If I Knew Then What I Know Now: Life Skills Strategies for Success from Today's Student-Athlete Leaders

The first CHAMPS/Life Skills programs began in the early 1990’s and since then have erupted: more than 450 colleges and universities currently have progams. The University of Arizona has been used as a model nationwide for programming in academics, athletics, personal development, career development and community service. The importance of life skills and of having a broad based experience cannot be overestimated and there is a push for much more programming at the high school level.

In collaboration with the NCAA, student-athletes were surveyed at the NCAA Foundation Leadership Conference, through life skills program coordinators, as well as national student-athlete advisory committees. Dr. Cedric Dempsey, former President of the NCAA has written the foreword for this groundbreaking book that details NCAA student-athlete’s experiences in the 5 areas of CHAMPS/Life Skills. Student-athletes share their top pieces of advice in each area, what they would do differently, obstacles they’ve overcome, best practices and reasons for their success. Included is an approach the author introduces as P-Factor Analysis. By examining seven "P’s": Personalization, Preparation, Process, Problem Solving, Persistence, Perspective, and Pausing, student-athletes can evaluate their strengths and weaknesses and make an individualized "game plan" for improvement. This book also looks at the three "C’s" of transition: Changes, Challenges and Choices. Listed in this section are the issues student-athletes have identified that they face. Then we get student-athletes to challenge their current assumptions – are their assumptions accurate? The rest of the book is thoughtful and insightful quotes in each of the areas. The need for this book is overwhelming according to many in the field and as one coach commented, "This should be REQUIRED reading for EVERY student-athlete."

Research has shown that students will often turn to their peers for advice. This is the only book on the market that is specific to student-athletes, to CHAMPS/Life Skills and that offers peer-peer advice. Practical advice and shared experiences covering a wide range of topics make this book different from the others. The response thus far has been tremendous and the book is being endorsed by, among others, Jackie Joyner Kersee, Lute Olson, Dick Vitale, Lorena Ochoa, Doug Weight, Mike Candrea, Ann Meyers Drysdale, renowned sports psychologist Dr. Jim Loehr, Steve Kerr, Jennie Finch, and former Division One National Student-Athlete Advisory Committee President, Michael Aguirre. The book has been enthusiastically received by Life Skills coordinators, coaches, counselors, advisors, administrators, parents and most importantly…student-athletes! To date, more than 150 schools are supporting it as well as the U.S. Olympic Committee, the National Junior College Association, the National High School Coaches Association and others.