Jagged0
Mr.Ellish 5 VIP [ 🇺🇦 blur gang] KING OF .ME
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I'm not sure why, but today I got to thinking about a particular school visit during which I made an enemy of one of the pupils, who took offense at my declaration that nobody sitting before me should have considered chasing life as a professional athlete.
I suggested that the young people in that room should play the games in pursuit of fun and/or competition, but that they should not eye them as avenues to a future occupation. I then announced that only the ill-advised among them would prioritize sports over studies; that it would far better to be an all-star student than an all-star athlete.
Well.
A girl raised her hand, I acknowledged her … and she let me have it, claiming I'd just dashed the dreams of those in the school who'd hoped to some day join, specifically, the NFL. When I pointed out to her that nobody in the entire history of her school had wended his way into professional football, and that it probably hadn't been a coincidence, she got angrier yet.
As Jay Pritchard might have said had he been in that classroom, "And there it is."
Too many of our adolescents are told by too many of our athletes, in word or in deed, that they should commit to their sports and try to grab the dangling carrot (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, PGA, etc.) because, gee whiz, if I can make it, so can you.
And, of course, that has forever been preposterous advice. Indeed, the far more useful message will always be this:
Kids, take a good look at me. I'm a freak, a statistical aberration, and I've been blessed for reasons I can't possibly explain with a genetic makeup that none of you likely possesses. Play your games, sure. Enjoy them. Relish them. But do not ever forget that the library is far more important than any gym. You can't be me, so don't try.
Harsh? No, real. And that reality was confirmed this afternoon when I happened upon a Q&A as provided by the NFL Players Association on NFLPA.com. Here is how it reads:
Question: What are my chances of becoming an NFL player?
Answer: While many young people every year set their goals on becoming NFL players, it is extremely difficult to reach that level. Statistically, of the 100,000 high school seniors who play football every year, only 215 will ever make an NFL roster. That is 0.2%! Even of the 9,000 players that make it to the college level, only 310 are invited to the NFL scouting combine, the pool from which teams make their draft picks. As you can see, most people who want to become NFL players will not. Therefore it is very important to come up with alternative plans for the future.
So now, should I be called to another school, I'll be better armed. Now, the kids won't have to take my word for it that 99.8 percent of them (and more) won't ever play a down of pro football. They'll be able to take the NFLPA's.
(I'll just have to hope, though, that there will be no "Dumb & Dumber" devotees before me. "So you're telling me there's a chance … yeah!")
I suggested that the young people in that room should play the games in pursuit of fun and/or competition, but that they should not eye them as avenues to a future occupation. I then announced that only the ill-advised among them would prioritize sports over studies; that it would far better to be an all-star student than an all-star athlete.
Well.
A girl raised her hand, I acknowledged her … and she let me have it, claiming I'd just dashed the dreams of those in the school who'd hoped to some day join, specifically, the NFL. When I pointed out to her that nobody in the entire history of her school had wended his way into professional football, and that it probably hadn't been a coincidence, she got angrier yet.
As Jay Pritchard might have said had he been in that classroom, "And there it is."
Too many of our adolescents are told by too many of our athletes, in word or in deed, that they should commit to their sports and try to grab the dangling carrot (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, PGA, etc.) because, gee whiz, if I can make it, so can you.
And, of course, that has forever been preposterous advice. Indeed, the far more useful message will always be this:
Kids, take a good look at me. I'm a freak, a statistical aberration, and I've been blessed for reasons I can't possibly explain with a genetic makeup that none of you likely possesses. Play your games, sure. Enjoy them. Relish them. But do not ever forget that the library is far more important than any gym. You can't be me, so don't try.
Harsh? No, real. And that reality was confirmed this afternoon when I happened upon a Q&A as provided by the NFL Players Association on NFLPA.com. Here is how it reads:
Question: What are my chances of becoming an NFL player?
Answer: While many young people every year set their goals on becoming NFL players, it is extremely difficult to reach that level. Statistically, of the 100,000 high school seniors who play football every year, only 215 will ever make an NFL roster. That is 0.2%! Even of the 9,000 players that make it to the college level, only 310 are invited to the NFL scouting combine, the pool from which teams make their draft picks. As you can see, most people who want to become NFL players will not. Therefore it is very important to come up with alternative plans for the future.
So now, should I be called to another school, I'll be better armed. Now, the kids won't have to take my word for it that 99.8 percent of them (and more) won't ever play a down of pro football. They'll be able to take the NFLPA's.
(I'll just have to hope, though, that there will be no "Dumb & Dumber" devotees before me. "So you're telling me there's a chance … yeah!")
