Football life after high school isn't for everyone. Whether it be DI or JUCO if you don't love the game and have the discipline to maintain then leave that spot for those who do. Anytime you get to play a sport at the next level it's worth it. I have several stories from my college days that I won't go into details about, but I wouldn't trade a minute of that time and sweat for any other option. My only regret is that I didn't truly maximize my options while in a small school enviroment. Any level of college sport is similar to a job, you have responsibilities, and commitments to uphold and for some people, that's just too much. I have read the posts of people bragging about their high school and college accomplishments and still question whether it was worth it or not. If you can re-live those moments so vividly, and still question it's worth, the answer is more simple than you think. The game of football is not about whether you're on a bus to the game or on a plane, it's not about 500 fans compared to 5000 fans and it's not about pre madonna exposure of DI football either. The game is about the competiton, 11 on 11 on the grass, turf or whatever surface. If you like lining up and smacking someone in the mouth, knocking their jock in the dirt, and plowing them over with punishing runs then you take every opportunity offered to continue to play this wonderful game, it doesn't matter if it's DI,II,III.NAIA,or JUCO! PLAY THE GAME! Because before you know it, you'll be just another couch potato quaterback wishing you still had your youth.

Football life after high school isn't for everyone. Whether it be DI or JUCO if you don't love the game and have the discipline to maintain then leave that spot for those who do. Anytime you get to play a sport at the next level it's worth it. I have several stories from my college days that I won't go into details about, but I wouldn't trade a minute of that time and sweat for any other option. My only regret is that I didn't truly maximize my options while in a small school enviroment. Any level of college sport is similar to a job, you have responsibilities, and commitments to uphold and for some people, that's just too much. I have read the posts of people bragging about their high school and college accomplishments and still question whether it was worth it or not. If you can re-live those moments so vividly, and still question it's worth, the answer is more simple than you think. The game of football is not about whether you're on a bus to the game or on a plane, it's not about 500 fans compared to 5000 fans and it's not about pre madonna exposure of DI football either. The game is about the competiton, 11 on 11 on the grass, turf or whatever surface. If you like lining up and smacking someone in the mouth, knocking their jock in the dirt, and plowing them over with punishing runs then you take every opportunity offered to continue to play this wonderful game, it doesn't matter if it's DI,II,III.NAIA,or JUCO! PLAY THE GAME! Because before you know it, you'll be just another couch potato quaterback wishing you still had your youth.

 

Great post. Obviously you loved the game and made the right choice. However, every one that has the opportunity to play doesn't necessarily love the game as much as you did. Which was my point. If you love it play, but don't play just because you have the opportunity to play.

Cute. :laugh:

 

While it's not truly the mafia, the Centre network in Kentucky is indeed present, big time. As I believe CentreTigers mentioned, having a Centre degree opens a lot of doors in Ky (and elsewhere to a lesser extent), particularly if the keepers of those doors are Centre alums. Regardless of whether your son wants to play football, he should carefully consider the opportunities a Centre degree will afford him later in life, particularly if he is interested in looking at job opportunities in Ky.

While it's not truly the mafia, the Centre network in Kentucky is indeed present, big time. As I believe CentreTigers mentioned, having a Centre degree opens a lot of doors in Ky (and elsewhere to a lesser extent), particularly if the keepers of those doors are Centre alums. Regardless of whether your son wants to play football, he should carefully consider the opportunities a Centre degree will afford him later in life, particularly if he is interested in looking at job opportunities in Ky.

 

1) His father is having a very hard time with him not playing baseball in college. If I bite my lip any harder, it is going to bleed. But I guess that's another issue altogether.

 

2) It is terribly difficult to get a 17-18 year old to focus on the future benefits that a school like Centre offers. To a 17-18 year old, their "future" is later that day or tomorrow, at best.

 

3) Our son has full (or very close to full) academic rides to EKU and WKU. UL, which is really where he wants to go, isn't quite as giving with the money and we would have a fair sum out of pocket. Centre had made him a nice offer, but obviously we'll have much more out of pocket due to the overall costs. I told him pointblank that I saw no reason to pay much, if anything, out of pocket for him to go to UL over EKU or WKU. Just not that big of difference, if any. However, we told him we'll write whatever check is necessary for Centre. The difference between Centre and the other three is significant. It just doesn't seem to be getting through to him. I'm hoping that one more visit down there in a few weeks, plus the recruiting reception at Taft, might sway him. If not, so be it. It's very hard trying to convince an 18 year old that they don't have all the answers in life.

Edited February 17, 201016 yr by cooperstown
sp

1) His father is having a very hard time with him not playing baseball in college. If I bite my lip any harder, it is going to bleed. But I guess that's another issue altogether.

 

2) It is terribly difficult to get a 17-18 year old to focus on the future benefits that a school like Centre offers. To a 17-18 year old, their "future" is later that day or tomorrow, at best.

 

3) Our son has full (or very close to full) academic rides to EKU and WKU. UL, which is really where he wants to go, isn't quit as giving with the money and we would have a fair sum out of pocket. Centre had made him a nice offer, but obviously we'll have much more out of pocket due to the overall costs. I told him pointblank that I saw no reason to pay much, if anything, out of pocket for him to go to UL over EKU or WKU. Just not that big of difference, if any. However, we told him we'll write whatever check is necessary for Centre. The difference between Centre and the other three is significant. It just doesn't seem to be getting through to him. I'm hoping that one more visit down there in a few weeks, plus the recruiting reception at Taft, might sway him. If not, so be it. It's very hard trying to convince an 18 year old that they don't have all the answers in life.

 

While I loved my time at Hanover, and others loved Centre, if you can get a full ride, or not have to kill yourself financially, I would take the money at EKU or WKU. Your education is what you make of it. While EKU or WKU may not carry as much weight as Centre in Kentucky, I'm assuming that your son will move back to the Greater Cincinnatir area after graduating. A 4.0 and honors on a resume will look just as good, in my opinion, as a degree from Hanover or Centre. Plus he won't be paying back such a hefty student loan, and you won't have to remortgage. Of course, that's Dave Ramsey talking.

Great post. Obviously you loved the game and made the right choice. However, every one that has the opportunity to play doesn't necessarily love the game as much as you did. Which was my point. If you love it play, but don't play just because you have the opportunity to play.

 

Thanks, I know what you're saying by "don't play just because you have the opportunity to play", quite a few kids have the opportunity, but not many have the love, and I can tell you loved those days at Highlands and enjoyed the success:thumb:.

Often, playing at a D2, D3 or NAIA school is a great experience, but must be weighed against other factors. As I see it, those other factors include:

 

1. Academic programs available to students must be weighed against what is available at another school where you would not be playing football. If you choose a school that does not have the program you want to be in to start a career, in order to play football, the trade off could hurt very much in the long term of any future earnings or career objectives.

2. Often there is still considerable cost of going to a school and playing football since any athletic scholarship money may not be enough. The total cost of school and football at one school may be considerably higher than the cost at another school without playing football.

 

For example, Thomas More tuition is > $20K per year, but D3 schools cannot offer athletic scholarships, and academic scholarship money may only cover 25% of tuition. That costs more than going to UofL and watching football from the seats. Is playing football worth the additional costs? And UofL has many more programs available to students than TMC does. Do you really want to settle for the wrong program, additional costs, and long term implications, all for the experience of playing lower level football? It may work out for you, but it won't for everyone.

While that may hold true in regards to Thomas More, consider a school like Centre College.

 

A degree from U of L and a degree from Centre are a far cry from one-another. A student with a 3.8 GPA applying for post-grad school from U of L will ALWAYS lose out to a student with a 3.8 GPA from Centre who also brings proof of multi-tasking through playing football and maintaining academic excellence.

My perspective: I also played at Centre. I reported my frosh year. To be honest, I was burnt out on football. Highlands football program is and was pretty demanding (although it was nothing close back then compared to how demanding it is now) and I was tired of the sport. Nonetheless, I showed up. 3 other Highlands players decided after the first week to hang it up. I stuck with it another week and then hung it up. It wasn't because the conditioning was too tough. Actually, compared to Highlands, it was a walk in the park. It wasn't because I found myself way down on the depth chart. I was first on the depth chart at a linebacker position. I was simply tired of playing football. Plus, as those that come from powerhouse high school programs can understand, playing for your high school team with all it's community support and tradition was much, much different than playing for a college team. I dreamed since I was a little kid of playing for Highlands and winning a state championship. I never once dreamt of playing for Centre and winning a conference championship. I came back and played my sophomore year because in part, I missed the sport , and to be frank, in part because I got tired of some of the football players in my fraternity (the Dekes) and in other fraternities talking about how good they were and how I couldn't cut it. I took great joy in knocking the heck out of one fraternity brother in particular my sophomore year who liked to run his mouth and talk about how good he was. I played my last three years, started all three years, made All Conference, lead the team in tackles and was selected as a Captain. Some would surmise then that I really had a great time playing and would encourage all to play football in college if given the opportunity.

 

Not so. As others have pointed out, even at D-3, football takes a lot of time, particularly in season. Lots of practice time each day. Even when you get finished, you are tired unless you coasted during practice. Which affects your ability to study in the evening. Centre academics was no walk in the park (and its even worse now I'm told). There are away games, which means missing classes on Friday and getting home very late on Saturdays. Tough to study much on Sundays when you are very sore and worn out from the game on Saturday and the long bus ride home. Yeah I know you can study on the bus. But on the way to the game I was going over the game plan. On the way home, I was too tired to get any meaningful studying in. Plus, attempting to study on the bus with a lot of other people not so inclined was not the most productive study atmosphere. I

 

understand the time management skill thing and there is some truth to it, but when one considers the amount of time invested in football, even if you use great time management skills to study, you are still missing out on things. There are only 24 hours in a day. Looking back, I wish I'd have gotten involved in other college things that I just didn't have time for. Yes I enjoyed playing football, but playing football in college really didn't help me "broaden my horizons" or experiences. When it was over, other than saying I played college football, I really didn't have any thing to show for it.

 

My older son played his frosh year at Centre. When he expressed his ambivalence of playing his sophomore year, I talked him into not playing and have no regrets of having done so. My logic was simple: if he didn't absolutely love playing college football, there was no reason to invest the time in it that it required. Rather, I thought and explained to him that he should use the free time to study more and to get involved in campus activities that I didn't have the time to do. Plus, I was concerned about the impact (pardon the pun) of 4 more years of playing football would have on his body. My knees hurt (even after having both scoped in the past 9 months) and my shoulders hurt to the point I rarely sleep through the night. Given the recent studies about the impact (there's that pun again) of repeated head blows on the brain, I had that concern also. Face it, four more years of playing football meant four more years of helmet to helmet hits. And while it's only D-3 football, the hits in college are more fierce and brutal than they were in high school.

 

I'm not saying that people shouldn't play college football. Not close to saying that. But if you don't truly love and enjoy college football, then one should carefully weigh the advantages and dis-advantages of playing. One should not play just because one has the opportunity to play in my opinion. My younger son is heading off to college next year. If he elects to play, I will be fully supportive. If he elects not to play, I'll fully understand and will support that decision just as strongly.

 

Just my perspective.

 

You can still do Community Theatre

Thanks, I know what you're saying by "don't play just because you have the opportunity to play", quite a few kids have the opportunity, but not many have the love, and I can tell you loved those days at Highlands and enjoyed the success:thumb:.

 

I did love playing at Highlands, and while I enjoyed playing at Centre, I got no where near the satisfaction playing that I did playing at Highlands. Just a completely different atmosphere. For me and I suspect for many other former players at Highlands, I loved playing at Highlands because of the community involvement; because of the tradition; and because I wanted to be part of the state championship "club", which emotions are noticably absent when you play at a lot of college programs. For you, it may have been the same. For me it was not even close in spite of my somewhat successful college career. And the fact that a lot of Highlands players who go on to play a year or two in college then hang it up, leads me to conclude such is the case with a lot of former Highlands players.

 

But again, the decision to play or not to play is one left to the individuals involved. There is no right decision; there is no wrong decision, applicable to all. Some need the structure of college athletics to have the discipline to deal with the academics and stay out of the "beer drinking to excess" lifestyle. Others do not. Some need the involvement with athletics to fit into the college social scene; others do not. Figure out what you want to do and need to do and make that decision, while realizing that everyone may not feel the same way or need the same thing.

 

Can I have a Kumbaya?

I did love playing at Highlands, and while I enjoyed playing at Centre, I got no where near the satisfaction playing that I did playing at Highlands. Just a completely different atmosphere. For me and I suspect for many other former players at Highlands, I loved playing at Highlands because of the community involvement; because of the tradition; and because I wanted to be part of the state championship "club", which emotions are noticably absent when you play at a lot of college programs. For you, it may have been the same. For me it was not even close in spite of my somewhat successful college career. And the fact that a lot of Highlands players who go on to play a year or two in college then hang it up, leads me to conclude such is the case with a lot of former Highlands players.

 

But again, the decision to play or not to play is one left to the individuals involved. There is no right decision; there is no wrong decision, applicable to all. Some need the structure of college athletics to have the discipline to deal with the academics and stay out of the "beer drinking to excess" lifestyle. Others do not. Some need the involvement with athletics to fit into the college social scene; others do not. Figure out what you want to do and need to do and make that decision, while realizing that everyone may not feel the same way or need the same thing.

 

Can I have a Kumbaya?

 

I agree with you here, especially the fact that some need the structure of college athletics to have the discipline to deal with the academics and stay out of the "beer drinking to excess" lifestyle. Kumbaya:lol:

I did love playing at Highlands, and while I enjoyed playing at Centre, I got no where near the satisfaction playing that I did playing at Highlands. Just a completely different atmosphere. For me and I suspect for many other former players at Highlands, I loved playing at Highlands because of the community involvement; because of the tradition; and because I wanted to be part of the state championship "club", which emotions are noticably absent when you play at a lot of college programs. For you, it may have been the same. For me it was not even close in spite of my somewhat successful college career. And the fact that a lot of Highlands players who go on to play a year or two in college then hang it up, leads me to conclude such is the case with a lot of former Highlands players.

 

But again, the decision to play or not to play is one left to the individuals involved. There is no right decision; there is no wrong decision, applicable to all. Some need the structure of college athletics to have the discipline to deal with the academics and stay out of the "beer drinking to excess" lifestyle. Others do not. Some need the involvement with athletics to fit into the college social scene; others do not. Figure out what you want to do and need to do and make that decision, while realizing that everyone may not feel the same way or need the same thing.

 

Can I have a Kumbaya?

 

Kumba-freaking-ya!

 

Thanks for the posts LN. :thumb: Your concerns are exactly what I was trying to get at, but was starting to think that nobody would bring up. I have no idea if my son will even be good enough to play at the small college level, but I do know this - his life has revolved around sports since he discovered Sports Center at age 2, and I can easily see him making the decision to play at a small school if given the chance, passing up better academic opportunities at other schools where he couldn't play. Just been thinking about it lately, and started this thread to get other opinions.

Kumba-freaking-ya!

 

Thanks for the posts LN. :thumb: Your concerns are exactly what I was trying to get at, but was starting to think that nobody would bring up. I have no idea if my son will even be good enough to play at the small college level, but I do know this - his life has revolved around sports since he discovered Sports Center at age 2, and I can easily see him making the decision to play at a small school if given the chance, passing up better academic opportunities at other schools where he couldn't play. Just been thinking about it lately, and started this thread to get other opinions.

 

Well, as luck would have it, some of the best academic opportunties are indeed at these smaller schools! Exhibit A - Centre.

While that may hold true in regards to Thomas More, consider a school like Centre College.

 

A degree from U of L and a degree from Centre are a far cry from one-another. A student with a 3.8 GPA applying for post-grad school from U of L will ALWAYS lose out to a student with a 3.8 GPA from Centre who also brings proof of multi-tasking through playing football and maintaining academic excellence.

 

I'm not saying do or don't. I'm saying consider the options and the potential outcomes. Can you get an engineering degree from Centre? Nursing? I really don't know. You may be right about that degree. On the other hand, some employers who never heard of Centre may think the Lousiville diploma is worth more. Opinions vary! I know people who went to completely unknown schools that have excellent careers with high pay and good quality of life. On the other hand, the opposite is also true. Each school has strong programs and weak ones, or none at all. You've got to weigh the options, and there is no right answer for all.

 

Just for kicks, I checked out the Louisville and Centre web sites and found the following:

Centre - 27 possible majors for undergrads - tuition $30,000/yr

Louisville - 74 possible majors for undergrads - $7600/yr

Bottom line is, do you homework on the schjools being considered and make the decsision that is right for you. Don't make an emotional decision, rather make a fact-based one.

Edited February 17, 201016 yr by Hey-Ref

All of this information is great to have considering the situation with my son. Thanks guys! Keep it coming.