91猫先生

From the desk of Wally Dawkins, Athletic Director:

Several years ago, and for many weeks, I had numerous people stop by my office and tell me about this little kid who was playing in the 1st Grade Division of the Whitehouse Youth Basketball League, and how many points he was scoring per game.聽 Being the Head Basketball Coach at Whitehouse at that time, I decided to check this kid out during the League Championship Game the following Saturday.聽 After all, as the basketball coach, I was certainly interested in finding such a youngster who had the propensity to 鈥渇ill it up.鈥澛� As I made my way into the gym for the game that had already started, it didn鈥檛 take me long to figure out who the kid was everyone had been talking about.

After walking in the door, the same player on the Buckeyes team scored 6 consecutive points, so being the 鈥渁cutely aware-notice everything鈥� type person that I am, I immediately recognized that this was boy creating the buzz.聽 Staying to watch him play for the remainder of the game however, it wasn鈥檛 his scoring ability that caught my attention; it was the way he played the game.聽 I had never seen a kid at that age鈥�at any age really, compete with the focus, intensity, and will to win that this kid was displaying.聽 It was 鈥渇reakish鈥�.

Fast forward to today; I hear many student athletes talk about how they want to play NCAA Division I sports, or have parents tell me they believe their child is a D-I athlete.聽 I have been fortunate enough to have coached several players in high school who have signed with a Division I schools and received full athletic scholarship to display their wares.聽 These kids however were the exception to the rule since I also had the privilege of coaching hundreds of kids who did not play at the next level.

The road to being a successful Division I athlete may be a tougher journey than most realize, or are willing to take.

If you have read any of my previous blogs, you know that my philosophy as to the primary reason for participating in sports is for the relationships you will develop and for the experiences participating in sports will offer.聽 Many play, and rightly so鈥︹�漥ust for the fun of it鈥�.

To be a NCAA D-I scholarship athlete, you first have to recognize that聽you are thrusting yourself into the world of 鈥渃ompetitive big business鈥�.

When D-I schools give a player a scholarship, they now 鈥渙wn鈥� the athlete.聽 Athletes are required to get up at 5:00 AM for conditioning, you are enrolled in the classes that fit the sports schedule, your time is controlled in the afternoons, evenings, and weekends, your weight room workouts are mandatory and daily, and you are given instructions concerning the two hour study hall you are to attend each night.聽 Basically, you become the property of the school who gave the scholarship, and they are going to do everything they can to ensure you perform at a high level on Saturdays鈥�or Wednesdays, or whatever day or days your sports play, so that their wise investment in you鈥�pays off.聽 This rigorous routine is a far cry from the 8 hour per week after school regulation that many state high school organizations impose on member schools.

The second thing to realize concerning D-I level athletics is 鈥測ou鈥檙e not in Kansas anymore鈥�.聽 D-I athletics is not the warm and fuzzy environment high school programs tend to be.聽 Coaches at the D-I level tend to be far more demanding, less restrained when it comes to the use of the English language, and expect immediate results from the athletes they coach because 鈥渋f you don鈥檛 do it, we recruited three more at your position who will.鈥澛� It is a tough environment for young people to exist in, especially if they equate the expectations of college athletics to be similar to the expectations that were present at the high school level.

Another huge attribute of NCAA Division I athletes is that the majority of these athletes are physical beasts, usually possessing a tireless work ethic who have developed the ability to play with real pain, even injured pain, and see athletics as their 鈥渙nly hope鈥� of a successful future.聽 Athletics is the 鈥渆nd all鈥� to most D-I athletes.聽 Take for example a really good high school linebacker who stands 6鈥�2, weighs 195 and runs a 4.6 40 yard dash and is the best on his team.聽 The linebacker at LSU or Texas however goes 6鈥�5, weighs 245, and runs a 4.35 40, and is ranked as one of the top 20 in the nation.聽 Just the physical requirements alone are a huge obstacle for most.聽 A few years back, we had a really good offensive lineman who was about 6鈥�2 陆, weighed 255, had a wingspan of 70 inches, with great feet.聽 He could not understand why he was not being recruited by Division I schools.聽 What was hard for this really good player to come to grips with was that D-I schools optimal requirement for O-lineman was for prospects to be 6鈥�5, weigh 275, and have a wingspan of 76 inches.聽 The physical requirements alone limited this really good football players ability to receive the D-I scholarship he so desired.

The last and possibly two most important characteristics of a potential D-I athlete is that playing the game must consume them, and they must have the attitude that they want to play so bad, they will stick it out鈥�no matter what.聽 They have to eat it, drink it, breathe it, and live it.聽 The goal of competing successfully at the D-I level must be stamped on their forehead, written on their bathroom mirror, and when all of the thoughts they have are running around amuck in their brain, the goal, dream, or consummation of playing must shake out on top. That鈥檚 what the school will require, and if the athlete doesn鈥檛 really have that concept, it will become an unbearable situation.聽 The kids who I coached and who played for 4 years at NCAA Division I schools possessed at least 4 of the 5 attributes I have written about.

Now ask yourself; do you have what it takes to be a NCAA Division I athlete?聽 It is a worthwhile goal, but is it worth it to you?

Remember the kid I talked about earlier who was scoring so many points?聽 That kid鈥檚 name was Tyler Baker.聽 Tyler Baker became a really good high school quarterback at 91猫先生 from 2008-2010.聽 Tyler never lost that tremendous focus, intensity, and will to succeed he had as a youth league basketball player when he was 6 years old.聽 Tyler signed as a non-scholarship preferred walk on at Ole Miss in 2011.聽 Due to several injuries, switching to receiver, and a coaching change, Tyler transferred to Washington State where more injuries turned into additional setbacks.聽 But the little boy who refused to lose, who would not give up, and who wouldn鈥檛 quit, has now grown into a man who possesses the same qualities.聽 Nearly four years after graduation, overcoming numerous injuries and cat calls from fans who doubted he would ever play D-I football, including myself, Tyler Baker finally got a chance to realize at least a part of his dream as he started at wide receiver this past Saturday night for Washington State against USC and had 9 catches聽for 89 yards.聽 I have never known anyone who wanted to play college football and was willing to overcome the obstacles and pay the price like Tyler Baker.聽 He obviously has what it takes to be D-I.

I should have known better than to doubt him.聽 After all, in the Whitehouse Youth League 1st Grade Championship Game, Tyler scored 51 points as his team defeated the Bulls 55-50.

So if you really want to play D-I ball鈥�talk to Tyler.

Tyler Baker is just another reason to be 鈥淎LL ORANGE鈥�All The Time鈥�!