http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/29/sports/ncaafootball/after-the-game-reality-sinks-in-for-a-lineman.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C%5B%22RI%3A5%22%2C%22RI%3A12%22%5D&_r=0
It's not a sad story. It's not a good story. And its reference to Cal as having the lowest graduation rate in FBS is distressing. He says he came to Cal for football and education. It shows what a strong sell Cal can have. And, Mr. Payne got both - but it appears what he didn't get was preparation for post-graduation. Now, Cal didn't exactly prepare me for post-graduation. And Mr. Payne does take some of the blame himself - but Cal does need to improve tremendously in that aspect. If our recruits are getting neither an education nor preparation for life, then Cal is failing in its mission and in its promises. I know the APR is improving, but there is so much work to be done. I know that the Pac12 is in favor of amending the support rules - so that the stories Mr. Payne tells don't happen. This article doesn't prove anything but is just another data point.

A story about Kendrick and Cal players ???? How does Cal get "honored" with a story like this. Seems like the author lacked the guts to take on an expose' of one of the semi-pro "universities".
tOSU (any B1G), Bama (any SEC), OK, OSU (any Oklahoma school), uDuh, ASU, etc., et.al. seem more worthy of the attention paid to post-athletic life, especially for football players.


Anyway, it's NOT Buh's fault, nor Sonny's as he's put in programs to help

There are videos about new opportunities for players to think beyond graduation as they progress, e.g. businessmen at lunches with players, mentoring opportunities.

Quote:

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Ron Coccimiglio is in his second season as the director of career development/assistant director of football operations at Cal in 2012. Coccimiglio duties include promoting the development of student-athletes in order to successfully transition them into the professional work place. He oversees life skills coaching and the summer and career job placement programs.

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http://www.calbears.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=749429&SPID=126513&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=30100&ATCLID=207769819&Q_SEASON=2014

I was poor in college and then struggled to find my way post graduation. I don't believe that it is uncommon.

Kendrick's is an example of needing to have a plan when pro sports doesn't work out for college athletes. The continuing sense of entitlement will not help.

SonOfCalVa;842329340 said:

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A story about Kendrick and Cal players ???? How does Cal get "honored" with a story like this. Seems like the author lacked the guts to take on an expose' of one of the semi-pro "universities".
tOSU (any B1G), Bama (any SEC), OK, OSU (any Oklahoma school), uDuh, ASU, etc., et.al. seem more worthy of the attention paid to post-athletic life, especially for football players.


Anyway, it's NOT Buh's fault, nor Sonny's as he's put in programs to help

There are videos about new opportunities for players to think beyond graduation as they progress, e.g. businessmen at lunches with players, mentoring opportunities.



http://www.calbears.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=749429&SPID=126513&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=30100&ATCLID=207769819&Q_SEASON=2014

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chill, nobody's blaming your buddy for this.

but Cal is nationally recognized for it's academic prowess and it's ability to "open doors for your career" or as Cal coaches love to say--"a 50 year decision". suffering through a huge graduation/APR embarrassment has made a target for these pieces; we brought it upon ourselves. and I couldn't care less about the football factories. we're a completely different animal; the only comparisons we need to be making are to the Notre Dames, Stanfurds, UCLAs, and Michigan's of the country. let's not lower the bar and say "hey, Bama's career prep sucks too..."

problem is, Cal hasn't delivered for its athletes. just how long has this been going on, really? it's an ongoing issue that hopefully the next AD can help solve, along with anticipating changes brewing in the horizon.. right now, we seem hypocritical touting the huge academic upside as a "backup plan" but can't actually deliver on that.

I mean, didn't we just blame our recent troubles on lack of academic support staff? if we couldn't even hire enough tutors, how have we REALLY been doing for post-fb career prep?

NYCGOBEARS;842329343 said:

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I was poor in college and then struggled to find my way post graduation. I don't believe that it is uncommon.

Kendrick's is an example of needing to have a plan when pro sports doesn't work out for college athletes. The continuing sense of entitlement will not help.

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I got by (barely) washing dishes in the cafeteria, working part-time in the library pulling books/placing them back in the stacks, whatever I had the time for or could find, and ended up in a life-long career in IT (when few knew what a computer was) by chance (for which a rigorous liberal arts education well-prepared me).

Perhaps under Coccimiglio there should be required seminars or courses for athletes whose eyes are on the next level, taught or assisted by guys like Payne (who never made it) and Best/Follett (who had it all until they didn't).
Shocks by Jocks - Life after College, Majors that Matter, Courses for Life (quasi-vocational like accounting and finance).

Guy got to eat Bar-B-Q, and shoot hoops on a Cal themed home court, once a year in Danville. What more does he want?

beeasyed;842329344 said:

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chill, nobody's blaming your buddy for this.

but Cal is nationally recognized for it's academic prowess and it's ability to "open doors for your career" or as Cal coaches love to say--"a 50 year decision". suffering through a huge graduation/APR embarrassment has made a target for these pieces; we brought it upon ourselves. and I couldn't care less about the football factories. we're a completely different animal; the only comparisons we need to be making are to the Notre Dames, Stanfurds, UCLAs, and Michigan's of the country. let's not lower the bar and say "hey, Bama's career prep sucks too..."

problem is, Cal hasn't delivered for its athletes. just how long has this been going on, really? it's an ongoing issue that hopefully the next AD can help solve, along with anticipating changes brewing in the horizon.. right now, we seem hypocritical touting the huge academic upside as a "backup plan" but can't actually deliver on that.

I mean, didn't we just blame our recent troubles on lack of academic support staff? if we couldn't even hire enough tutors, how have we REALLY been doing for post-fb career prep?

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I mostly agree with you, as I've witnessed first hand just how poorly we nickel and dime many of the off field player/student development aspects of the program. Admittedly, things have gotten much better. That said, I think this is really a different conversation, one which requires a higher level of accountability on his part. Mainly, he got his fancy Berkeley degree, so the real issue is him not knowing how to use it. But for the most part, he left Cal with the same "Good luck, ok go away now" pat on the back most of us did. So do football players deserve more post college help than a regular student? It would certainly be a great recruiting selling point, but I would be inclined to say no. Unless the ethos of Cal changes (which might under Dirks) this has always been a place of, "now figure it out on your own", for everyone. The resources are there, you just have to want to, know how to get them.

SF, LA, NYC, Chi are full of former jocks in lucrative sales type roles. Most of whom don't have a degree from a Berkeley. Of course, if your priority is to play professional football, you might not have the focus or time to find such a role. If that's the case, driving Lyft seems like a decent side hustle while you chase your dreams.

socaliganbear;842329362 said:

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I mostly agree with you, as I've witnessed first hand just how poorly we nickel and dime many of the off field player/student development aspects of the program. Admittedly, things have gotten much better. That said, I think this is really a different conversation, one which requires a higher level of accountability on his part. Mainly, he got his fancy Berkeley degree, so the real issue is him not knowing how to use it. But for the most part, he left Cal with the same "Good luck, ok go away now" pat on the back most of us did. So do football players deserve more post college help than a regular student? It would certainly be a great recruiting selling point, but I would be inclined to say no. Unless the ethos of Cal changes (which might under Dirks) this has always been a place of, "now figure it out on your own", for everyone. The resources are there, you just have to want to, know how to get them.

SF, LA, NYC, Chi are full of former jocks in lucrative sales type roles. Most of whom don't have a degree from a Berkeley. Of course, if your priority is to play professional football, you might not have the focus or time to find such a role. If that's the case, driving Lyft seems like a decent side hustle while you chase your dreams.

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This is the way I read it as well. I think he is young and maybe making some poor decisions about the future which is not uncommon. I thought for sure when I read the article he didn't have a degree. Pleased that he does.

And other places are full of college grads who didn't play sports who are unemployed, partially employed, underemployed or some other category of labor statistics that reflects the state of our economy. There are many areas in which athletes are deserving of better treatment but I'm not sure preparation for life after graduation is one of them. Protestations to the contrary notwithstanding, he seems to have matriculated more for the opportunity to pursue a pro football career than to take advantage of the academic opportunities available to him at Cal. Time to switch to plan B.

This is another area where we can use Cal's academics to our football recruiting advantage. "Yah, Cal was hard but I got all the help I needed and then when I was done I had a great degree and plenty of connections to companies to work for when my NFL career didn't work out". We get every player saying that and we play better on the field and we'll recruit like gangbusters.