Thursday, September 17, 2009

The Old Way vs. The New Way

Inside the book and game of CareerBall: Many of you will also be old enough (or wise enough) to see how times have changed in the average “athlete-centric life-cycle.” In the past, the old athlete-centric lifecycle went something like this:

  • Grow up (eventually)
  • Play many sports (for fun)
  • Become really good at one sport (or two, or three)
  • Go to college and play ball (have fun for 4 years)
  • Graduate (usually)
  • Get a career (something really terrific and rewarding)
  • Get married (once, or twice if you’re lucky)
  • Raise a family (or two)
  • Retire (after 25+ years at the same company and a nice pension with benefits)
  • And, lastly, here’s the good part… then die and go to heaven (hopefully)
Today, the new athlete-centric lifecycle we experience goes something like this:

  • Grow up (faster than ever)
  • Play one sport exclusively (join the 10 & under travelling team)
  • Try to avoid burnout on sports (usually around age 17)
  • Go pro or go to college and play ball (work your butt off year-round until you quit or are cut)
  • Graduate (maybe, after 6 years)
  • Get a job (and then about 10 more and 3 different careers over your lifetime)
  • Get married (maybe, once, or twice if you’re lucky)
  • Raise a family (if that’s your thing and you have the time/money)
  • Retire (after 40+ years funding your own retirement plan and rising health care costs)
  • And, lastly, here’s the really good part… then die and go to heaven (hopefully)

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