The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, May 02, 1979, Image 15
THE BATTALION Page 15 WEDNESDAY, MAY 2, 1979 m steers ’em straight The athlete s other side ■cord last leared l'| n breal By MARK PATTERSON Battalion Sports Staff , the numbers game called col- fthere success is judged on the | es received each 16-week Ber, the pressure to do well in- * with each year of school. A j future rests on how well he ; during his days at college. ie pressure to succeed is even ter for athletes at the university ■Mot only do they have to per- e ll in school, but the pressure eed on the field is constantly ng them. While the coaching oes all it can to teach the k the steps to take on the field, ■ to the athletes to perforin in ■ssroom. And it’s helping them ■n well off the field that the B department at Texas A& M &d to its student athletes. BNCAA requires that an ■ maintain at least a 1.6 grade It average to remain eligible to lipate in sports at the university si. Texas A&M requires an ste and any student enrolled in Hiversity, to maintain an over- .OGPA to remain in good stand- ■olastically. Brding to Max Bumgardner, piic counselor for the athletic ■ment at Texas A&M, football ■ had an overall GPA of 2.38 Smester. All other athletes Bthe direction of Bumgardner ed a 3.04 GPA for a compiled JPA in the athletic depart- Jime here with Coach (Emory) |:d in January, 1972,’’ rdner said. “Bellard felt that come to school to get an lion first and play football sec- end nt into the living rooms along jhe coaches when they went out es won lisBing. We would sit down with a lall setaS Iparents and assure them that ilt of 16-iBuld do everything possible to t margin. Bheir boy to achieve academi- le upper Ss well as athletically at Texas ic year tkB” nference, Bn enrolling at A&M, the eweredoiBe is put on an academic r ent on, weBile in an attempt to develop his is. We kneBskills. All freshmen athletes neet that required to attend study ses- ople messtl, held in Cain Hall, at least two lace enou.Sts a week. According to Bum- points toRr, it’s done in an attempt to the players in the habit of study- not goinn rybodyispt have tutors available for the heir best fetes if they need help in their iston anc rses,’ Bumgardner said. “We igers to tknO to 80 tutors available to the In the p ers through the athletic depart- the Coui most ic best yi nference ho wontl mpetitioul Houstonj By KURT ABRAHAM Hall at tliw Battalion Staff •h,andBn«ood things, sooner or later, &M teainlto come to an end, and for the ode the I A&M tennis team, today’s match with the Michigan Wol- meetju ies will not only close out the Theonl)ls season, it will also end the tplace, igiate careers of two A&M myone ' irs st a 17-fooi leniors Robin Baker and Mike it marks the end of four years id pole v# g from 1975 in which they coached ;en an A&M tennis program i high scbi from success to rock-bottom vaulterin | only to rise once more to get intoi jtability during their final im on tht |on the team, t some cob I finishing out their eligibil- up and gt Iker and Moss have some ex- pis for the team’s rollercoas- !oach Had Hormance, as well as a few better thy s about their own careers, cow in Idigiink the problem with the be traced to attitude, ” said When I say attitude, I mean I only team-wise, but also Lg-wise. Since Coach (David) ime here, there’s been a dif- gfeelingon the team. It used to w ore satisfied with the ir teams in our conference •reakingeven with the weaker V li ^’ 0ac ^ Kent is very aggres- ce taking over and he’s given 'more incentive to win.” agreed with Bilker, saying )as been a complete turna- ]Mn the last year. •t of involvement, I think, is •t only to a change in attitude ® a * n * n experience,” kd. Our 1978 team has five ien . on R and they weren’t I P“*y in the Southwest Con- ■ his year, those same fresh- e sophomores and it’s made mi much more mature.” Players cited further , Ie ning of conference teams r ea dy had good tennis pro- L one of the main reasons for lP 6 . 8 during recent years. I. 1 nis year, our team only re- P ayers from within Texas ^\ e ant that we had the same Performance from our each year,” said Baker. wiuJe, other teams like SMU, LrJ X f S i anc ^ ^ ce wer e recruit- > e y best players they r > even if it meant having to H state or out of the country to got to the point where we I Vln g a hard time compet- thought aggressive M«ion 8 a y ° ther sc ' hools hild made West Conference the 111P ment. They are available any night of the week. We don’t use the tutors to replace going to class. The tutors don’t do the work, they just help the kids with what they need to learn and try to teach them how to study.” The students who need tutoring help are assigned a tutor at the be ginning of the fall semester and work with the tutor throughout the semes ter. The player and the tutor work together one night a week through out the semester, Bumgardner said. “And with exams coming up, we have a few more tutors and a few more boys burning the midnight oil. “Our tutor program isn’t unique. Every school around the country who can afford academic counseling does it.” Marvin Tate, interim athletic di rector at Texas A&M, feels the money spent by the athletic depart ment on the tutor program is wisely invested by the department. To be competitive with schools like Texas, Texas Tech and Houston, we have to spend X-amount of dol lars recruiting an athlete,” Tate ex plained. “It’s expensive to get them here and if they’re not eligible to play, all our efforts and money go down the drain. To protect our in vestment, we have tutors. “The athletes are here for two rea sons. First, they’re here to get an education. Second, they’re here to represent A&M in athletics. If they don’t do the first, they can’t do the second. The money spent on tutors comes out of the athletic budget. I personally don’t see anything wrong with the system.” The tutor program became availa ble to the athletes five years ago after problems arose about scheduling tutors through the service on cam pus. The athletes need tutoring at night from 7:30 on so the athletic department was required to set up its own system. “Our help sessions and tutor ses sions are closed to students other than those on scholarship,” Bum gardner said. “ There is a free system on campus to handle other students. We just try and take care of the people that live here (in Cain).” When an athlete has a problem with some phase of school, Bum gardner is the man they come to talk to. After he hears the gripes or prob lems, Coach Bum (as he is called by the athletes) takes certain steps to solve the problem. “I first send them to see their teacher,” Bumgardner explained. “After that, I talk to the teacher to see if the problem might stem from the boy not making it to class or if he just doesn’t know how to study for the course. Then I take steps to cor rect whatever the problem is, includ ing telling his coach about his prob lem. And coaches have ways of mak ing the students shape up.” According to head football coach Tom Wilson, the coaching staff has a variety of ways of motivating an athlete to do well in school. “Other than just encouraging the player, we sit down and counsel with him to supply motivation,” Wilson said. “If that doesn’t work, we have to turn to punishment motivation. “The punishment comes in the form of running. If the player has a problem making it to class, we get him up at 5 or 6 in the morning and run him. He may run laps, bleachers (up and down the stands of Kyle Field), grass drills or just added run ning after practice. “It’s all done as an attempt to im press upon the player the impor tance of getting an eduaction.” According to Bumgardner, good rapport with faculty members is a key factor involved with the success of an athlete. Since most players have to miss classes in the course of the semester because of out-of-town games or matches, an input to the professor can be a great help to a student-athlete. “Naturally, there are some teachers on this campus who show a lack of interest in athletics as well as some that show a great interest,” Bumgardner said. “It’s hard for some teachers to understand that some kids have to miss class because they’re on the road for a game. “In general, if the boy goes to class and contributes, the teachers will be fair. And that’s all we want. We don’t want, or expect, any teacher to show any special attention to an athlete.” It’s the job of Dr. R.C. Potts, re tired dean of Agriculture at Texas season toughest in the nation for tennis. “All a person has to do is look at this year’s teams and he’ll see for himself what we’ve been up against. Five of the teams in our conference were ranked in the top 20. I don’t think the stu dents here at A&M realize what we’ve had to compete against.” The problem of fan support has ] been a nagging problem for the team ever since he came to A&M said Baker. “I really wish our fans at home were more supportive, especially since we now have a place for them to sit and watch us play. When we re on the road, we always play in front of good crowds. The fans at other schools are very enthusiastic and we’ve ended up catching a lot of ver bal abuse on the road. It would be nice to turn the tables on another team with a good home crowd. We do want to thank the fans that have come out this year and seen us play.’ Both players said that it was the school’s reputation more than any recruiting that made them come to Texas A&M. “Besides the obvious academic advantages, I was impressed by the athletic dorm and the chance to play against good teams in the confer ence,” said Baker. This year’s season has had mixed results for Moss and Baker. While Moss played every match this year, Baker found himself in the frustrat ing position of sitting on the sidelines most of his senior season, watching the younger players out on the court. “Sure, I’d like to have had a chance to play more. Nobody likes being out of the action, said Baker. “But if my being out helps the team win, then I think it’s worth it for me. Kent said that Baker has contrib uted in ways off the court that are often more important than what s done on the court. “Robin has really helped us in providing leadership,” Kent said. “He encourages our players when they need it and can also calm them down when they get too excited. He’s also helped me recruit. In fact, Robin has almost been like an assis tant coach without the title. I think it’s a real credit to him that he stuck with the team when a lot of people in his situation would have quit. How will the Aggies do against Michigan? The way we re playing now, I think we have a good chance to beat them,” said Moss. I only wish we could have done this well a year long, especially in the confer- A&M, to find out who the teachers are who are sympathetic to athletes and their problems. After retiring from his position as dean, Potts was hired by the athletic department to serve as a consultant to the athletes in selecting their course of study and semester load. “Coach Bellard said that he needed someone that knew educa tion and the programs available at A&M,” Potts said. “He knew that I knew the opportunities here at the University. I work for a small con sultant fee over and above what I receive in retirement from A&M. “Sometimes I recommend teachers for the boys to take. I know some members of the faculty who take an added interest in young people. And there are a few who might have compassion for athletes. They might have played sports themselves and know what the athletes go through.” Potts mentioned Charles Leighman of the English depart ment, Dr. Nelson Duller in the physics department. Dr. Jesse Grady of the agriculture economics department and Dr. Gerald O’Donovan of the genetics depart ment as members of the faculty that have been helpful to athletes in their course work. Potts’ office, in the lobby of Cain Hall, is open to all students who need assistance in any phase of their school work. T have as many young people in the Universtiy come and talk to me as athletes,” Potts said of the visitors to his office. “When I have the time, I’ll work with anyone I can. “But only time will tell in the hearts and minds of athletes that I’ve talked with if I did any good. Direct ing their lives in the right direction, that’s the payoff. That’s the reason I’m here to help.” THIS WEEK ONLY! ALL MESH SHIRTS AND SELECTED T-SHIRTS Mi PRICE! (Prices Good Through May 12) loupots BOOKSTORE Northgate — Across from the Post Office (Ask about our group discounts too!) I I I I I I B I R. Ils time to return four Refrigerator. 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