It’s parental nature, for most of us, to hope for positive scenarios when it comes to our children and their college education.

So it’s only natural, therefore, for those of us who are parents of would-be college athletes, to dream they can beat the odds and win a college scholarship.

Do you happen to know just how long those odds are?

I’ve done some research and they are very long. While stats are not available for every sport, the NCAA Web site (www.ncaa.org) has an interesting page that shows the odds of a high school athlete getting a college scholarship in men’s and women’s basketball, football, baseball, football, men’s ice hockey and men’s soccer. The same page also gives the odds of that same high school athlete being drafted as a pro in each of those sports.

The challenge is daunting to say the least. So, even if you are convinced that your child is the next Drew Brees, or the next Lisa Leslie, I strongly recommend a plan B.

I happen to have two sons who are playing high school ice hockey, where the odds of a college scholarship, and subsequent pro career, are the best that I’ve seen. However, my wife and I have asked our sons: have you ever heard of a NHL player from the District of Columbia (where they play) or Virginia (where we live)? (They haven’t, because there has never been one from either place.)

So what are those ice hockey stats? Partly because high school participation rates are so low compared to other sports, one in nine of boy high school hockey players, or 11%, go on to play in college and 0.31%, continue to play in the pros.

From there the odds for every other sport (where stats are available) get much longer.

Football, which has the most widespread participation of any high school sport, is in the middle of the pack odds-wise in terms of the chances of attaining a college scholarship. One in 17 high school football players, or 5.8%, go on to earn a college scholarship and one in 1,200 of those same high school gridiron greats make it to the NFL.

Another way to look at it: there are eleven players on each side in a football game and most players these days specialize in offense or defense. Scan the local paper on a Saturday morning, and count 52 game scores from contests played under the Friday night lights. Out of all of the starters in all of those games, 52 games X 22 players, the odds are that exactly one of those young men will make it the NFL – the real version that is, though Madden 2010 is another matter.

The odds of a high school soccer player attaining a scholarship are almost identical to football, as are the odds of such a youngster, no matter how talented, making it in the MLS.

Baseball is slightly better when it comes to odds of attaining a college scholarship – one in 17, or 6.4%, will do so – but the chances of getting drafted to the pros is better than either football or soccer, with a whopping one in 225, or 0.44%, being chosen. However, there are many more draftees in baseball – and more levels of “professional” – than any other sport, so the odds of actually making it to the MLB are still highly stacked against any youngster.

And speaking of odds, the sport of basketball is the toughest of all, not only for boys and their chances of a college scholarship, but also for girls, though it must be noted that this sport is the only one where statistics for female athletes are readily available.

Of all the girls who participate in high school basketball, only 3.4%, attain a college basketball scholarship and only one in 5000, or 0.02%, eventually make it to the WNBA.

The odds of a male basketball player making it to college hoops or the pros are even longer. Only 3.1% go on from high school to play in the college game and, of all the high school basketball players in the U.S., only one in 3300, or 0.03%, make it to the NBA. Picturing that figure in team terms, only one fortunate and talented young man out of every seven high school starting fives will receive a college basketball scholarship. And only one incredibly gifted and determined young man out of every 660 starting fives will play in the pros.

So, as Super Bowl Sunday approaches, and America’s focus turns to sports, enjoy yourself watching the game and encourage the young people in your family to pursue their athletic dreams. As they do so, however, temper your own enthusiasm for how far such dreams may take your own children, as the odds are much greater that Super Bowls down the road will find them on the couch battling you for the remote, as opposed to on the field battling for victory.

Before you settle down on that couch, here are some stories of interest from Inside Higher Ed, the leading online publication covering the world of colleges and universities. As per our weekly custom, these several stories below follow the trends and developments in higher education that IHE editors and I think will be of interest to parents. Read, learn and enjoy yourself, then forward this column to friends who you think may also be interested in empowering themselves to best support their children on the path to and through college.

Higher education has assumed a central place in American life.  About two-thirds of high school graduates enroll in college within a year of receiving their diploma, while millions of adults attend college classes to improve their job skills, prepare for new careers or expand their intellectual horizons.  You may fall into one or both of these camps.

There is ample evidence that Americans gain economic and personal benefits from every extra year of higher education.  The career earnings of someone with a bachelor’s degree approach nearly $1 million more than that of someone with only a high school diploma. The college-goer also makes life-long friendships and and enters into
countless other networking relationships that are personally beneficial.

While most Americans see education beyond high school as a prerequisite to a successful economic and personal life, there is also evidence that a post-secondary education contributes to significant societal benefits.  These benefits include:

• a recognition that the U.S. is increasingly reliant on knowledge workers and that much of the innovation they accelerate through their efforts actually emerges first from research conducted in the nation’s universities;
• a growing body of research that shows that people with more education are more likely to vote, to participate actively in civic affairs, and to perform more community service; and
• more parental involvement in K-12 education, which in turn leads to leads to a virtuous circle of greater high school completion rates and a more pronounced tendency for individuals to want to pursue a college degree.

For all these reasons, a strong national commitment to access and opportunity for college is critical to America’s future.  Many organizations and entities support this goal, of course, but College Parents of America has the potential to stand alone in demonstrating to our varied constituencies that access and opportunity mean more than just “getting in” to college.

With your support, College Parents of America can show that true access must mean opening the door to a college experience that is appropriate for a student’s aspirations, preparation and abilities. College Parents of America is also committed to working with schools and other partners to show that real opportunity will only come from an effective postsecondary system that helps students to get started on the right track and to follow through, with a successful college experience being defined and measured differently for each individual.

America’s higher education system remains the envy of the world, remarkable for its variety and vitality.  But it has not met the long-standing goal of an equitable and efficient system that provides a successful college education to all qualified students.  Through the promotion of an active agenda of a fair college deal for all, College Parents of America has the opportunity to play a critical role in positioning the U.S. to better compete in the global economy.  Please join us in our efforts and tell your family and friends about our site and our Facebook Fan Page.  Thank you.

Not so long ago, parents were relatively silent partners in supporting student success  in higher education.  Now, colleges and universities, as well as students themselves, recognize the valuable role that active and vocal parents can play in helping their child to achieve his or her educational potential.  This is fortuitous, particularly since higher education attainment is so critical to the U.S. economy.  If education beyond high school is to become accessible and affordable for all, the best place to start is in our own homes.  Please share with other parents your own household success story in promoting student achievement.

Long before his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, Dr. Martin Luther King was speaking powerfully about important topics, including higher education.  In one of his earliest orations on higher ed, Dr. King said: “The complete education gives one not only power of concentration, but worthy objectives upon which to concentrate.”

Reflecting upon that insight is a worthy way for each of us to spend at least part of our MLK Day holiday.  As you think of your own children’s educations, are they learning both to concentrate and to put the power of that concentration to good use?  What can all of us who care about the education of our children do better in order to see Dr. King’s early dream become reality?

Share your views at Hoverings, A Blog for Current and Future College Parents at www.collegeparents.org.  Thank you and enjoy the holiday.

When Constance Clery’s daughter Jeanne was brutally killed at Lehigh University more than 20 years ago, she channeled her anger and sadness over her daughter’s murder into actions that would benefit college students and their parents for the next generation and beyond.  Thanks to Mrs. Clery and her now-deceased husband Howard, Congress passed the Clery Act and it was signed into law in 1990.  The law require colleges and universities to report  key crime statistics and to disclose campus security policies.  Are you satisfied with the way that your child’s school reports and deals with campus crime?  Please share your views by commenting on this post or by returning later to Hoverings: A Blog for Current and Future College Parents located on the home page of www.collegeparents.org.