On the plus side, the athlete, if he has received a full ride scholarship will have all his college expenses paid for if he agrees to play his sport for the college athletic program he has just signed with.
This is a definite boon to the high school athlete and his family.
They are all thrilled out of their minds. The local media hypes the situation to the max. Friends and distant family all get the news via email or Facebook. Everyone expects the local elite student athlete to be the star athlete for the big university sports program he or she has just signed with.
And, in truth, if everything works out like everyone hopes it will, the athlete will get to play his sport in college and he will also get a college education. With the economy being what it is today, a full ride athletic scholarship may be the only way some families could afford to send their kid to college.
But, and this is the ugly side of college athletic scholarships, what if the athlete fails to maintain his grades in college? Or, what if he or she gets hurt? Or, what if a female athlete gets pregnant? Or, what if the athlete doesn't live up to athletic expectations?
According to the NCAA, many high school student athletes and their parents are not aware that their full ride athletic scholarship is awarded on a year-to-year basis. Yes, if everything goes right, the athlete will get to play four full years, and he or she will get a higher education.
But, what happens to all these wonderful plans if any number of things, some of which we've just mentioned, should happen? In many cases the scholarship will not be awarded for the next year.
In some cases, parents will be able to pay for the rest of the athletes education, but in far too many cases there is just no money, and because the athlete has depended on the full ride athletic scholarship so heavily, no other financial aid, like academic scholarships have been applied for. This could prove devastating to both athletes and their families.
Unfortunately, this scenario is very common for football scholarships, and for other NCAA sanctioned sports as well. It happens all the time, and it is an important consideration that should be put on the table before any sports scholarships is accepted.
Parents and high school student athletes should consider all options before signing on the dotted line for a college sports scholarship. Read every line of the contract carefully, if you don't understand something, seek legal help.
If, after considering all options, they decide to go the way of full ride athletic scholarship, they should, at the very least, have some sort of back up plan in place.
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Tag: athletic scholarship
