The basketball legendary coach John Wooden of the UCLA Bruins has become a revered and quoted industry titan long after he left coaching– not only because of his teams records –but because of how he impressed upon them that they also focus on their academic and social skills in order to turn their college success into post-graduation career and life success.
You and your organization have a unique opportunity to also impress, affect, and support the career development of the student-athletes you and your programs touch!
Thanks for joining this movement! Now we encourage you to….
The NIL industry is struggling to find out what it wants to be when it grows up! Many experts describe the phase we are in as equivalent to the “wild west days”, where the rule of law was determined by who had the bigger gun!
You have an opportunity to remind everyone in our industry of the importance of providing student-athletes with the knowledge, skills, tools, and confidence they will need to launch and leash successful careers.
A professor once told us, “Students don’t do optional!” It’s so true. Part of the reason sixty-two percent of graduating seniors will either NEVER visit the career center or only go once or twice is because career exploration is optional and not required.
You are in a unique position with your interactions with student-athletes to adopt the John Wooden philosophy and remind student-athletes they need to be keeping their eye on the end game and developing their career and life skills while at the same time developing the skills that will help them and their team win!
It takes a village! We can’t do this alone. We need your help, your creativity, your unique perspectives and connections in the industry. We are just starting to lay the groundwork on a potential movement that will provide a LIFETIME of rewards to student-athletes for their commitment of their time, treasure, talent, and health.
Let’s work together to bring unique connections across industries, channels, and programs. Let’s find ways to connect student-athletes with more mentors, more alumni, more internships, and more job opportunities.
Let’s make this happen!