Play to learn, not for scholarships

Editor's note: Nancy Justis, a former competitive swimmer, is a partner with Justis Creative Communications.

By Nancy Justis, correspondent

Your six-, 10- or 12-year-old exhibits skills beyond his or her age and those of the other competitors. You start dreaming of college scholarships.

It's difficult for parents not to have those dreams. But like preparing for your retirement early, you should be preparing for paying those college bills, too. A small percentage of athletes make past their high school years in athletics.

There are a lot of reasons for a child to grow up playing competitive sports. Daron Anderson coaches U12 boys and U18 girls for Placer United Soccer Club. He also has a National D coaching license. He has three children. In a recent NorCal Premier Soccer League article, he listed 9.5 reasons, some of which are listed below, why his kids play competitive soccer.

- His kids love it.

- Competition is an unavoidable aspect of society.

- A team environment fosters problem-solving skills.

- He gets to spend quality time with his kids.

- They are exposed to various cultures.

- Competitive sports help develop discipline and good habits.

- Lasting friendships are made.

- Sports provide a healthy outlet for anxiety and anger.

And his 9.5 reason is youth sports provide opportunities for college scholarships and professional play. Why 9.5 and not the no. 10 reason?

'Last and certainly least, competitive soccer provides the training, playing experience and exposure for a young player to play at the next level.

'Statistics show that only a very small percentage of youth soccer players make it to higher levels of soccer after high school. ... My parents challenged me to become all I could become, but more as a person and less as a player. The level I had the fortune to play at was icing on the cake. Looking back, the things that really count are reasons one through nine.”

He's correct. The NCAA did a study on this issue - the probability of competing beyond high school. According to its data, there are more than 460,000 NCAA student-athletes (which doesn't include other athletic associations, such as the NAIA), and 'fewer than two percent will go pro in their sports.”

The National Association for Sport and Physical Education published on education.com notes 'less than one in 35, or approximately three percent, of high school senior boys will go on to play men's basketball at a NCAA member institution. Less than 1.2 percent of those will get drafted by a NBA team, while 0.03 percent of high school seniors will eventually be drafted.”

In women's basketball, about 3.3 percent of high school senior girls will go on to play for an NCAA school. About one percent will get drafted by the WNBA and about 0.02 percent of high school seniors will be drafted.

Let's take a few more examples. About 5.7 percent, or about one in 17 of all high school senior boys playing football, will go on to play for a NCAA program. About 1.8 percent, or about one in 50, will get drafted by an NFL team, and about eight in 10,000 high school seniors will be drafted.

I could go on and on.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with dreaming and striving for higher levels of participation. But you need to be realistic and plan ahead. There are many important reasons for playing youth sports - if not more important reasons - than getting a college scholarship.

It's been said before and bears repeating. Youth and prep athletics provide valuable life lessons and skills that help in the pursuit of careers in business, education, athletics administration, communications, law, medicine and any other field your child may take an interest in. Education is a vital part of athletics participation. And it has been shown that student-athletes graduate at higher rates than the remainder of the student body.

So let your child play and revel in the lessons he or she is learning along the way. Let the chips fall where they may. Who knows? You might just have the next Heisman Trophy candidate.

l Let us know what you think by contacting Justis at njustis@cfu.net.