Welcome to College - Part I

When I went back to school to complete my doctorate in August of 2014, I didn’t really know what to expect.  My wife and I did know that we were expecting our second child sometime in May.  And we knew it was going to be a big financial investment.  At the end of the tunnel we knew that the opportunity to complete the doctorate program at St. John Fisher College was going to provide us with more opportunities in the future.
 
I knew it would take a lot of time.  And a lot of work.  It is an accelerated program, therefore we met a couple of times a month over the course of a semester.  In total, we would take two courses and an internship each semester except for the first one.  We were told that the program would be difficult.  We knew that each person would have to contribute to their team’s projects and presentations.  We were also told that we would need to overcome adversity throughout the program, and that those of us that overcame that adversity would graduate on-time.  I was one of the fortunate individuals that graduated on-time.  Yes, there was a lot to overcome, but you manage to persevere through the difficult times because you already know what the outcome is going to be-having earned your doctorate.
 
The same can be said for making the transition to college from high school. I think incoming freshmen understand that college will be somewhat difficult.  Maybe not for everyone, but I think at some point during the first semester of college, students face some type of adversity or difficult challenge(s) that they need to overcome.
 
As a collegiate coach, I have guided and mentored many throwers over the course of the past 10 years.  For most of them, they made a smooth transition to collegiate throwing and the college lifestyle.  They didn’t have any problems with attending class on a regular basis, completing their homework, and studying for midterms and exams.  Others, however, did not make as great transitions as they could have.
 
Those that had a difficult time making the transition run into what I believe to be these specific barriers:

1. Time Management, and
2. Establishing a Routine

 
Basically, it boils down to overcoming adversity.  Everyone deals with challenges on a daily basis.  How we handle these challenges will ultimately determine our successes and failures with whatever we may encounter.  
 
Over the course of the next few weeks I’m going to piece together a two-part series for high school athletes, providing them with tips and suggestions as they prepare to make the transition to college.  The first article will be focused on time management and establishing a routine.  The second article will be about focus and what it means to be focused (in the classroom, weight room, and practice).

​As always, thanks for reading ~ Charles