The dream for many young men is to grow up and become a professional athlete.
The one part that many young men do not understand is that they must keep their heads in the books as much as they work hard on the field.
Education is the key to going to college and then to the league.
Many colleges will not accept someone if their GPA is below 2.3. The 2.3 GPA is required by the NCAA at all Division 1 colleges. The University of Texas and the University of Alabama are two big name schools, but a high school student isn’t easily admitted to their universities with a low GPA and/or a low ACT or SAT score. The requirements have increased this season also. The new minimum GPA goes up from 2.0 to 2.3. It will become more difficult to get into college with a scholarship, strictly off of what you can do as an athlete on the field.
There have been students, here in the Houston area, who have been unable to go to their first choice schools, and had to settle for somewhere else.
For example, Derrick Griffin, who is a two-sport athlete at Texas Southern University, was a high rated wide receiver coming out of Rosenberg Terry High School. He was signed with the Miami Hurricanes, but did not qualify because of academics. Griffin is a stellar athlete on the field. He led the Southwestern Athletic Conference in touchdowns, and was the Player of Year for basketball.
Reflecting back, Griffin realizes that he should’ve taken more time to focus on his studies.
“It was just a process,” said Griffin to Fox 26’s Mark Berman. “It’s something I had to go through. I should have taken care of it in high school, but I went a different route. I’m here now.”
This was a learning experience for him. Up and coming athletes should look at his story and learn from it. The key to success in sports is doing what you have to do, on and off of the field.