Working with Student-Athletes
FHSS Teaching Workshop
May 32, 2015
Data
• Entrance survey
• Mid-term survey
• Exit survey
• Student-athlete interviews
• Interviews with other stakeholders
• Best practices at other universities
• Athlete flag
• Comparisons to NCAA data
Rocks for Jocks?
• Wide variety of student-athletes at BYU
• 600+ student-athletes on campus
• Varies even more by team
• Finish 15+ years later
• Medical school
• Admissions standards (EGPA)
• Major selection (40-60-80 Rule)
• Gender
• Female student-athlete GPA about the same as the
general student body
• Some you think of as student-athletes technically aren’t
• Rugby, men’s soccer, lacrosse, etc.
Challenges of Working with
Student-Athletes
• Time away from campus
• Course sequencing that falls in-season
• Lack of pre-college preparation
• Heavy non-academic demands
• Strict hierarchy—coaches, athletic staff,
athletic department staff, bishops, parents,
professors
• Weird interactions
• Sense of entitlement
• “Caretakers”
• Awareness of stereotypes
Biggest Sources of Stress
• Academics
• Time management
• Sleep
• Pleasing coaches
• Positive team culture
• Typical college student worries
(money, dating)
A Day in the Life, Part 1
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
5:00am—get up, stretch
5:30am—breakfast, prep for day
5:45am—leave for campus
6:00am—weightlifting
7:30am—physical therapy
9:00am—class
12:00pm—campus errands/homework/lunch
1:00pm—practice
4:00pm—physical therapy
5:00pm—”voluntary” film session
7:00pm—church meeting
8:30pm—dinner
9:00pm—homework
11:00pm—bed
• Additional “drop-in” nutrition renovation in fall 2014
A Day in the Life, Part 2
• 5:00am—morning stuff (breakfast, child care, last minute
homework)
• 6:00am—weightlifting, physio
• 8:00am—class
• 10:00am—work (“I’m lucky; my job is on campus”)
• 2:00pm—practice
• 6:00pm—home—dinner, family time, etc.
• 8:00pm—kids in bed; homework
• 10:30pm—bed
• Fewer than half of BYU’s student-athletes
are on full athletic scholarship
A Week in the Life
• Sunday: Normal
• Monday: Normal
• Tuesday: Normal
• Wednesday: Normal/prepare to leave
• Thursday: Leave town/fireside
• Friday: Compete
• Saturday: Compete
• Sunday: Travel back to Provo
Interactions with Faculty/TAs
• They like you
• Most interactions positive
• “I never thought I could have a relationship like this
with a teacher”
• They are afraid of you
• Training and props—still scared
• Rumors/stories, stereotypes, previous experiences,
internalized images of athletes
• Leaning on academic advisors/counselors
• Report trouble with TAs
• Have made arrangements with friendly faculty, but
information does not get to suspicious TAs
Support from the Athletic Side of the
Equation
• Student-Athlete Center
• In-house advisor pilot*
• Major fairs
• Helping faculty and TAs feel more
connected to student-athletes
• Might help student-athletes feel
more connected to faculty and TAs
Working with the Student-Athlete
Center
• New leadership; new structures
• Incoming examinations
• Three-tiered system
• Trevor Wilson (trevor_wilson@byu.edu; 2-5305)
• Absolutely trustworthy
• Skip the academic advisors/counselors if you don’t feel like that
relationship is going well
• Lots of resources
•
•
•
•
Tutors
Mentors (new program)
Computer lab
On-road internet access
• Call them “students” or “student-athletes”
“My Friend Warned Me About It”: InHouse Advisors
• Concerns about student-athletes getting inaccurate
information about classes, majors, etc.
• From departments?
• From SAC staff?
• Data from student-athletes
• Information—true and false—from other students
• Both student-athletes and non-athletes
• Little contact with departments
• In-house advisors
• Introduced to student-athletes—cut down fear factor
• Accurate information
• Can report aggregate concerns to UAAC, SAC, etc.
• Working on more use by student-athletes
“They Don’t Always Know Us Academically”:
Helping Faculty Work with Student-Athletes
•
Increase instructor knowledge of/feeling of
investment in athletic department/studentathletes
• Brownbags with Tom Holmoe, Trevor Wilson,
and UAAC member(s)
• Faculty Days
•
Inviting faculty/TAs to SAB or fields/arenas
“I Just Want to Play for Someone Who Loves
Me”: How Much to Coach?
• Student-athletes are used to being heavily scheduled
• Best students will already be doing this; worst need help
• Details to academic advisors?
• Student-athletes are used to getting more than one chance to
perfect a new skill
• But how much do you schedule that in as general good
pedagogy?
• Common complaint—dropping one quiz
• Student-athletes are used to being coached
• Can be harsh/high expectations, but...
• Very detailed
• Broken down into (very) small pieces
• Most successfully done showing forth afterwards an increase in love
• They are SHOCKED and very moved when professors know their names,
let alone about their competitions