HELL YEAH CAPA!!!!!

In a 2011 interview on NPR, Sandra Aamodt, a neuroscientist had a lengthy discussion about human brain development. In relation to this long blog post (Sorry!) I decided to start with one of her quotes involving the process. In her discussion with the host, she explains that the pre-frontal cortex is only about halfway developed at the age of 18, which ushers in a host of complex issues when we discuss what it meas to be an adult, mainly at what point and when the onus be on us as "adults" to make important decisions. She stated, "the changes that happen between 18 and 25 are a continuation of the process that starts around puberty, and 18 year olds are about halfway through that process. Their prefrontal cortex is not yet fully developed. That's the part of the brain that helps you to inhibit impulses and to plan and organize your behavior to reach a goal" That comment seemed very fitting to describe why I am in 100% support of what the football team at Northwestern University did just this Tuesday.

If you are unaware of what CAPA stands for, it is the College Athletes Players Association, in short a union for college athletes. As a former college athlete myself, I am 100% behind the Northwestern University's football team who recently founded the organization. I support it for many reasons, mainly because the NCAA, our beloved Universities, their administrations and coaches have failed these young athletes in too many ways for too long. The young, but intensely bright beyond his years Kain Colter (quarterback and catalyst) explains it best, "The No. 1 thing that I want to accomplish is to finally give athletes a true voice. They need to finally have a seat at the table when rules and regulations are determined. They need an entity in place that can negotiate on the players' behalf and have their best interests in mind."

The life of a college athlete is increasingly starting at younger and younger ages. 12, 13, 14, maybe even younger for male basketball prospects. It is a long time to be involved  in such a corrupt, selfish world, that has little regard for the human behind the athlete.The stress is ruining our children, emotionally wreaking havoc on them at a time when their biggest worry should be what they are going to wear to their first high school homecoming dance. I know this not only as a former athlete, but as a coach and someone who has been involved in numerous sports recruiting experiences. The NCAA acts like they regulate this operation, the coaches act as if they follow these rules. It is like a mutual agreement to pretend rules are being followed. Have you ever been to a NCAA sanctioned basketball tournament? Do you know the security involved in that event, and no it is not because these events are inherently violent. It is merely to keep the vulture coaches away from the young players. Coaches, knowingly and willingly bucking the rules.

Have you ever seen a talented young woman give up on all her extra-curricular activities because she no longer is afforded the "luxury" of playing on her high school basketball team with her  friends since grade school, so that she can focus 100% on soccer, volleyball or softball. So that by the time she actually gets her college team she has already torn her acl or rotators cuff. The young man reporting to his football teams pre-season practices with 4 concussions already under his belt. These are kids, trying to get an education and play the sport they love, they are not gladiators here for our financial benefit or entertainment. And before you get all defensive and pissy because they are getting money for school, that is true. I got a scholarship, without it, I would not have been able to attend a college like the one I did. However, I also put in so much time in the gym since I was 12, missed out on a lot in high school, that the least I deserve, as well as all other "student-athletes" is dignity when we got to the place that was supposed  be our ultimate goal. Additionally, a majority of college athletes also never become pros making millions, mainly because most sports do not have professional leagues. The ones that do have been making their problems abundantly clear.

The arrests and personal turmoil experienced by so many profession athletes (who seemingly have everything) are so avoidable and so much of the blame, for their actions and self perceptions, lie on the NCAA, the University and their coaches. They have a unique ability to make a difference, to impact these players for the better and help them become mature intelligent you men and women. These should be the first and foremost goal of all sports teams on every college campus across the country. Instead they want the impermanent. They would rather take the win than put in the time and effort to positively impact their players. For basketball, what does that matter, the coach can ship them off to the NBA after a year or two, why put in the effort? I will tell you why you put the effort in, because their actions have consequences that affect not only their lives but the lives around them. Aaron Hernandez will spend the rest of his life in prison, and what about the three lives he is accused of taking, and their families? We are allowing kids with misguided perceptions of the world either due to lack of or because of life experiences. We are not guiding them on how to live a life of meaning. Then we are sending them out, in some cases, with millions of dollars to fend for themselves.

Who can you turn to when the rigors of that age catch up with you? When you start to experience all the basic trials from life? Your fellow teammates are basically just as immature as you, and also going through their own issues. I was lucky, my coaches doors were always open, and even if they did not handle my immaturity in the best way (sorry :( it is just i was really immature ) at least I had somewhere to go. It saddens me when that option does not exist for many of these kids. We need to stop forcing these kids to somehow "rise" above all the feeling and emotions teenagers and people in their early twenties face on a daily basis and remember the fact that they are kids. We can be tough athletes, we can be the toughest of athletes, but we all still have bad days and dark periods in our lives. The ability to grow and mature is not always allowed in the locker room or practice field. This is a dignity that should be afforded to the "student-athlete."

And getting back to the development of the human brain...I should not have to make the point that these are young men and women who still have a fair amount of years to go in their maturity and brain development. Many times they are far from home, susceptible to injury, struggle with school, have a hard time making friends with other students on campus, this list is endless. Are there universities out there that address these issues, yes, but are there universities out there who treat their student athletes like a commodity without giving them the support they so desperately need? You bet your ass there is. The NCAA can say they do everything they can to protect the "student-athlete" but I have seen and personally been involved in the process from many angle and they do not. It is a shame. Do the university's, administrators and coaches take their responsibility for molding a young person more important than their own pride and profit? Unfortunately that remains to be seen in so many programs in so many different sports it is scary.

I have had the privilege to be a "student-athlete" but I also had the misfortune to experience its downside. I have always experienced massive bouts of insecurity and self-doubt, it is a giant flaw that I will openly admit. It has aided me, unfortunately, to make some pretty bad decisions in life. I can say that there are some I regret, but others I do not. If I did not have some smart, wise "real" adult to go to, it would have been infinitely worse. Looking at so many professional athletes who suffer from so many self-destructive behaviors, I grieve for their 19 year old self's. I wish they felt loved and valued instead of exploited. If we can end that, stop that, if every one can be a Richard Sherman or Kain Colter, then we are doing something right. But at the present this is not the case. If that means an independent advocate is there for those kids, than so be it. Someone, not affiliated with either NCAA or University, there to just simply see a kid succeed. Someone at the tournaments to keep the recruiters and coaches from pressuring the young athletes who are just trying to do what they love. I will take that any day over a broken NCAA system.

I will leave you with another poignant quote from Colter, "Money is far from priority No. 1 on our list of goals. The health of the players is No. 1. Right now the NCAA does not require or guarantee that any university or institution covers any sports-related medical expenses. Student-athletes should never have to worry about if their sports-related medical bills are taken care of." (I would also include mental health as well)

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/northwestern-football-team-takes-first-step-in-forming-college-players-union-163217754.html