Working Hard Can Never Take a Break for High School Prospects
How many times have you seen really good youth league athletes flame out by the time they reached high school? And, how many of those flameouts can be attributed to laziness? It’s something we see everyday in high school sports scouting — that an athlete is pointed out to us who had so much potential as a youngster but whose lack of work ethic kept him or her from reaching their potential.
College athletic scholarship offers can be tied directly to work ethic. When athletes, regardless of their age, stop working hard, we consistently see a precipitous drop in their ability, attitude and accomplishments. And with that fall, dreams evaporate like a drops of water under a bright light.
Aspiring to make the jump from one level to the next higher ledge is farther than most young people, and their parents, expect. Each leap requires work, plain and simple. The ones which recognize this, and take on the challenge in earnest, are the ones whose efforts knock down doors, creating more opportunities and, yes, even more work. But the payoff can be fulfilling the dream of playing college athletics.
Sweat equity is the best term to describe what an athlete must adopt if he or she is to eventually earn a college athletic scholarship. It’s not something which an athlete can ignore or disrespect. A short-term loss of the willingness to work hard, to sweat and grind it out each day, can easily put a high school prospect in the unenviable position of being tagged as inconsistent and lazy. Even high school age athletes can be has-beens. The last thing a prospect wants to drag around as a reputation is that of being lazy.
Do whatever is required to extend yourself. Get a workout partner. Ask your parents and coaches for help. You will never regret having worked to achieve your dream of securing a college athletic scholarship.
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