'14 JUCO LB Chris Weatherd (UT Signee 2/5/14)

#3,176
#3,176
Tennessee Golfer said:
Don't have a pity party for him. Plenty of players with confirmed learning disabilities have qualified all over country. Anything can be accomplished with just a little effort.
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Even more people with undiagnosed learning disabilities have not qualified and struggle with even elementary level reading and math.

Ignorance such as yours should be silent. If you cannot see outside your limited knowledge base, yet still spew forth this baseless and somewhat prejudiced opinion, then you should look in the mirror closely. Burger is staring back at you.

Couple of facts for you, 40+% of adopted children have learning disabilities. Significant number of learning disabilities are attributed to drug/marijuana/alcohol use during pregnancy. Not a big stretch to think that especially in the mother, these factors may play a role even before pregnancy...
 
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#3,179
#3,179
As soon as ANY player fails to make grades or a halfway respectable ACT score, learning disability is immediately blamed. You people need to get over yourselves. JUCO classes are a cakewalk and the amount of academic resources provided to athletes at UT is vast. Unless we're talking severe learning disability (in which case that person shouldn't be at a university anyways), there's not much excuse for not making grades. Stop trying to give an excuse to every single player. Some of them just don't put in the effort.
 
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#3,180
#3,180
VolsDoc81TX said:
Even more people with undiagnosed learning disabilities have not qualified and struggle with even elementary level reading and math.

Ignorance such as yours should be silent. If you cannot see outside your limited knowledge base, yet still spew forth this baseless and somewhat prejudiced opinion, then you should look in the mirror closely. Burger is staring back at you.

Couple of facts for you, 40+% of adopted children have learning disabilities. Significant number of learning disabilities are attributed to drug/marijuana/alcohol use during pregnancy. Not a big stretch to think that especially in the mother, these factors may play a role even before pregnancy...
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I agree I was being insensitive at first about learning disabilities. But we don't know why he can't qualify. It could be a learning disability or it could be he just didn't put in the effort to take advantage of such a tremendous opportunity. Also why would he continue to say he was going to arrive midterm, then May, then yesterday if he knew he was struggling?
 
#3,181
#3,181
Go Fight Win said:
Lol they absolutely have to take 12
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Then I will agree with Nahsvol's comment that they must be HELLA busy lol. My point is this, there is still all the help (and all of the incentive) in the world for these players to get the necessary GPA to remain eligible.
 
#3,183
#3,183
Probably_in_Class said:
As soon as ANY player fails to make grades or a halfway respectable ACT score, learning disability is immediately blamed. You people need to get over yourselves. JUCO classes are a cakewalk and the amount of academic resources provided to athletes at UT is vast. Unless we're talking severe learning disability (in which case that person shouldn't be at a university anyways), there's not much excuse for not making grades. Stop trying to give an excuse to every single player. Some of them just don't put in the effort.
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Fitting user name
 
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#3,184
#3,184
wilrob75 said:
Then I will agree with Nahsvol's comment that they must be HELLA busy lol. My point is this, there is still all the help (and all of the incentive) in the world for these players to get the necessary GPA to remain eligible.
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Absolutely. However, the question here isn't about staying eligible at UT, but at JUCO. JUCO's are notorious for their lack of academic help & especially poor communication with athletes on what they need credit-wise to become eligible. Could student athletes do a better job putting emphasis on the student half of things? They certainly could and should. But a lot of the time, teachers, coaches, handlers, friends, and even family have been letting these guys limp through academically without any kind of repercussion.

These guys are 17-20 year olds. Once bad habits are created, it is very difficult to break. Couple that with a "god complex", learning disability, bad mentoring, and a 40+ hour physically taxing schedule, and you have a nasty situation especially if they aren't the brightest or most academically inclined individual. Stop looking at the situation through such a narrow perspective. Often it's more than just "try harder, care more, blah blah rah rah".
 
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#3,185
#3,185
Probably_in_Class said:
As soon as ANY player fails to make grades or a halfway respectable ACT score, learning disability is immediately blamed. You people need to get over yourselves. JUCO classes are a cakewalk and the amount of academic resources provided to athletes at UT is vast. Unless we're talking severe learning disability (in which case that person shouldn't be at a university anyways), there's not much excuse for not making grades. Stop trying to give an excuse to every single player. Some of them just don't put in the effort.
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Just speaking for myself, not trying to give every student athlete a break. I had several very low GPA semesters as a student at UT. I put many other things ahead of my grades. At the time it did not seem like that big a deal. I learned otherwise. It delayed my entrance to medical school.

Many many factors go into being a successful student. As a matter of fact, some of the one absolute worst advice I received in my quest to be admitted to medical school came from the academic advisers at the University of Tennessee.

As far as learning disabilities go, I have had a truly eye-opening experience in the number and variety of learning disabilities that there are. Not everyone has one. What is truly a problem, is making the diagnosis. Then, hoping that there are resources to help the student overcome this disability.

The close minded ignorance expressed by burger really really bother me. It is nothing more than prejudice.
End of rant here. :)
 
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#3,186
#3,186
For those dissing the guy over grades, consider this. I found this stat from when I was looking up the new 2.3 core minimum GPA starting in 2016- kind of puts things in perspective, especially since it's .2 grade points below the JUCO minimum.

The academic requirements for student athletes graduating in 2016 or later are going to be much higher than the current academic markers. If current high school athletes were required to meet the new academic standards, over 15% of incoming freshman would not be eligible (40% of basketball players and 35% of football players). This means if you are following the same courses as the athletes ahead of you, there is a chance you will not be eligible. Here is a summary of all of the new requirements.
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#3,187
#3,187
Go Fight Win said:
Absolutely. However, the question here isn't about staying eligible at UT, but at JUCO. JUCO's are notorious for their lack of academic help & especially poor communication with athletes on what they need credit-wise to become eligible. Could student athletes do a better job putting emphasis on the student half of things? They certainly could and should. But a lot of the time, teachers, coaches, handlers, friends, and even family have been letting these guys limp through academically without any kind of repercussion.

These guys are 17-20 year olds. Once bad habits are created, it is very difficult to break. Couple that with a "god complex", learning disability, bad mentoring, and a 40+ hour physically taxing schedule, and you have a nasty situation especially if they aren't the brightest or most academically inclined individual. Stop looking at the situation through such a narrow perspective. Often it's more than just "try harder, care more, blah blah rah rah".
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I'm not being narrow-minded about it at all. You made good points, and yes on the topic of jucos they do not provide nearly the support that a university does. Agreed. But the classes at a juco are also much easier. MUCH easier.

If a kid can't get a 2.5 there, and he is at juco solely to raise his grades and prove he deserves a second chance, then how could he be expected to remain eligible when the course load gets heavier at a a degree granting university? Lots of student athletes take advantage of the second opportunity, but not all if them will.
 
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#3,188
#3,188
Go Fight Win said:
Absolutely. However, the question here isn't about staying eligible at UT, but at JUCO. JUCO's are notorious for their lack of academic help & especially poor communication with athletes on what they need credit-wise to become eligible. Could student athletes do a better job putting emphasis on the student half of things? They certainly could and should. But a lot of the time, teachers, coaches, handlers, friends, and even family have been letting these guys limp through academically without any kind of repercussion.

These guys are 17-20 year olds. Once bad habits are created, it is very difficult to break. Couple that with a "god complex", learning disability, bad mentoring, and a 40+ hour physically taxing schedule, and you have a nasty situation especially if they aren't the brightest or most academically inclined individual. Stop looking at the situation through such a narrow perspective. Often it's more than just "try harder, care more, blah blah rah rah".
Click to expand...

Every. Last. Word. Of. This.
 
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#3,189
#3,189
VolsDoc81TX said:
Just speaking for myself, not trying to give every student athlete a break. I had several very low GPA semesters as a student at UT. I put many other things ahead of my grades. At the time it did not seem like that big a deal. I learned otherwise. It delayed my entrance to medical school.

Many many factors go into being a successful student. As a matter of fact, some of the one absolute worst advice I received in my quest to be admitted to medical school came from the academic advisers at the University of Tennessee.

As far as learning disabilities go, I have had a truly eye-opening experience in the number and variety of learning disabilities that there are. Not everyone has one. What is truly a problem, is making the diagnosis. Then, hoping that there are resources to help the student overcome this disability.

The close minded ignorance expressed by Tennessee golfer and burger really really bother me. It is nothing more than prejudice.
End of rant here. :)
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Doc I'm far from prejudice. Sometimes we say or type before our mind realizes what we are saying. I apologize if I offended anyone. I know what a severe disability looks like as I have family members with severe autism. I'm man enough to acknowledge I was wrong. Go Vols and God Bless America!
 
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#3,195
#3,195
Hmmmmmm.... :question:

Chris Weatherd ™ ‏@ChrisWeatherd12 5m
Step 1
2714.png

Knoxville, TN
 
#3,197
#3,197
LT21 said:
Getting a 2.5 is averaging half Bs and half Cs. For the average person attending college/having graduated college that is posting on here, of course that sounds easy. But I can imagine how that would be tougher for athletes who have train at their sport to be elite/eligible for a scholarship. Give them a break.
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Do you think these kids are absent of educational assistance? Tutors work with these athletes tirelessly (and often times make up degree paths) so that the football players can keep their head above water in order to contribute on the field. Regardless, the player must semi take his studies seriously. The support systems are there if applied.
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#3,198
#3,198
Tennessee Golfer said:
By now I would've hoped he had steps 2-5 checked too. Come on Chris we are all pulling for you!
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Vague tweet is vague. But everyone has to start somewhere! Some things may have not been available 'til he arrived in Knoxville- such as applications and things of that nature. It's been really tough to get a scoop on what's going on, it seems. :crossfingers:
 
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