Changing the game plan and playing instead in VS .NET

Printing Code 128B in VS .NET Changing the game plan and playing instead

What if you (and your coach) planned on your redshirting, and then your coach asks you to play in a game Although not a very common occurrence, this situation has happened, and you need to be aware of the rules and the consequences Here s the scenario: You and your coach had planned that you would redshirt, but suddenly faced with lots of injured players, your coach is desperate for a player and turns to you Let s say, for example, you re a football kicker You have a great future with a good school, and you ve planned your future (and place on the roster) with the coach But in the final minutes of the last game of the season, the final outcome of the game hinges on a possible national title, and the kicker is injured This situation is particularly bad because the first-string kicker was injured earlier in the season so this most recently injured player is the team s second and only backup kicker The team doesn t have anyone else who can kick field goals or extra points, so the coach turns to you

If the coach puts you in, and you play those last few minutes, you re now considered to have played a full season of competition even though you essentially sat out the whole season except for those last few minutes Some players who are redshirting even dress for games just in case this situation arises If you re tempted to think of this situation as unfair after all, this goes against everything you and the coach have discussed remember that you re part of a team, and your main purpose is to help that team win

If you think you may be interested in redshirting, or if the coach has a history of redshirting players, you ll want to discuss this topic during the recruiting process Some coaches recruit several players to come to their school knowing full well they plan on redshirting a lot of them but they don t tell the players until they arrive on campus and start school Don t let this happen to you Make an informed decision when you decide to redshirt, and make sure it s the right choice for the program and for you

Good news: Redshirting doesn t affect graduation In other words, you won t be penalized for redshirting or moving to another school Assuming that you stay on track academically, you may expect to graduate on time If you re moving to another school, be sure to speak with an academic counselor to make sure your credits transfer Basketweaving 101 may not transfer from one college to another, but your standard college classes should transfer easily Statistically, very few college athletes move on to the professional athletic arena And too many are suddenly left without a real plan Without a job in the pros, college graduates find they have little interest or life skills in anything but ball Still, consider graduation as you discuss the idea of redshirting with your coach Ask yourself:

What are your interests beyond your sport Redshirting to a different school where you know the coach and athletic program is helpful But you must have reasons beyond sports for changing schools If you re interested in medicine, attending an engineering school may not be your best move As you begin to look at different schools, consider what they have to offer academically Where do you see yourself in five years This question is an important one and a difficult one to answer Although you may hope to continue in sports, playing professional ball, you ll need a backup plan Perhaps you envision yourself working as a pro-team trainer, a physical therapist, or a business owner By taking a hard, realistic look into your own future, you can make a better decision about the school you hope to move to Again, consider the academic courses a new school offers and how it fits into your own personal plan Are you ready for more academic demands At this stage in your game, you have two things to consider: Will all your courses transfer to the new school Talk to an academic counselor at the new school to figure out your academic standing and to be sure what courses transfer and what do not What will the new core curriculum be If the idea of becoming a sports nutritionist or veterinarian appeals to you, but you don t like the sciences, you have a problem Consider what academic demands will be placed upon you when choosing your future career What other studies are you interested in We love this question it s an important question that is rarely asked of student-athletes Throughout the recruiting and college visiting process, you ve been asked or will be asked to identify just one major (or career) that interests you How many people do you know who had one job or one career throughout their lives There is no hard-and-fast rule that says you must have one career choice If you know you want to be a fighter pilot or dental hygienist, good for you If you ve determined that you d really like to be both a fighter pilot and a dental hygienist, even better! This narrows your field considerably when choosing a good college, but it also opens new and exciting opportunities and studies for you As you move forward, train for your academics with as much dedication and passion as you train for sport