Teacher: Alright, class, what would each of you like to be when you grow up?
Student: I want to play football for the Dallas Cowboys!
Teacher: That's a great goal! But what is your backup plan if you don't make it?
Student: There is no backup plan; I am going to make it. Don't you know I am that good?!
Yesterday, I came across an article about the likelihood of high school athletes making it to the Pros. Normally, I just hit the retweet button and say, "Remember this!" However, the interesting thing about this article was that it used real numbers for a variety of sports and gave the statistical percentage of students in each sport who make it to the collegiate level, and then who go onto professional sports.
After looking at the numbers, I figured I would make a little list and share it. Take a look at the numbers below, but be sure to keep reading after you scanned through them.
Football (1 in 1,000 chance of making it to the NFL)
- High School Athletes: 1,093,234
- College Athletes: 71,060
- Drafted to the NFL: 1,137
Baseball (6 in 1,000 chance of making it to Single-A - not MLB)
- High School Athletes: 482,629
- College Athletes: 33,301
- Drafted to Single-A: 2,863
Women's Basketball (3 in 10,000 chance of making it to the WNBA)
- High School Athletes: 433,344
- College Athletes: 16,467
- Drafted to the WNBA: 148
Basketball (4 in 10,000 chance of making it to the NBA)
- High School Athletes: 541,054
- College Athletes: 18,395
- Drafted to NBA: 220
Soccer (8 in 10,000 chance of making it to MLS)
- High School Athletes: 417,419
- College Athletes: 23,792
- Drafted to MLS: 333
Hockey (7 in 1,000 chance of making it to the NHL)
- High School Athletes: 35,393
- College Athletes: 3,964
- Drafted to NHL: 269
Now that you've seen the same staggering numbers that I have, consider the fact that, of all those who are drafted (make it to the Pros), only a small percentage of those who are drafted actually make the team. For example, only 53 people make an NFL team's roster. Everyone else gets cut, hoping to be picked-up by another team or given a spot on the team's practice squad. So, while 1 in 1,000 high school players end up getting drafted by the NFL, a better statistic is that probably only 1 in 4,000 actually make an NFL team and play regularly.
So, what does all of this mean? Am I saying that you need to give up on your dreams? Absolutely not!
What I am saying is that you should always be ready to follow another path if the door closes on your dream of professional sports. Work hard, study, go to college, and understand that if you do make it to the Pros, you will be the exception, not the rule.
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