How Today’s Youngest Student-Athlete Prospects Are Seeing the World
This Week’s Student-Athlete Insights
This week’s study is focused on the youngest high school athletes (13-15 year olds) who intend to play college sports. Each generation of teenagers demonstrates shifts in their beliefs, attitudes, and preferences. Those changes are happening at an accelerated pace due to technology (mobile phone usage in particular) and access to information. Today’s youngest prospects, on average, owned or got regular access to their first smartphone by age 10 1/2.
The insights that emerged from the youngest prospects in this study fall into three areas: 1) the increased importance they place on teams, 2) their radically different definition of leadership, and 3) their search for solutions about the future.
I have featured these three areas because they represent beliefs that are trending in a different direction in comparison to current college student-athletes. And by highlighting them now, Coaches and Administrators can consider how these shifts in attitudes may impact their recruiting, retention, and engagement.
The Belief in Teams Is Growing Stronger
In what is music to the ears of Coaches everywhere, today’s youngest prospects have a stronger affinity for “teams” than their older counterparts. Among the factors driving their opinion are the need to belong, to be validated by others, and a strong sense of community.
When asked to prioritize the questions suggested by the NCAA to ask of a potential Coach, prospects said questions like, “What expectations do you have for the team’s training and conditioning?” and “How would you best describe your coaching style?” are more important than questions like “What positions will I play on your team?” and “What other players may be competing at the same position?”
We hear often about the rise of “tribalism” throughout society - a loyalty to a “side” or social group. And while some of that may be at play here too, 65% of young prospects say they like being on a team, in part, to be with people that are different from them.
Coaches and Administrators May Need to Re-Think Leadership
Leadership is complex and changes over time. Some of what passed as effective leadership decades ago is frowned upon today. Based on the opinions of 13-15 year old prospects, a radically different definition of leadership may be just around the corner. It begins with their views on peer leadership.
that evolving definition of leadership won’t only affect the dynamics between student-athletes, but will impact the coaching staff as 48% of prospects Don’t believe in hierarchical forms of leadership.
Coaches and Administrators That Provide Clear Guidance Are Poised to Win
Even at this point in their lives, prospects know they are facing a future of big challenges. On a global scale, they are concerned about the pandemic, climate change, and a shaky economy. On a personal level too, they have serious concerns.
And it’s the personal, future concerns where Coaches and Administrators can provide support and guidance. As has been detailed in my previous insights, coaches are a trusted presence and can influence and inspire prospects with a clear direction and plan for the future.
But Coaches and Administrators should know the atmosphere they are dealing with, as only 36% of 13-15 year old prospects have a “positive” outlook on the future. 60% have a “mixed” view and 15% have a negative view of the future.
Methodology
In gathering student-athlete insights for this study, I used artificial intelligence (AI) to study the anonymized “big data” of student-athletes, coupled with multiple surveys. The study is representative of the 500,000+ college student-athletes, aligning with the 2019 NCAA Demographic Database for all divisions: 55% male and 45% female, 64% white, 16% black, and 6% Hispanic/Latino.