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Thursday, May 24, 2012

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Division III athletes work hard — for no money

BY ANDREW GREENBLATT

In print | Published September 24, 2009 — Updated October 08, 2009 19:52

When I tell people I’m a college basketball player, it’s always the same. I know I’m about to disappoint them. “No, Swarthmore is NOT an all girls school. That’s Skidmore.” “Yes, it’s Division III, and no, we don’t play Villanova.” “Yes, we do have March Madness, and yes, we do have national rankings.” It’s like until we play one-on-one, they don’t believe I’m a real basketball player. I even had some lacrosse guy tell me he could dunk on me this week.

The-life-of-greeny

THE LIFE OF GREENY

Division III just doesn’t get enough respect. I’m not saying that I’m a better player than Scottie Reynolds, or that I’d get playing time at UPenn, but I am saying that I’m sick of being in the shadows of Division I athletes.

Even on a non-athletic scale, how sick are you of people not knowing that Swarthmore exists? It’s as if Swarthmore being a reputable school is a myth, and I just have to take their word for it. I know it gets tiring that the name Swarthmore doesn’t speak for itself the way Brown does, and that your Ivy League friends get more respect and attention, even though Swarthmore is just as selective and just as challenging as any of those schools. But what really gets on my nerves is how people just don’t understand Division III athletics.

We’re treated like second-class citizens just because people are uninformed.

Here’s what most people know: Division I athletes work their asses off. Between exhaustive travel schedules and mind-blowingly difficult workouts and training regimens, mentally taxing worries about retaining scholarship dollars and impressing coaches in a no-off-season format, there are few things that require more commitment. I respect the hell out of them.

People also seem to have some concept of the trials of Division III athletics. We actually have to do our homework. Academics come first, always. But that’s where the knowledge stops.

However, I’m not here to play misery poker with time management issues or relate sob stories of athletes who have to do homework, because I think this issue goes deeper than that.

I get that it’s hard work, that it’s cut throat, and that people are gunning for scholarship dollars at the higher levels. I understand how much harder I’d run if $30,000 was on the line, but that’s exactly the point. It’s easy to run hard when so much is at stake. My question to the Division I athlete is this: How hard would you run if nothing were at stake? If you knew you had a spot on the team, you knew you were going to get playing time, and you knew that you weren’t going pro, how motivated would you be?

Not every Division III athlete has the same drive to improve, but let’s think about those who do. There’s tremendous tension in the desire to get better and the opportunity to actually do so. It’s easier to work out when someone is pushing you. Personally, I have a lot of trouble upholding my training schedule.

I have an ambitious schedule and drive to improve, but it isn’t uncommon for me to miss a workout from plain laziness. I’m my own boss, and it’s easy to cut yourself some slack. In a nutshell, Division I athletes have more people and more dollars invested in their success. The situation I described of getting playing time and having a guaranteed spot may sound ideal. And in the eyes of many, it is, but to those who are constantly looking to improve, finding motivation in those types of situations is a struggle.

The way I see it, every added pressure that a Division I athlete faces is a luxury that I don’t have. To list just a few, the opportunity to work with professional coaches year-round, the accountability of coach-mandated practices, and the fear of what’s at stake are all motivating factors that I just can’t duplicate. It’s fight or flight in a way. We don’t really have control over this basic human instinct. A Division I athlete is in athletic fight or flight.

Another factor that gets overlooked is the subject of team chemistry, described by Coach Wimberly in the basketball’s team’s “Thoughts to Consider,” which stated that “As individuals develop and display determination, aggressiveness, responsibility, sacrifice, and all-out effort, a particular camaraderie sets into that group and becomes infectious.”

Chemistry can become a challenge in Division III. The tension of people missing “voluntary but strongly encouraged” workouts and discrepancies in work ethic within a team are major issues for team chemistry. In Division I, it’s not to say that everyone puts in the same amount of effort, but the difference between the hardest worker and the biggest slacker isn’t as magnified. Former Duke point guard Dick DiVenzio offers another perspective, and I’m in agreement. I feel like the greater the grind, the greater the team. The greater the team, the more fun the experience. Striving for such a grind is much harder at the Division III level.

I’ll leave you with Mr. DiVenzio’s thoughts: “A team may include athletes that are jealous of each other, competitive (of course), and irritated with each other’s habits and idiosyncrasies. Athletes who must be together under intense circumstances and over a long period of time have abundant opportunities to dislike each other and engage in petty squabbles. But let them share pain together and they are likely to emerge as friends.”

Discussion

stephanie ginensky
Over 2 years ago

Nicely written, Drew. After your ending quote, I would have come back to your opening sentiment about playing in the shadow of division III. Because your main point is ambiguous by the end. Do you want to leave the readers with the feeling that Division III players can achieve that same Division I heat if each player is committed to it? Are you trying to encourage Division III players to strive, not just to get the ball in the basket, but to become a responsible member of a team — with the awareness that every practice a player chooses to skip only makes that shadow of division I hovering over the team that much darker?

You can disagree with me. Happy to hear your thoughts…and love reading your writing!
Love,
Aunt Stephanie

Tom Rottkamp
Over 2 years ago

Andrew, I thoroughly enjoyed your insightful comparison of div 1- div 3 athletes.
The new format is top notch!
The “invincible” article by your school’s dean is very well -written and logically argued.
Unfortunately, trickery hardly promotes learning & understanding.Did dean whatshername drink before age 21?

Scott Kessler
Over 2 years ago

Well written article Greeny, however as a D1 athlete I have to disagree with many arguments. My school has a policy in which scholarship money cannot go up or down based on performance. So no matter how poorly I play I cant lose my money. We also have a small coaching staff consisting of a head coach and assistant coach. They do they’re best to push us but often times inspiration and drive are left to the individual athlete to achieve. We have no sponsorship deal so all equiptment costs are our own. Unlike the D1 teams we see on ESPN every week, our administration and faculty doesn’t simply pass us through the system. We’re held to the same academic standards as every other student despite our demanding practices and travel schedules. I think you also overlook the price of privacy. Now my team is never on tv, however the administration, student body, and community look at us under a microscope looking to jump on every mistake made off the field. Athletes need to be careful when going out because people are looking to catch us doing something wrong. My school makes us sign contracts saying we will not put anything detrimental to ourselves, the team, or the school on social networking sites like facebook. All this being said I love being a D1 athlete and wouldn’t give it up for anything. I do respect your position, and look foward to your next article.

Pat Carey
Over 2 years ago

Yes DI kids work their asses off. Yes its hard to be a DIII athlete and really try your hardest when you know you wont be a pro athlete. I dont know how you can analyze DI kids not having that effort to strive for success at the DIII level when you dont cross anyalyze the scenario of a DIII kid playing DI ball. Yes they may not play ever because everyone else is so good. Could a DIII athlete handle that little extra commitment that comes with a DI school when they know that since they wont play they could quit the team and focus on their studies more. I have a lot of friends who are scholarship bench players here at school and they still time to time ponder the idea of just quitting. How would a DIII athlete handle that? Id like to say that given the opportunity to play at a DI level theyd grip it tight and never let it go like youre saying. I know i wouldnt let it go.
Love that coaches chemistry quote btw. Infectious… that is the truest thing Ive ever heard.

Thomas Washington
Over 2 years ago

Andrew, what do you mean 2nd class, yr div 3 so wouldn’t it be 3rd class? Your article just reinforces my thought that division 3 schools should get rid of all intercollegiate athletics and spend the money on something worthwhile. I wonder if the first chair flute player at smore is as whiney as you. Do us all a favor, quit the team and find a cure for cancer.

Thomas Jefferson
Over 2 years ago

Mr. Washington,
a.) Each team’s budget is 1.15384615 × 10-5 of the Swarthmore’s endowment. The bill of 15,000 dollars is insignificant in the overall scope of the college’s budget.
b.) As D1 athletes too could attest, athletics build worthwhile characteristics other than those purely physical and measured by professional contracts. i.e. http://investmentbankingjobsguru.wordpress.com/2008/08/06/what-do-investment-banks-look-for-in-a-candidate-let%E2%80%99s-figure-this-out-by-working-backwards%E2%80%A6/
c.) Believe it or not: people enjoy competitive sports regardless of talent level.

As you yourself acknowledge and as your comment evidences, your offer to society will not reach anywhere within a cure for cancer, so please make what little contribution you can, curb your shortsighted stupidity, and grace the world with your silence.

Ken Greenblatt
Over 2 years ago

Drew, I know your committed to success at Swarthmore and that for you success includes the transformation of what you have referred to as the Basketball Culture at Swarthmore, and what that includes, but may not be limited to, is what is captured by the quotes from Coach Wimberly and Dick DiVenzio that you included in your column. I am clear that you view your relationships / friendships as PRECIOUS. While your college basketball career will come to an end (as mandated by NCAA rules, and as you mentioned in your previous column), you are clear that you and your teammates, coaches, and trainers can, by choice, build friendships that can last your lifetimes. It is my wish for you and each of your teammates, coaches and trainers that you each do just that and that those friendships that you men forge out of your sacrafice and shared pain (such as what you and your teammates, coaches and trainers endured last season) do in fact last your lifetimes and be for each of you the foundation on which you build a life that leaves a lagacy of contribution to others while providing each of you with peace, prosperity, love and joy!
I look forward to your next column!! Thank you!!!

wendy Greenblatt
Over 2 years ago

wow; what a gift to be able to express your opinion in such an intelligent well-written fashion; i truly enjoy reading your column; love the fact that you are building lifelong relationships as well as obtaining a TOP NOTCH education|!!!!!!!!!!!!!! keep your column coming; will forward to all of my peeps to read; looking forward to your next, and next, and next|!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gordon Mann
Over 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Division III athletics at Swarthmore. I know one of the Garnet’s former players (Matt Gustafson) who was great on the court and very hard working off of it. A testament to the Swarthmore program and Coach Wimberly.

If you’re looking for someone to give Division III athletics some love, feel free to check out our website at www.D3hoops.com. We’re the organization that runs the national rankings you reference and we cover Division III athletics with a level of passion and professionalism that others commit to Division I.

Also, keep in mind that over 400 schools are members of Division III athletics. So there is a lot of variety that makes broad generalizations very difficult.

Gordon Mann
Deputy Managing Editor
D3hoops.com

PS – Skidmore went co-ed in 1971. They even have men’s basketball. :)

Judi Spiegel
Over 2 years ago

Drew,

As Ray Croc so clearly expresses in his famous quote: “Persistence and perseverence are omnipotent!” You are a shining example of the true meaning of that quote.

To me, your words and deeds are gold!

Keep writing, exploring, sharing, shooting hoops and challenging yourself.

You are a gift that keepson giving!

I loved you before you were even born! Jude

Ken Greenblatt
Over 2 years ago

Thank you Gordon Mann for clarifying the facts about Skidmore and for intoducing me to D3Hoops.com. I took a look at the site and will continue to do so on a regular basis. I wish you continued sucess with it!

Robert Bennet
Over 2 years ago

Drew,

First, let me congratulate you on the beginning of what I think will be a brilliant spots writing career. Second, in my humble opinion, Swarthmore is a MUCH cooler name than Brown. Those things being said I have to remind you of a conversation we had when you were trying to decide on a school and a team to play for. At the time I asked you t ponder a single question. Would you prefer to be on a Div 1 team where you’d likely get splnters in your butt OR would you prefer to be a star on a team that may not lead you to a professional BBall career? If I know you, and I do very well, I know you are working your butt off to be the best player you can be no matter if there are external pressures on you or not. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to create a reality where you and your teammates own your own goals, passions, and driving forces. From where I sit I see that happening.

On a different note…why aren’t you also writing for D3hoops.com. You SHOULD be! From one writer to another, you’re good enough.

See ya soon!

Austin Stein
Over 2 years ago

At first read i thought the article was all about D III vs DI and then i read the article again and thought that maybe you were just using that as a big example into how hard a team must work no matter what division in order to achieve a common goal. Now playing basketball with you myself on a team together i am sure you know how hard it is to accomplish what you are writing about. however i also think that it can be done if everyone has an open mind to EVERYONE elses point of view. try your hardest greeny and be open minded the teamwork will come…keep the writing coming!!

Beth Steinberg
Over 2 years ago

Drew,

I really enjoyed reading your article. I never really thought about the differences between Division 1 and Division 3 athletes. Many of your points are very true. I look forward to reading your next article.

Amy Yagnisis
Over 2 years ago

Andrew,

Even though basketball may not be your future profession, it is obvious that your writing skills,exuberance,thoughtfulness and analytical abilities will take you much further in the course of life that any ball and hoop will. Remember that you and others like you are the future of our country and we are all counting on you. Keep up the good work!

Jay Steinberg
Over 2 years ago

Drew -

Very informative. Your writing style reminds me that of our great predecessor, Mario Vargas Llosa. On behalf of the entire L block, I look forward to reading more of your articles. Keep up the good work!

Amber Wantman
Over 2 years ago

Greeny! Way to stir up the controversey! You have quite a following :D (D3 hoops.com Deputy Managing Editor!) Impressive.

WENDY GREEBLATT
Over 2 years ago

I AGREE WITH AMBER;YOU ARE TOTALLY IMPRESSIVE; KEEP IT UP;

Dena Evans
Over 2 years ago

Drew,

Great article! You are the type of student-athlete that would have made Dick DeVenzio very proud. And I’m proud to know you are a PGC grad. Keep up the good work, and have a great season!

Dena Evans
Point Guard College, Owner and Director

Comments are closed.

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