I've been puzzling over this since early spring, when the exodus began. Now the Baltimore Sun has written about the transfer issue, albeit briefly:
COLLEGE PARK — - Maryland women's basketball coach Brenda Frese says an alarming number of women are transferring this year from Division I programs in the sport, leaving coaches and experts to figure out why.
"It's amazing," Frese said as she examined the names of about 100 recent transfers on a list compiled by Dan Olson, owner of the Collegiate Girls Basketball Report, a subscription service.
"I've never seen a list like that before," Frese said this week. "It's almost a new trend, and not a positive trend."
and:
Frese said young college athletes and their supporters often bring high - and sometimes unrealistic - expectations about playing time and their abilities.
"I also think these kids are committing at early ages without doing their homework and doing the visits," Frese said. "They're deciding sooner, and maybe they didn't have a full picture of what everything is going to be like."
men having the same problem:
In men's basketball, the National Association of Basketball Coaches says it has talked with the NCAA about whether transfer rules need to be reformed.
Story link.
Personally, I don't think it's the impulsivity of young people causing the trend. I think it's a combination of two factors that prevail in today's society.
One is the continual breakdown of things that used to scare people. Youth don't believe adults know as much as they once did and they aren't afraid of consequences the way they used to be. Athletes used to never want to lose a year of eligibility, but now it doesn't seem to be a big deal to them.
The second factor is the increasing impatience of young people and society as a whole. Instead of giving a program or a person a chance, they bail instead.
I have no idea what this means for society as a whole, but I'm not liking it. I would advocate revising NCAA rules.
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2 comments:
The impulsive quality of the youth is one thing, but they have no guidance. When players choose colleges, are they considering the school, the location, the academics? If they're from Southern California, a Minnesota winter is a different world. If a girl is a lesbian, how would she do at a conservative Christian school. Do they examine the coach's personality and the style of game the team plays? And what about all the kids who endlessly transfer high schools and clubs in the pursuit of a championship. Whether or not these kids are impulsive, their parents are certainly not discouraging this behavior. In fact, in many cases, I've seen the reverse to be true.
And lastly, don't let the coaches off the hook. Lots of coaches tell recruits during an official that their scholarship offer is good for today only and if they don't accept, the offer is rescinded. With pressure like that, it's no wonder young people make serious mistakes.
Funny you mention that, as I am working on the ignorance problem....
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