Hi Steve,
My second son, Nick, a 22-year-old going into his final year at Denison University, is a student-athlete playing D-III men’s lacrosse for them.
Nick has a quiet, reflective demeanor and turns it on when he’s on the field playing. He would have liked securing an internship prior to his final year; [but] he understood the time challenges associated with trying to find one while spending his fall semester abroad (the wonderful reality of being able to do that at a liberal arts college with a D-III program) and then diving into spring lacrosse full force. We are thankful he has employment to return to this summer.
COACH STEVE Bode Miller’s viral video of son running up hill raises 3 sports parenting themes
Nick also wants to hold kids’ lax clinics (as many before him have done) and pocket some extra cash. As to whether he executes on this, that will remain to be seen. He is spending needed downtime relaxing. I know he will return to his moving job at his ready. My question is intentionally open ended but given your experience; how would you define a productive summer unfolding for Nick that includes the right amount of readiness for senior year followed by launching himself into emerging adulthood?
Cheers,
Ginger V.
Annapolis, Maryland.
Follow your interests, find your passion
Dear Ginger,
Nick is in a good place. That summer before my senior year of college was one of the most memorable of my life. It was one that provided the perfect transition from my sports-playing days to, eventually, my career.
An important reflection on that summer, though: I didn’t really know going into it what I wanted to do with my life. Instead, the path I took helped me discover it, perhaps even inadvertently.
Here is a summer to-do-list from one former college athlete to another (or any college student, really):
1. Find something you like to do, even if it’s part time (or unpaid).
If you have had time to get a part-time job in college, you are ahead of the game. Doing so gets you familiar with reporting to a supervisor, meeting deadlines and balancing your schedule. It also puts money in your pocket.
If you are playing varsity sports in college, you may not have time for a job, though. In this case, don’t worry. You are already learning valuable life lessons through your sport. I was a rower for my college crew for three years. I wrote for the college paper when I had time, but I didn’t let doing so consume me. I still liked the commitment and camaraderie that came with being a varsity athlete and wasn’t ready to give up that experience even though I knew I wasn’t headed to the Olympics.
I used my summers to get work experience. I painted, mowed lawns and cleaned pools. On the side, and perhaps most importantly, I dabbled in something I thought I might enjoy. I began writing sports articles for community newspapers for minimal pay, or even just money to pay for fuel when I drove to events.
Whether Nick’s passion is coaching kids or something else, he can use what he knows and likes (knowledge of his sport, perhaps, and an interest in working with kids) to find something part-time while still keeping his moving job. He could give private lessons to neighbors, attend a local coaching clinic or shadow someone to get more familiar with coaching. It may lead to something bigger.
2. Get real-life experience (and maybe even live on your own).
Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. Think about what you like to do and of people you know who might be doing it. Use your college’s career-building resources. For me, taking such steps helped me figure out that newspapers offered summer internships.
Call someone who is in an area of interest and see if they have a few minutes to talk. One sports editor in Omaha talked to me for what seemed like 20 minutes and encouraged me to apply to as many summer internships as I could.
That summer before my senior year of college (1995), I became an intern as a sportswriter at the Pensacola News Journal in Florida. Yes, I got work experiences but, just as significantly, I lived on my own outside the insular world of a college campus. I paid the rent, drove to work, learned my own shortcuts to get around town and even got a flat plugged into my parents’ Jeep.
In our industry, interns are often treated like full-time employees and given the perk of being full-time writers for the summer. One sportswriter at the News Journal, Nathan Dominitz, became a mentor who took a keen interest in my work and provided an example of someone in the business I could emulate.
I found the conversations I had with Nathan and other colleagues in which we shared a passion for sports and our profession helped me get better, too. The conversations with another colleague, Mark Bradley, who is now an editor on The Washington Post’s sports multiplatform desk, continue to this day over lunch once a month.
Maybe Nick could go away for part of the summer to shadow someone or just to work. Don’t sweat how much (or how little) he gets paid. That’s where previous jobs like Nick’s moving gig can help. If cost is an issue, maybe you have friends or relatives he can stay with?
3. Keep an open mind for the future.
Most of that summer of ’95, I fully expected to come back to the college crew for senior year. But my experience living and working among colleagues made me yearn for my transition after college. That same experience told me it was time to stop rowing and pursue more career-related experiences on and off campus.
I am not suggesting Nick quit lacrosse, of course, but just look at life beyond his college campus and envision what he might do. If this summer is too late, he could get a head start by thinking about next summer. He might be closer to a career path than he thinks.
Steve Borelli, aka Coach Steve, has been an editor and writer with USA TODAY since 1999. He spent 10 years coaching his two sons’ baseball and basketball teams. He and his wife, Colleen, are now loving life as sports parents for a high schooler and middle schooler. Got a question for Coach Steve you want answered in a future column? Email him at sborelli@usatoday.com
