Nothing

I have reached a pivotal moment in my life. I am a sophomore in college a time that is often described as the best time of your life. Yet I have nothing going on. I walked back from a wet and cold practice today and attempted to think of ideas I could write about. I had nothing. So I will write about that nothingness.

I don't have much going on in my life. My weeks repeat themselves. My boredom rises. Every week follows the same schedule (no actually our coaches send out our schedule every Monday). That is the life of a student-athlete. Classes repeat over and over again I struggle to find news and sports articles to read to avoid paying attention in class. Workouts three times a week at various times fill free hours before or after classes. School work falls low on the priority list as you write blogs about how you have nothing going on.


Filling the time left is quite easy for me. I have four options that I keep on a constant cycle. Food is always near the top of the list. Food is double edged sword as you kill more time to both find the food and then eat it. Sleep has become one of my most treasured time killers. The amount of times I wake up in a day can range anywhere from 2-5 times with naps scheduled throughout my entire week. I often hear "all you ever do is sleep" from my friends who know me best. Netflix follows in the cycle and it often is combined with second on this list. As we come up on the anniversary of my best friend Nick and his family allowing me to join their Netflix account I want to reiterate to them my thanks for allowing me to be part of their Netflix family. Lastly is the most boyish of time killers. Video games whether I am playing alone or with friends time seems to slip away as you play video games.

Maybe at some point my life will pick up. I turned 20 in august and maybe my life with take a trip to the roaring 20's it just hasn't started yet. I will enjoy my predictable and scheduled life. As people walk in and out of it maybe certain things will start to change. For now, it is time for a nap.

Interview with Head Football Coach Dean Paul

For this week in Social Media Principles students were tasked with interviewing an expert in a field of their interest and ask about the effects of social media in said field. 

Myself and graduating senior Alex Eblin chose to interview Ohio Northern's Head Football Coach Dean Paul. Both Eblin and I are sport management majors. We looked into the effects social media has on coaching, recruiting, and marketing through all platforms at all levels of college football and also in the perspective of ONU Football. 

Questions asked were as followed:

1. How long have you been using social media?

2. Which social media platforms do you use personally and for the program?

3. How do they benefit the program? 

4. Have you noticed any easier task such as recruiting with social media?

5. Do you look for specific post to comment or share?

6. Have you ever had any negative comments or feedback on a post and if so how did you deal with it?

7. Which platform do you find the easiest or most effective to use?

8. Where do you see the future of social media in college football?

Coach Paul spoke on his history with social media along with how he sees it progressing. He talks profusely on the development of a plan and having a strategy in everything they do on all forms of social media. He also acknowledges that social media is ever-changing and he along with the coaching staff must stay up to date on the newest tools and regulations when it comes to social media. Something that truly applies to all aspects of business and life. Social media is an ever changing domain that never stands still something that the world today is still working to stay on top of.

The Era of the Transfer

College athletics will always be a powerful part of American culture, as it draw at the heartstrings of alums, current students, families, and relatives across the country. One thing, that seems to bring a lot of people together in a multitude of ways, respect, pride, elation, dismay, disbelief among just a few adjectives that can affect a 21 year old college student or a 80 year old alum. Almost everyone has a team and a school.

But often forgotten is that while the fan is so keenly affected by the outcomes on the field, or court. The athletes competing are still 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 years old. They are also continuing to go to class, do homework, take exams, write papers while also trying to balance practice, games, lifting, socializing, and trying to still be a regular student.

Social media has made the day and age of the athlete all that much more, student athletes at premier schools for their sport have followings the sizes of professionals and often have an equal amount of pressure to preform if not more as many times they are looking for their professional life to continue in their athletic area of expertise and skill.

As a college athlete myself, albeit at a much smaller level school, even I have felt pressures from the late years of high school to now when it comes to my performance on the field and often more importantly so my actions and perception off of it.

College athletes have a lot going on in their busy lives and have a lot to weigh in ultimately every decision they make, but there seems to be one large topic at the top of almost every social media platform that follows college athletics these days. We have entered the era of the transfer.

Most people are aware that when a student athlete chooses to attend a university and continue their athletic endeavors they sign a National Letter of Intent, now what most don't know is what has gone into that moment in their life the work they have put in the sacrifices that they along with families have made and it is unique to every student athlete as no journey is ever the same. Motivations are always different, the factors in decisions are always different, the need for a new beginning or the need to stay close to home can change every other week depending on the student athlete.

Now the rule has always been that when a student athlete chooses to transfer, they must sit out a year at their new institution and they lose one year of eligibility but then they are free to compete for their new school. Recent months have made this become increasingly easier for student athletes as the NCAA has issued a new tool called the Transfer Portal, in which a student can choose to input their name and they are basically putting it out there that they are open to being contacted by other schools about the possibilities of joining a new program.

As more and more student athletes take advantage of this tool that is now at their disposal. I watch as fan bases, reporters, and yes even coaches mock this tool and the decisions of so many student athletes, but I ask how is it different from a young business man taking an interview with a different company I ask how is it different from a young doctor talking to multiple practices about which is the best fit for his professional setting. What ever the motivations may be, and while it looks to be that most transfers are looking for the opportunity to play the athletic competition they love I ask you to think deeply and realize that each of these student athletes is a human being trying to navigate and put themselves in the best position to succeed for the next stage of their life. No different than that of you and I. Yes, your alma mater may lose a talented young athlete but keep in mind that athlete is still a college student, and the job of a college student is to grow, mature, and ultimately head out into the work force, no matter what profession it may be, in the best position to be successful.

CBS Writer Dennis Dodd wrote a phenomenal article on the social media effect as well,
https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/social-media-shaming-is-helping-college-players-fight-unfair-transfer-rules-gain-eligibility/