My brother and I were speaking on the phone earlier about how a lot of these high school recruits, compared to when we were being recruited 11 years ago by colleges to play football, have changed. The rules haven't changed, but the pressure it puts on a future college player has definitely increased over the years. As a future college player, I had to think about my family, education, distance and coaches while making my decision....and not in that particular order. I believe that a young recruit thinks the same as well. However, the biggest difference I see in today's recruits is their activities as a youth in their elementary and middle school days. In my era of that particular time, whether rain, sunshine, hot or cold weather, my friends and I were outside playing football, basketball and baseball in the street, or any empty lot or field we could find.
We all didn't go to the same schools are play on the same little league teams, but that's what made it so competitive. You always had the big kid on the block who had skills in everything they did. Then you would have your average player, who may have been good at only certain skills, like running, shooting, throwing, catching, etc. And of course, you had that sorry one in the bunch who no one would pick up, or would always be chosen last. Most of these guys I knew who continued on throughout their high school careers and stayed out of trouble, would be the ones who would go on to play at the collegiate level. And when these players would reach the collegiate level, there was no such thing as backing out of a commitment to a college, or being afraid of a little friendly competition. Sports is supposed to be competitive, right? Well, if that's so, why are we having so many future college players backing out of their commitments as soon as they hear about another recruit that plays the same position they do, sign to the same college. My college and athletic days are gone, but when we entered college, competition was NOT a factor. Nowadays, I believe it plays a huge part in a recruits decision. Take for instance, Louisville high school quarterback DaMarcus Smith. He committed to the University of Louisville right around the time U of L hired their football coach Charlie Strong. He even attempted to enroll in U of L early so he could get started with practice and begin learning the plays. However, all things changed when Strong and his coaching staff sought out another high school quarterback from Florida and got a commitment out of him. This changed everything for Smith, who begin to start looking at other colleges, will wait until Friday to make his announcement. Just as this kid gave a commitment to U of L, why can't he make a commitment to compete. In my opinion, this kid probably thought that he lost his chance of being a starting quarterback when he heard about the other recruit. I know you want to put yourself in the best position and where you can get the best opportunity to play, but doesn't this also sound like someone being afraid of a little competition? I'm not singling Smith out, nor am I saying that that's his case. But I also feel that we can't deny the fact of players looking for the easier route out, instead of sticking to their commitments and competing against some competition, which could potentially make themselves better. So instead, they go elsewhere to an average college who says they can start immediately if they sign with them. I'm not blaming the recruits, or their families who alter their decision of choice at the last minute. But I do question that recruits, toughness and competitiveness. Why? Here's a few answers:
As I mentioned before, my friends and I couldn't wait until after elementary and our middle school days to play football, basketball and baseball outside. Yeah we had our Nintendo, Sega Genesis, X-Box and X-Box 360, Playstation 1, 2, and 3. But we also had a social life outside of the house. From elementary to middle schools, our youth today uses these systems in place of friends, social lives, and also in place of going out and becoming active. For instance, instead of actually playing little league league football, parents will go out and purchase John Madden. Or instead of playing little league basketball, parents will go out and purchase NBA2K11.
Now I'm not saying that I'm not a game fanatic. But lets lay the truth where the facts lie at. Our modern technology of video games has decreased our youths in participating in actual sports activities themselves. So fast forward to when they get in high school, because of the fact that the only competition they really faced was on a television screen, when they commit to a college, it can be easily backed out of because of COMPETITION. A game teaches you how to compete against a computer. But in the game of real life, it teaches you how to compete against others that are on an equal basis or just as good as you are. How do you think we become better? Because of the person that's in, or WAS in front of us leading the pack. I wish nothing but the best to the recruiting class of 2011. But I also wish there wasn't so many changes in commitments because of competition.
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