What are the Chances?

What are the Chances?

by Tristan Cowles

Sports Editor, Flyer Flash

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For some people going to college is a dream in itself, and for others playing sports at the collegiate level is a whole other task. The odds of playing sports past high school aren’t as high as some players might think. Then if they are talented enough to get there it may not be as glamorous as the athlete might think. In the end if enough work is put in, anyone can find a place in the college sports world.

For the average athlete there is less than a 10 percent chance that they will be put on the roster of a college team. For Dixie alumnus Creighton Atkin, he is one of the high school players to beat those odds. For Atkin his chances were even lower with about between five and six percent of high school soccer players playing college.

Dixie football vs. Desert Hills High School
during the regular football season.
Photo by Kirra Wilkinson, Flyer Flash

He is currently playing soccer for Erskine college in Due West, South Carolina. “You just have to find a place where you can fit in,” is some advice Atkin gave about trying to find a team to play for at the next level.

When starting to look for a colleges there are some steps that have to be done while in high school so an athlete can become a collegiate athlete. Counselor Mrs. Mitchell says that keeping up on grades is essential in finding a spot on a roster. “Getting a good ACT score and good grades will help, so that the coach won’t have to give as much money to an athlete giving them a better chance of getting on the team.”

Mrs. Mitchell also says the very first step would to be registered with the NCAA. “The athletes need to register with the NCAA clearinghouse, usually in their junior year so colleges can start looking at them.

Being able to fit in with the team might not just be being the best player on the team. There are some major things that can help an athlete find a team. “Having good grades, the way you play your position, and how well you can work with the other players on the team,” are the thing that Atkin says are key into getting recruited.

For some high school athletes they only strive to play for a division one team. This may keep them from getting out of high school athletics and moving on to a higher level. Being narrow mind isn’t a good thing when coming to a look for a school to play for. “Take whatever you can get; don’t only try and find something that might not be realistic for you,” Atkin said lastly.

Mrs. Mitchell gave some statistics on odds of making it to the college level and even to the professional ranks. For kids in high school to qualify for a college team they need to have a minimum of a 2.0 GPA and take the ACT. Getting qualified doesn’t mean you’re going to be on a team. Mitchell went on to say that over 60,000 high school football athletes qualified but only around 17,000 made a freshman team. That is about 5.7 percent of football players make collegiate team, and only about 250 or .08 percent of college football players will go pro.

Some Dixie High athletes plan to continue their athletic
career after high school.
Photo by Kirra Wilkinson, Flyer Flash

Last year there were some Dixie High students that were able to find a home to play their respective sports. Mackenzie Peterson plays baseball for Ohio State, Walker Swenson plays basketball for Dixie State, Emma Pasely plays soccer at SUU, Creighton Atkin at Erskine college, and Nicole Thomas for Golf at SUU, along with others.

Then as students get to college, it definitely isn’t what they were expecting. “It’s a lot more time consuming than in high school, and it’s almost like a part time job,” Atkin said about what the reality of playing college soccer is like. Mrs. Mitchell also says athletes come back to her and tell her what their experience has been like, “They say the academics are a lot harder, and they have to prioritize their time a lot better.”

For freshman their schedule is pretty basic with all the math, science, history and all the other basic classes. So as they might be used to the classes, the material will probably be a lot harder. Therefore they are putting more time into homework along with the more time they put into their sport, and needing to find time to sleep along with a part time job to keep some money in their pockets.

So as high school athletes look for colleges to play for they need to make sure they keep on their grades, and get what they to get done early. If the athlete is able make a roster they also need to make sure they are college ready academically and athletically.