both a student and an athlete. A critical read for student-athletes, sports leadership, policy makers, and anyone who loves college sports, The Miseducation of the Student Athlete has the potential to disrupt college sport and create lasting change.




Counseling and Psychological Services for College Student-Athletes


Book Description

Today's college student-athletes face a wide variety of stressors as they enter the increasingly demanding intercollegiate athletic environment. This Second Edition weaves current research findings, practical examples, and best practices to provide undergraduate and graduate student readers with the necessary tools to effectively and ethically address these issues as future practitioners. Expert chapter authors use their knowledge and experience to address collegiate student-athlete issues such as mental health, injury, race, gender, sexuality, and socioeconomic background, as well as ethical and professional considerations. This updated second edition includes a case vignette at the beginning of each chapter to illustrate the key concepts and discussion questions to encourage thoughtful interaction with the material. New chapters have been added on student-athlete topics including developmental considerations, trauma, concussions, and internationality to assist in facilitating positive change in the lives of college student-athletes.




College Athletes for Hire


Book Description

Many books have been written on the evils of commercialism in college sport, and the hypocrisy of payments to athletes from alumni and other sources outside the university. Almost no attention, however, has been given to the way that the National Collegiate Athletic Association has embraced professionalism through its athletic scholarship policy. Because of this gap in the historical record, the NCAA is often cast as an embattled defender of amateurism, rather than as the architect of a nationwide money-laundering scheme. Sack and Staurowsky show that the NCAA formally abandoned amateurism in the 1950s and passed rules in subsequent years that literally transformed scholarship athletes into university employees. In addition, by purposefully fashioning an amateur mythology to mask the reality of this employer-employee relationship, the NCAA has done a disservice to student-athletes and to higher education. A major subtheme is that women, such as those who created the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), opposed this hypocrisy, but lacked the power to sustain an alternative model. After tracing the evolution of college athletes into professional entertainers, and the harmful effects it has caused, the authors propose an alternative approach that places college sport on a firm educational foundation and defend the rights of both male and female college athletes. This is a provocative analysis for anyone interested in college sports in America and its subversion of traditional educational and amateur principles.




College Student-Athletes


Book Description

This volume is a critical and objective study of the contemporary college student athlete. Framed around the process of recruitment, transition, and support of student athletes in higher education, the volume is a response to societal pressures to reform college athletics. Driven by publicity and the potential for revenue gains, colleges and universities have invested heavily in developing athletic programs, coaches, and facilities. Yet few resources are invested strategically in the personal and intellectual development of student athletes. Written by a team of authors with first-hand experience working with student athletes and transitional programs, the volume argues that institutional attention must be directed at caring for the personal and intellectual growth of student athletes. Highlighting some best-practice curricula and exploring the psychological issues surrounding participating in often highly-competitive athletics, the authors consistently conclude that institutional responsibility is of the utmost and immediate importance. Authors also consider the unique settings of student athletes in community and private liberal arts colleges, demonstrating the broad interest in athletics and institutional competition. The result is an important volume that will be of interest to those who counsel and administer intercollegiate athletic programs, faculty and researchers looking for insightful baseline data on the contemporary student athlete, and those concerned with transitional programs and the future of higher education.




Student-athlete Success


Book Description

This reader-friendly text provides comprehensive coverage of the many challenges student-athletes will face and the skills needed to address their unique needs and anxieties. Utilizing a positive voice, the author focuses the text on student-athletes' personal capabilities and accomplishments in the classroom and during athletic competition before discussing different types of challenges student-athletes are likely to encounter.




The College Athlete's Guide to Academic Success


Book Description

For courses in Orientation to College for Student-Athletes. Developed and written specifically for student-athletes, this reader-friendly guide offers practical strategies for succeeding in college. Filled with sage and tested advice, the book addresses the most salient academic, personal, and career issues affecting college athletes--from scheduling and time management to maintaining academic motivation and personal well-being. With a meaningful foreword by NCAA President, Myles Brand, the book speaks to the reader from "both sides of the desk" by providing tips from 35 academically successful student-athletes, as well as time-tested advice from two faculty members (the authors) with decades of experience teaching and mentoring college athletes. A valuable resource for anyone entering or soon to enter the world of college athletics, and their advisors, counselors, coaches, and parents, this book uses an inviting format to pack suggestions and tips into practical advice that can guide one's path to success.




Student Athlete's Guide to Getting Recruited


Book Description

"A resource for high school student athletes on how to win athletic scholarships, get recruited by colleges, and excel as college athletes. Includes tips for student athletes on how to communicate with college coaches and market themselves, navigate the NCAA rules, and select the right college"--




Stress in College Athletics


Book Description

Stress in College Athletics: Causes, Consequences, Coping addresses the causes and consequences of stress in college sports and offers effective coping mechanisms that will help individuals understand and control stressors and emotions in their environment. Athletic administrators, coaches, student athletes, parents of athletes, educators, and social and behavioral science researchers will benefit from this examination of what stress is, the different types of stress, and what factors can contribute to anxiety. Containing insight from hundreds of student athletes, coaches, and administrators, this vital book offers you proven research, clear explanations, and recommended suggestions that will enable you to cope with stress and not let it affect your job or your game. Examining how both males and females perceive stress, Stress in College Athletics explores developmental differences between the genders to explain the ways in which the two groups react to and deal with stress. Discussing the challenges that you deal with every day, this valuable book offers you several proven suggestions and methods to help reduce stress, including: Using coping techniques, such as physical exercise (other than the sport you play), recreational activities, muscle relaxation, biofeedback, and meditation Doing things for others and looking to your own spirituality in order to alleviate anxiety Eliminating factors such as fatigue and inferior health in order to avoid the negative emotions of jealousy, fear, and anger that can lead to tension and anxiety Learning how to relieve stress in your immediate environment (on the sidelines, in the audience, or during a test) through simple, effective, and inconspicuous exercises Adapting procedures for self-modification of behavior, such as identifying a behavior you want to change, thinking about the result of that behavior and how often it occurs, and reforming that conduct Through practical research, theories about stress and its causes and effects, and insight from peers, this excellent resource offers suggestions for further inquiry in the field of college athletics and stress. Complete and thorough, Stress in College Athletics will provide you with the necessary tools to help you create a personal stress management system that will improve your well-being in and out of the athletic forum.




Implementing Student-Athlete Programming


Book Description

In Implementing Student-Athlete Programming, scholar-practitioners provide an approachable and comprehensive overview of how to design, implement, and sustain best practices in the growing area of student-athlete development. Exploring research approaches and critical frames for thinking about student-athlete programming while covering topics such as the current context, challenges, programmatic approaches to support, and trends for the future, this resource also highlights programs that are effective in supporting students to success. This book provides higher education practitioners with the tools they need to effectively work with student-athletes to not only transition to college, but to develop meaningful personal, social, career, and leadership development experiences as they prepare for the transition to life after sport.




The Student-Athlete and College Recruiting


Book Description

"The student-athlete and college recruiting" will prepare high school student-athletes academically, physically and mentally for college athletics and will show them ways to compete for a piece of the "Athletic Scholarship Pie." It also gives student-athletes, and their parents, the kind of guidance and direction they so badly need during the recruiting process.