As a teacher/coach, it frustrates me when someone tells a student/ athlete that if he or she will concentrate on a certain sport, they will have a chance to receive an athletic scholarship.

First of all, scholarships are available for students not only for athletics but also through academics and financial grants, however it is difficult for most to receive a full athletic scholarship from a Division I university. These scholarships are awarded to less than 3 percent of all high school students.

Student/athletes have a better chance to receive a partial scholarship from a Division II university or a junior college, but even these schools have limited numbers of scholarships, so they usually break up the stipends into partial scholarships to make them go further.

Student/athletes don't realize that to receive a full ride the university is investing $80,000 or more in them. For the university to invest this much in a student, they must make sure they have the most talented athlete available.

Student/athletes also don't realize that being a college athlete means you are involved in a job 24/7 and 365 days a year, which means you had better hold up your end of the deal for the university.

As parents, we would love for our child to receive any type of scholarship to defer the cost of college expenses, but we don't need to be naive and think our child will receive that full scholarship and count on it being the only means for them to go to college. As a coach, I wish the best for all our athletes and hope they receive some type of scholarship, but I also want to be realistic and lead the student/ athlete in the direction best fit for them.

We all need to have hope and dreams, but in the real world being realistic and knowing our potential will help us understand what is best for us. I am adding to this article a link on the Lampasas Athletic Web page under LHS. The link is titled "Athletic Scholarships." It will provide information about what college coaches need to know about you and what you need to know to get an athletic scholarship. This link will lead you to colleges you might be interested in attending with information on the contact people.

So, as I close, be realistic about your potential and realize there are scholarships out there; just know that all schools might not want you, and you might not want them. The advice I can give you is to attend college for an education, and if you are one of the fortunate few to receive either a partial or full athletic scholarships, be thankful.

Remember, if you don't receive a scholarship, you can always walk on to see if you can make the team.

www.college-athletic- scholarships.com/index.htm

Joey McQueen is the Lampasas High School athletic director and the Badgers' head football coach.