| Unfortunately, many student athletes are under | | | | about. They are not offered the scholarship they |
| the impression that all they have to do is be the | | | | have been told and learned to believe will be |
| best at playing their sport during their high school | | | | theirs. |
| sports career and they will be the proud recipients | | | | Rather they are offered a partial college athletic |
| of a slew of full ride college athletic scholarships. | | | | scholarship. A partial sports scholarship will cover |
| This myth is equally prevalent whether we are | | | | certain expenses but not all. For example, it might |
| talking about football scholarships or track and | | | | cover tuition but not room and board. Who has to |
| field athletic scholarships. | | | | come up with the rest of the money? Many |
| This one erroneous idea firmly planted in the | | | | families simply will not be able to scratch up the |
| heads of countless student athletes by their local | | | | remainder of the money. |
| media, their parents, their coaches, and their | | | | It would be nice if the student had some kind of |
| communities is primarily responsible for thousands | | | | academic scholarship that would pay for these |
| upon thousands of kids not getting college sports | | | | expenses that the partial scholarship does not |
| scholarships, and even worse it is responsible for | | | | pay. But no, this probably won't happen since the |
| them failing to obtain any type of scholarship | | | | student athletes have been totally 'snowed' by |
| whether it be academic or some other form of | | | | their entire local community into believing all they |
| financial aid. | | | | have to do is be the hero of the local sports |
| This is called the 'Big Fish In A Little Pond" | | | | community. |
| syndrome, and it causes many high school | | | | The staggering truth is that college coaches only |
| student athletes to not only miss out on their | | | | actively recruit 2% of high school athletes. What |
| chance at an athletic scholarship, but it also causes | | | | about the other 98%? Many of this huge |
| them to miss out on other types of scholarships | | | | percentage of high school athletes fall into this |
| that they might have been eligible for. | | | | huge group. |
| When student athletes are told they are the best, | | | | What happens to their dreams of playing sports |
| and that a big time scholarship is forthcoming, | | | | at the collegiate level? What happens to their |
| they often neglect their academics, thus | | | | dreams of getting a college education when they |
| preventing them from even applying for many | | | | have depended so heavily on landing a full ride |
| academic scholarships, much less getting one. | | | | scholarship? |
| When they let down on their high school | | | | They typically either do not get a scholarship of |
| academics thinking that they have a free ride into | | | | any kind or they are offered some kind of partial |
| college via their 'sure-fire' college athletic | | | | scholarship. While college athletic scholarships have |
| scholarship, then, they are also setting themselves | | | | helped countless young men and women get their |
| up to be ineligible for entrance into many colleges | | | | college degrees, many of them have been sadly |
| and universities even if their parents could afford | | | | disappointed when they do not get one of these |
| to finance their higher education. | | | | highly prized and sought after sports scholarships. |
| A second problem resulting from the big fish in | | | | High school students whether they are athletically |
| the little pond syndrome is that student athletes | | | | inclined or not should conscientiously keep their |
| are often not offered the full ride scholarships | | | | grades up and excel as members of their |
| that they have been hoping for and dreaming | | | | community. |
