Yeo's Decision To Transfer Not A New One For Athletes
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Roger Grossman, Lake City Radio-
The Penalty Box appears each Wednesday. The author’s views don’t necessarily reflect those of the Times-Union
Former Triton High School basketball star Clay Yeo announced this week that he was leaving Valparaiso University after one season and transferring to Bethel College. To be honest, he played quite a bit for a rookie, played pretty well and actually was the hero of a Crusader win. But then Monday he changed course. He said he just felt more comfortable at Bethel. He's not alone. The dream of every kid who plays high school sports is to play college sports, right? And the bigger the better. I mean, would we blame any kid for taking a shot at being in the big time? The prestige of being known as being a Division I athlete for your senior year of high school and then the rest of your life ... it's impossible to think about passing that up. But the reality is so many kids who get Division I scholarships never see that scholarship all the way through. Why? Because it's really hard to be a college athlete. This is not a commentary about how kids are softer or more spoiled or don't get it. It's about the reality that comes along with the big dream. Consider: • College Sports Are Harder: college athletes go from being the No. 1 or No. 2 player on their high school team to a team full of No. 1 and No. 2 players. That means guys and girls who were batting third in the lineup, getting the ball on 3rd-and-3 or having a play run for them may not even be in the game when they are used to shining brightest. It's tough for a kid that age to adjust to a new role. • More Is Expected Of You In College: A college scholarship is NOT a gift. Its actually a kid's first job. You spend a lot of hours doing things related to your team well before the season starts and well after it’s over. • College Travel Is Harder: When you play in the MAC, a mid-level D1 conference in our region, you may have a road trip where you leave on Wednesday and don't get home til in the wee hours of Sunday morning. It's a lot different than playing in the TRC where you have to make the long road trip from Whitko to Rochester or driving from Warsaw to Elkhart Memorial in the NLC. • College School Work Is Harder: Don't let anyone fool you, college classes are harder than high school. More is expected of you out-of-class. Labs that meet only once a week. Papers are due. In my days as a manager for the Butler University women's basketball team I wrote papers on buses with a flashlight in my mouth so I could see (they didn't have laptops back then, and the internet was new). • Being At College Is Just Harder: College is a place of growing and expanding your mind, and experiencing new things and meeting new people and new kinds of people. There's a lot to do and a lot to see. Anyone would want to be a part of that, but athletes often miss out on a lot of it. And, while most college kids would never admit it, college is the first time kids have been away from home for an extended period of time. Parents can't be at every game anymore (longer travel affects parents too). You're most likely not the big man/woman on campus anymore. Mom isn't doing your laundry anymore ... you get my point. Yeo decided this week that Bethel was more his speed. He's not alone. Ask Lindsay Baker how hard it was at Toledo, or Kelci Freds who went to South Carolina Upstate (but switched to Taylor). Current Grace College women's basketball coach Scott Blum transferred out of Division I hoops to come to Grace. Current Lancer Logan Irwin played a year of DI ball in Florida. Recently-graduated Bruce Grimm Jr. also walked away from a Division I scholarship to play at Grace. Ask them all about being a Division I athlete. The answer you get will likely include the phrase “it's not all it's cracked up to be.” And that is in NO WAY a slam on these kids. Not at all! Again, who wouldn't want the shot at a Division I gig? But what you learn is that it comes with a pretty heavy price tag. And for many...it's just not worth it. And we can all understand that, can't we? So when the next big-time Division I prospect comes along, and they will come along, take a minute and wonder might they be happier being a little less-than-big-time?
