Student/Athlete Journey: Insights from Willette White on Transitioning to Collegiate Sport - S4E12s

What if you could navigate the complex world of collegiate sports with the guidance of a seasoned expert? Join us for an enlightening conversation with Willette White, a trailblazer in women's basketball with over 36 years of expertise. Coach White takes us through her transformative journey from being a college athlete to becoming a revered coach, offering a treasure trove of wisdom for young athletes and their families. We dissect the critical transition from high school to college sports, highlighting the significance of having a plan, understanding one's motives, and keeping realistic expectations. White broadens the horizon by discussing the often-overlooked opportunities beyond Division I, providing invaluable insights into Division II, Division III, NAIA, and junior colleges.

In this episode, we also dive into the challenges faced by student-athletes as they transition to college life, such as juggling demanding schedules, academic responsibilities, and social pressures. White shares indispensable advice on time management, the importance of patience, and the value of seeking support, while also emphasizing that perseverance can lead to success despite initial hurdles. You'll hear a touching story from our host about overcoming academic stress with the aid of a supportive coach, underscoring the crucial role of a strong support system. Finally, we highlight the comprehensive resources available to student-athletes for ensuring their academic, emotional, and athletic wellbeing, and how these vital services can be accessed virtually. Don't miss this episode packed with actionable advice and heartfelt stories that aim to empower the next generation of college athletes.
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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:14

Hey, I'm Coach Mickey and I'm so glad that you've joined us, and if this is your first time joining us, come on in and make yourself comfortable. For those of you that join us on a regular basis, we are so glad that you do and I look forward to seeing each and every one of you each and every week, or at least when we have an opportunity. Have on some amazing guests that not only give you a little bit of insight and information, but also have an opportunity to share their stories that can help be an inspiration for you, whether you are doing something in business or personal or just some other facet of your life that you can find this can pertain to. So I'm really excited about today and you guys know I'm always excited about my guests because that's why I do this and this is going to be fun because we're kind of cut from the same cloth. She's a coach, and you guys know I'm a coach, but she's much more of an extensive coach and this is going to be so much fun. I'm excited to have you. Let me tell you a little bit about her and then we're going to just jump right in and hear her story.

Speaker 1: 1:09

I am today with Willett White. She has had an extensive 40-year career as a college athlete and as a coach, a two-time All-Regional and All-American at the University of Idaho. She was inducted into three Basketball Hall of Fames. She has dedicated her coaching to supporting young women and athletes and their parents to navigate the complications in the landscape of college, which we all know. As parents, we all need that, especially if we have an athlete that's going to college.

Speaker 1: 1:46

She has over 30 years of experience in the field of collegiate women's basketball, was the director of operations for University of Utah for six years, after spending her first two seasons as an assistant coach back in 2003 and also 2013. She's also spent time with the USA Basketball Program. She served as an assistant with UConn. Her list is a mile long. She has won Junior World Champions, she has spent time with USA Basketball Women's Collegiate Committee and she is going to share with you every facet of her life and her programs and what she has to offer. So I'm just going to jump right in and let you just share the story. Willa, thank you so much for being with us today.

Speaker 2: 2:24

Well, thanks for having me, Mickey. I really appreciate that introduction. First, I will have to correct you on one thing I was not an assistant at UConn, but I was an assistant for Gino Ariema on the Junior Worlds for Gino Arayama on the junior worlds, and we had gone to Prague that year and finished third. But so I was assistant on that team but never at the University of Yukon. But thank you for having me.

Speaker 2: 2:49

And just to share my story, yeah, I was in collegiate women's basketball for 36 years and 26 of those years were at the power five level. I started my career as a graduate assistant at Ohio State University, went to Iowa State for nine months and then started my journey really in the Pac-12. Started at the University of Washington, went down to UCLA, jumped to the East Coast to be a head coach at Northeastern University, came back to the University of Oregon and the University of Utah. So yeah, it was. It's been 36 years later and I'm surprised that it was that long, but it was. It was quite the ride and about in 2019, I got really tired of traveling and and doing all the things behind the scenes and just needed to step away. So I was really ready to retire and start something new.

Speaker 1: 3:49

That's awesome and that journey, I know, was not an easy one, especially when you're going from high school into college and then even further. And I've seen that over the years. And the biggest question that's always comes across and is asked to me is how do I do this? How do I take my kid who is in this sport and is excelling, but they haven't made it to the college level or they want to get to that college level? So, from your experience in your journey, what would you say is one of the most important things that you could share with someone who would want to make that jump?

Speaker 2: 4:26

Yeah, I think it's really important to have a plan. I think first and foremost to have a plan, I also think you have to have some, be realistic at what your student athlete is wanting. I think they need to share with their parents what their why is. Why do they want to play at the collegiate level? Do they want to get their education paid for? Do they actually really really love the sport and want to compete? Do they have higher aspirations of going on to the level after college? So the why for a young lady or a young man is really, really important.

Speaker 2: 5:07

And then I think you can set a plan after that, because everybody has these grandioses ideas of Division I or bust and there's so many great opportunities at the Division II level, the Division III and some people may really appreciate the NAI level or starting out at a junior college level and working your way up. So there's lots of options. But when parents and young women and young men sort of get their blinders on to the Division, I experience it really limits their opportunities. We have an arm on my company that does the recruiting process also. We take a year long journey with the student athlete to find their perfect fit and then they transition to working with me to get the readiness and preparation for stepping on college campus for their athletic program.

Speaker 1: 6:06

And you know, I appreciate the fact that you said Division I was great. I've just seen over the years myself is that people forget about Division II and III schools are just as good. You know, and, like you said, where do you really want to take this? And and this is um something that I think that a lot of student athletes don't take into consideration. You're right, because they've been drilled you have to be in a d1 to be able to excel, and there's so many great athletes in every level and every sport that has come out of d1 and d2 schools, even D3. And obviously that's something that I think should be presented more in high schools instead of always focusing on just that D1 level. So I want to touch back. I know you said you have a company that you do to help people. It's called Next Level, which is great and that's going to be, you know, embedded into the podcast, the information. But tell us a little bit about how you got started with that and how that kind of came to light.

Speaker 2: 7:08

Yeah, so it's called Next Step, with Passion and Purpose.

Speaker 2: 7:11

And when I retired in 2019, I really was, in my mind, done with student athlete and wanted to work with a different population.

Speaker 2: 7:23

And I became a certified life coach and still training to get my certification through the International Coaches Federation so I'm working on that currently.

Speaker 2: 7:33

But I wanted to work with people who were in a transition or wanted some better wellness in their life or many different things.

Speaker 2: 7:42

And as I continued to think about where my passion was and what I was really good at, I kept circling back to the student athlete and so I landed on just sitting back and thinking about my 36 years on a college campus and how much struggle I saw, not only from the young women in the women's basketball program, but young women in all the sports and young men in their sports too. So through a lot of conversation, I circled back and landed on continuing to support the student athlete for their time on their college campus, because I knew I could be really helpful, because as a director of operations I did all that admissions and housing and all of those things and I saw kids really kind of frantic on making the adjustment academically, with time management, the social pressures, all of these things, and so, as I was continuing to decide what it was that I really wanted to do, again I came back to the student athlete, and my passion is just wanting people to thrive once they get on their college campus.

Speaker 1: 8:55

Well, that's a perfect name for your company. Next Step because what do I? What is the next step, especially when you're going from high school to college? You're right, that's a big transition, especially going into college, you know, and seeing that firsthand, not only personally with my own family, but also seeing a lot of the kids that I've seen go on to college, to college, and it is. It's a big transition and I don't think they're aware of how many things are going to be presented besides just stepping out on a field or a court or whatever. While that's your main focus, there's so many more elements and it sounds like your program helps them address all of those situations and what they're dealing with. Am I hearing you correctly on that?

Speaker 2: 9:38

those situations and what they're dealing with. Am I hearing you correctly on that? Yeah, absolutely. I took what I thought were the six critical most topics that I had seen over my 36 years, and again it was the time management and the social and the peer pressures and learning how to advocate for yourself. And you know, everybody was a big fish in their high school pond. Now they're a small fish in the big college pond and not everyone handles that well at all. So we deep dive into those critical topics and then, after my eight week readiness and preparation program, I offer eight months of support once a student athlete gets on their college campus. So I'm readily available to the parents, to the student athlete, because things are going to come up in those first eight months. There is just no doubt and I think the bigger the village you have as a student athlete, the easier it'll be to get through these things.

Speaker 1: 10:33

That's great. That really is because you've taken your own experiences and you've taken it and fine-tuned it to help people through theirs. I mean, that really is a gift. That's awesome. And so I want to touch a little bit on you because I love what you're doing and I'd like to hear your story and I know you're understanding this and you see the challenges. What would you say are some of the stories as you were coming up and for what you've done and as a player, and then, you know, segueing into a coach, where the most important things that you took with you as as a player and into coaching, and then into where you are right now.

Speaker 2: 11:13

Yeah, my experience as a college basketball player was really challenging too. It was my first time away from home. I had some time management challenges, so I needed to really focus in on my time management skills. I went to the University of Idaho, which was lacked a lot of diversity, so the social and peer pressure challenges were really challenging. I was the only person of color on my team, so that had a little piece of isolation in itself, and so I think, as I was able to reflect, on my experience.

Speaker 2: 11:51

I needed to support young women where they were when they stepped on their college campus and support them through the time management, and I really would have academic coaches and every player that was under me. I had, you know, a time sheet so I know where they were on in at every point of the day, I knew when they were supposed to be in class, study hall and so forth, and then I met with them weekly, if not two or three times a week, depending on what their academic challenges were, and it was a of encouragement. It's a lot of discipline and demand and I really felt strongly that that was something that helped our team become a higher GPA program at the universities that I was at. So I felt strongly about really guiding and helping young women with their time management skills again along with the social and repair pressures and then just dealing with not being that big fish anymore, and so I think the experience that I had as a college athlete in my struggles helped me to help young women and young men later on in this journey.

Speaker 1: 12:59

right now, Well, and it's, there's a lot to it, because you're not only committing to the sport but, like you said, as a student athlete, you've got your academics that you have to be aware of. You know, because you're in college, I mean, yes, the sport is great and I love that, and that is one facet, but also, whatever you're deciding to do and the reason you're there, to be there, you know you've got. You throw that into that element and that changes everything else, because there's a lot of pressure on that because of the timing, the classes, getting work done. You know it's not, it's not like high school. I mean, it's a whole game changer.

Speaker 1: 13:36

You know, when you, when you get to that level, so the fact that you have the ability and you offer to help them along this journey, it really is insightful. But it's also very helpful, because a lot of these kids go how do I do this? What do I do with this? You know, or they or they get overwhelmed. I mean, do you find that's the biggest? The biggest thing that comes to you is they feel overwhelmed with all these things that are happening in a short period of time.

Speaker 2: 14:01

Oh, absolutely there's. That first two or three months on campus is so overwhelming and you have to your head. Young, young people's heads are spinning on all what they're expected, what's expected of them, their hard work, the level they have to compete at day in and day out. You know, sometimes very limited time off. I mean there are some rules and regulations around that, but sometimes they've got recruits in town and is that really a true day off?

Speaker 2: 14:48

And so the time demands become tenfold when you get to the college level and young people don't realize that they think they have this grandiosus idea on going on scholarship. You know they have these dreams and aspirations which are great, but they don't really unfold in that first eight months. It's after they get comfortable on their college campus and they find their way on their team and what's expected of them and they're able to meet the time demands. But again, Nikki, that's eight months into the journey. And so what's happening those first eight months is young women and young men are calling home, wanting, wanting to come home, and they're mad at their coach because they're not playing, and this and that and all kinds of things, and again the peer pressure, the social pressures of being at parties and so forth and access to alcohol and drugs, and now parents don't know where their young people are 24-7 the way they did in high school, and that's a challenge for parents too. So anytime parents want to hash those things out in that eight-month period, I'm readily available.

Speaker 1: 15:57

That's great. Yeah, I think the hardest thing is getting a call. And again, now what you do is to the next, you know, obviously going on to the next step and doing what you're doing. But when you hear, or you meet up with it with a player that you've had over the years and they're like, yeah, but I'm not playing and I'm not doing this, and then you have to go, okay, and then so what would you? What would you say? You know, actually I'm going to back up what would you say are and you can go three or five, whatever tips you want to give what would you say to somebody who is getting ready to go to college right now, as an athlete that is going to step on that campus come August, and this is a whole new thing for them. What would you say should be the most important key things that they should look at and do, and then maybe give us a tip or two on what could help them?

Speaker 2: 16:48

yeah, I mean, I think it's a little bit of what we talked about. It's overwhelming. Starting of classes and I think you, you as a college student athlete, you look at your schedule, you know three days, three classes on Monday, wednesday, friday, or two classes on Tuesday or Thursday or some kind of combination of that, and you you think, oh my God, look at how much time I have, because as a high school you went from eight in the morning to you know you had your lunch break, but you were done at two, 30 or three o'clock. So more class days, more class time during every day of the week. So when they look at their schedule, their class schedule, they think that there's a lot of time on their hands, but that's before they plug in treatment, practice, weights, study hall, meeting with the tutors, home visit, campus visits for other young people that are coming in wanting to be a part of the program, community responsibilities, meeting with your professors, all those things. So I think it's again. They're surprised at the demands that they're going from 7 in the morning, maybe sometimes 6, 6.30 in the morning, till 10 o'clock at night and then coming home maybe around eight and still having to study for another two or three hours.

Speaker 2: 18:09

So I would.

Speaker 2: 18:11

My tip would be take one day at a time, because it can be really overwhelming when you look at this big picture and to know that it's going to get easier.

Speaker 2: 18:22

But it's also really helpful and meaningful to have people in your corner that you can reach out to and you can get encouragement and advice from and to bounce ideas off of. And so many young people use the portal, the transfer portal, quite regularly now, so it gives them an out and not wanting to really work as hard as they do to to be successful in this program. Grass is always greener on the other side, right so we have kids 1200 to 1500 kids sometimes in football and men's and women's basketball and and I don't know what the numbers are for other sports like volleyball and softball. But many people want to go in the portal for various reasons and portal's not always the right answer because some people get stuck in there. So I would also say to be patient. To be patient, knowing that things will get better, knowing things that will become more comfortable and hopefully easier, as you understand the demands and what's expected of you.

Speaker 1: 19:33

And that comes down to commitment and responsibility. And one of the things I've seen over the years is you'll have, like you said, they have like classes, maybe two or three classes, or Monday, wednesday, friday or whatever. Like you said, they have like classes, maybe two or three classes, or Monday, wednesday, friday or whatever, and they think that time frame. But what they don't understand is there's assignments that are due at specific times and if you miss them, you know you don't get a second chance and it's not that easy to go in and make it up, because this is now college, this is not high school, and it's different. Now you put a sport on top of it and you've got your own demands for your own commitment and responsibility. So I like the fact that you said that time management really, really is the key, the key facet to all of this, because once you get that down, then it makes it a lot easier to bring everything together, if you know.

Speaker 1: 20:20

And then there's going to be sacrifice. There is, I mean, that's another element that I think that these kids don't understand. It's like, no, you're going to have to step up and make a sacrifice on what's important to you. You know what are you making your priority to be able to get you to where you want to go. You know and I love the fact that you have those tools and what you offer to help them through that to find that answer, depending on where they want to go on their commitment level. So, with this, ok, so they have you and you're working with them for the first year. What do you see? What are some of the positive changes that you see after you've done the first year with these people? I mean where they they actually these student athletes grow and excel. So what's some of the things that you've seen after that?

Speaker 2: 21:07

Yeah, it actually brings a smile to my face to think about some people that have really grown and I think one of the really key areas is, as we keep talking about time management is that piece and understanding where they can afford to socialize and go out with their friends and go to parties and when they need to be committed to what they have to get done academically. But I think the biggest growth is academically is just understanding you know some of the tools that they have in their toolbox to be able to utilize those when times get tough or when the days are short and work is long, that kind of thing. So I've watched young women grow in that area. And then I think, just their confidence, confidence in who they are and what their role is on campus, because as a student athlete, you have automatic clout, you have an automatic voice. And how are you going to use that clout and that voice without taking it for granted and being so appreciative of the opportunity to compete daily and to get your education paid for?

Speaker 1: 22:21

yeah, yeah, and that that makes you right. That's another responsibility because, like you said, as an athlete, you know these are the student body. You know, when you have sports especially whether it's basketball or football, I mean, and obviously baseball I mean those are the ones that stand out the most when you're looking at, you know, college athletes. You're right, they do. They have these opportunities on these college campuses to make a difference based on what they've been given and who they are. And then if you can get somebody to understand that and then do something great with it, that's even better. And it sounds like that's. That's another element to what you offer to, you know, to show them that they've got this opportunity that some people don't have on the college campus. And, my gosh, it's a gift, you know. You might as well use it to help you and help others too, right?

Speaker 2: 23:08

Yeah, yeah, you've said that so beautifully.

Speaker 2: 23:11

I mean, one of the pieces to the curriculum that I have is accountability and responsibility.

Speaker 2: 23:18

What does that mean to you, and what tools are you going to have to be in place if you're not normally responsible or you don't get your assignments on time or some of these things? What tools do we need to put in place for you to be successful in that area? And then, using your voice and not only advocating for yourself, but finding what you're passionate about and using your voice in that area. I mean, I just watched a documentary on the WNBA and their social justice platform that they used in the wake of George Floyd's killing and how they were so instrumental in the political arena down in Georgia and so they chose to use their platform for the betterment of Black Lives Matter movement. So I really encourage young people to find out what they're passionate about and to get involved and to use their voice, because there's so much clout that you have as a student athlete and people listen to student athletes and so to use your voice not only to advocate for yourself, but to advocate for what you're passionate about.

Speaker 1: 24:28

Yeah, and that makes sense. I mean, you've got the perfect opportunity. You're in a, you're in a crowd of people where you've got people's undivided attention because you're already in the limelight. So why not use that opportunity to be able to do something, like you said, that's important to you, but also to make a make a difference. So I want to, I want to ask you so, if you wouldn't mind share, share one of your favorite stories. I'm going to ask about for you first, about you as an athlete or coach, whatever one you like and then something that you have that's dear to you, based on what you're doing now with someone who's excelling. So I'll start with you first. So what's one of your, one of your favorite stories that sticks out in your mind?

Speaker 2: 25:10

Yeah, I think probably the thing that comes to mind when I was in college is, again, I had those time management struggles and I wasn't a. I wasn't a great student. I needed to learn to be a better student. But I had gone to my head coach at that time and I had been struggling in a class I shouldn't have been in. I had no desire to be an accounting major or to work with numbers, and here I was in accounting just over my head, and I just said I don't know if I want to be here, I want to go home. I wasn't. I was no different than these young women and young men today. Um, and she had told me that was one of the worst days of her life, to hear that I wanted to leave because of some challenges. And she supported me through that. And I got my undergraduate degree, I got my master's degree and, and um, that was a turning point for me because I really did not want to be in school and the conversations that her and I had about you know what this meant and what this meant for me in the future. And did I want to play basketball? If I wanted to play basketball, then I needed to be a better student, so I learned how to do that. So that was a turning point for me.

Speaker 2: 26:27

And then, yeah, I don't know if it's a favorite story, but it's an impactful story. We had a young lady on campus at one of the universities I was at. She was doing well basketball-wise and was sharing with us that she was doing well academically. And then we got her first quarter reports and she hadn't been in class since probably the first month or so and flunked out of school.

Speaker 2: 26:58

And years, years later I had learned that she experienced some violence on on the campus and that played a part in how she went about the rest of her daily life and ended up flunking out. And that story has resonated so much with me and that is why I offer eight months of support when they get on their college campus to be a resource. And not every young woman or young man wants to turn to their parents when something like that happens or even just other things, and so I'm hoping that I can be one of those people that they feel comfortable turning to if something of that magnitude happens again. And we talk about the social impairment, pressures and, um, the parties and the access to alcohol and drugs and all of those things that they might not be used to, and be careful who's in your circle and keep your circle tight once you find that circle. So yeah, that was a really impactful story for me and again, it's why I offer eight months of support when a young woman or young man gets on their college campus.

Speaker 1: 28:13

That's great, and that is something that I think we need more um, uh sort of looking for attention to when it comes to the college safety, because I've seen that happen too many times, where somebody has come on and they don't they don't understand it, they don't know it or they're not aware of it. And to have you be there for them to be able to share this and I don't wish it on anybody, but in the event that it happens then at least they've got somebody to turn to. You offer so much more than just taking an athlete from high school into the college level. It's the full package. It's the emotional support, the academic support, you know, and then along with the athletic support, and that's, that is a full package. That is really exciting, and this is why I wanted to have you on, because you're offering a program that every parent always asks what do I do about this? How do I do that? How do I handle that? Well, if you've got one person you can go to that is going to be there and help everybody on this journey, you know, for what you've, you've taken and you've done is is is the full package, it really is. Well, I mean, that's, that's an awesome, awesome thing what you're doing.

Speaker 1: 29:31

So I'm going to give you the last three minutes. Go ahead and share uh, your website, and, as everybody knows, it's all going to be embedded down down below uh, here. If you're watching on youtube, if it's on, if you're listening to it on coach mickey and friends on the podcast, it'll be embedded in the um podcast description. And I'm going to ask you I'm assuming you work virtually so you can work anywhere, right, correct? I Correct, I figured that. I mean, that's probably a given. So that'll be great, because I've got listeners worldwide and I know there's a lot of athletes that could definitely use. You know what you have to offer. So I'm going to let you share the last three minutes of what we didn't cover and how people can reach you and your website, and we'll go from there. Yeah well.

Speaker 2: 30:11

Thanks so much for having me on. This has been great and we talked about some really, really important stuff. But I think parents need to realize that there is help out there and many of them say what do I do next? And there are people out there who, like myself, who want to help student athletes in this journey of not only finding a great place to take their skills but to have readiness and preparation. And it's not just about finding the college scholarship and then washing your hands of everything.

Speaker 2: 30:42

If you don't go that next step of preparing your student athlete to step on campus, then everything you've done might be for naught. And then what do you want to do? Enter the transfer portal after your freshman year. That's a whole nother cycle of recruiting and you're on your own at that point. It's not as glamorous as you think. The portal is not what people think. Eyes need to be wide open when you're thinking about all of these things. So it's so imperative to find your perfect fit, first and foremost, off the bat, so you don't have to transfer, so you can invest that four years and really build on your college experience. People can find me at. My website is nextsteptransitionalcoachingcom, and I am on linkedin under willette white, and I also have a private Facebook page and it's called Parents of Aspiring Female College Athletes, but I think there's probably some parents of males in there. And then I'm also on Keep On Sharing, which has been a great platform for me to get to know people and to post some content, so I've been really excited about being on that.

Speaker 1: 31:51

Well, thank you so much for being with us. I really have enjoyed having a conversation with you and having you share what your expertise and your insight, because I think what you offer, I know, is what every parent is looking for. And, again, I've, in all the years I've been doing the coaching, I have not come across anything like your offering. So, please, please, please. If you have a parent that and have a child that's going away to college or I don't care if it's community college or four-year university these next steps are so crucial and I've seen it just even firsthand as a coach too, watching people go off. But having someone like you is definitely, definitely a must and a gift. So thank you so much, coach White, and I appreciate you and I love what you're doing. I'm going to make sure that this gets out to everybody that needs it, so thank you so much for your time.

Speaker 2: 32:44

Thanks, vicki, I appreciate you.

Speaker 1: 32:46

All right, you guys, thank you so much for being with us and I look forward to hearing from each and every one of you. Please, please, please, reach out. All the descriptions are down below or, if you're listening to the podcast, please reach out to Coach White. She is amazing and I know you're going to get a lot of benefits. Even if it's just a couple of questions and you don't know, as a parent, I'm sure she'll be more than happy to answer those. And then, if this is something that you know that your child's going to need, I highly, highly, highly recommend that you reach out to her and within her program. So until then, remember you guys, the most courageous thing you can do is be yourself. I'm Coach Mickey and I look forward to seeing you on our next episode. Until then, see ya.