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The Next Level, Playing In College

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This resource is from a case study in Jim Thompson’s book, The High School Sports Parent.

The Next Level, Playing in College?: Your daughter shows potential to play beyond high school. She has been approached by the local community college coach and also has received mail from several Division I and II programs. She is flattered by this attention but doesn’t know how to manage the choices she faces. As a Second-Goal Parent®, how can you help her?

Decisions about college are more complex than they used to be. Add in the potential for an athletic scholarship and it can boggle the mind of a teen athlete and her family. You can help your athlete deal with this complexity and turn it into a great preparation for other complex decisions in her life.

First, recognize that an athletic scholarship is a means to a bigger end – getting a great education that will serve your daughter the rest of her life. Having college coaches interested in their child can be a big high for parents who love basking in their child’s reflected glory, so try to keep your feet on the ground so you can look out for your daughter’s best interests.

Start the conversation by asking what your daughter thinks she might like to study in college. Suggest that the ideal college might be one that has the kind of academic environment she’ll enjoy. You might ask, “Would you be happy at this college if they dropped your sport or if you decided not to play?”

To read the full response, including more about how you can help reduce the stress of the recruiting process, download the book excerpt found below.

To purchase the entire book The High School Sports Parent, and to learn more about other PCA books, click here.

These books are used in PCA’s live workshops. To learn more about our interactive sports parent workshops, click here.

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