Published on September 1st, 2024

Welcome back! It’s that time of year when school is back in session, bringing with it the chance for student-athletes, teachers, administrators, parents, and other stakeholders to establish positive habits that can lead to academic and athletic success. 

For student-athletes, getting off to a strong academic start is crucial. After a summer spent away from the structured demands of school, diving back into six to seven hours of daily academic engagement can be challenging. They now face more rigorous classes, heightened expectations, and the various socio-emotional challenges that come with the school environment. 

On the athletic side, student-athletes are eager to transition from individual and team workouts to tryouts, practices, and finally, games. Seniors, in particular, are under pressure with the college recruitment process and the complexities of navigating college athletics, which now includes new recruiting priorities for Division I schools, the Transfer Portal, and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) opportunities. It’s a lot to handle—it’s hard. 

In the summer of 2022, Duke Women’s Basketball Head Coach Kara Lawson gave a powerful talk to her team about “Handling Hard Better.” Her message resonated widely, and it made me reflect on the daily challenges student-athletes face. Before we can “handle hard better”, we first need to acknowledge that things will be hard. 

As a teacher and coach, I believe in the value of Front Loading. This educational strategy involves clearly outlining academic and athletic expectations at the start of a course or season, rather than gradually revealing them. Front Loading benefits student-athletes by helping them adjust to college pacing (as most college professors do with a syllabus), manage their time effectively, plan for “busy” and “light” weeks, work ahead, become self-directed learners, and reduce stress. It creates a “No Secrets” environment, which is crucial for respecting hard and fostering the long-term academic and athletic development of student-athletes. 

Another key aspect of respecting hard is the environment in which student-athletes face challenges. Too often, student-athletes and their families avoid difficult situations, such as taking Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), or Dual Enrollment college-level classes. Similarly, they may transfer from school to school for non-academic reasons like playing time or team roles. While there’s no single right way to handle these situations—we encourage everyone to “run their own race”—this approach can lead to what I call “Learned Helplessness.” 

At the CKA SAVE Project, we define Learned Helplessness as the conditioning that leads individuals to avoid dealing with problems and stressful situations, instead relying on others to handle them. For example, a student-athlete may choose an easier class to avoid academic stress. While this choice might not seem problematic, over time, it can become an issue, particularly when it’s time to tackle college-level work. Athletically, frequent team transfers can disrupt academic progress and, in some cases, lead to eligibility issues and the failure to graduate with a college degree. 

To counteract this, the CKA SAVE Project adopts a client-based approach. We encourage student-athletes to write down their goals and work backward to determine the steps needed to achieve them. This often highlights just how hard it is to reach those goals, increasing the urgency to commit to the necessary work. 

In conclusion, it’s essential to respect how hard it is to achieve any worthwhile goal. With the right mindset, support from family, friends, teachers, and coaches, and the determination to face challenges head-on, student-athletes can achieve their academic and athletic dreams. The CKA SAVE Project is here to help. If you need academic or athletic support, feel free to reach out to us. Best of luck to all student-athletes as they embark on this new school year and season.