Athletes should choose junior college over university

– Posted on December 5, 2017Posted in: Advice, Local, New and Noteworthy, Opinion, Sports, Uncategorized

By Kenzie Kallio
Reporter

Athletes should choose to attend a junior college before a four year university. There are many benefits to attending junior college for two years.
”The transition into a university with 10 to 30,000 students is far more stressful and easier to just get lost in non-successful student activities than a small school,” said John Sisemore, Athletic Director and Head Softball Coach at Crowder.
Kenzie InfographicAs a college softball player, choosing a two-year school before a university has helped me get acclimated to the college life. Coming out of high school where classes are as big as 30 people and going to a class with 300 people can be intimidating. Junior colleges have classes close to the same size as high school, more or less.
“I chose Crowder because I could have a better chance at playing time and the classes are more professor friendly,” said Brady Taylor, baseball player and general studies major.
Many baseball players have been drafted into professional leagues out of junior colleges, especially from Crowder College. With teams only being freshmen and sophomores, athletes have a better chance of earning a starting spot on the field or court, where at a four-year university, there would be more athletes and less chance to have playing time as a freshman.
Some might say that transferring from a junior college can be too stressful and unnecessary, but the benefits outweigh the baggage.
One of the main reasons athletes choose a certain college is because of the coach or coaches of that team and want to be coached by them directly. At a university, it would be difficult to get one-on-one time with the coach because of how many other athletes are on the team. By picking a junior college, individual time with the coach is available more often, which would make the athletes even better.
Sisemore went on to say, ”JUCO coaches are not pressured as much to win so they take more time in development and the interest of the athlete.”
In the past, Crowder College athletes have had much success in their future and will continue to be successful because they chose a junior college before a university.