Monday, June 23, 2008

Top Academic Eagles.

Building a football program is hard enough, but building a program around quality young men is key. You can get anyone to play football, but getting guys that can hit the field as hard as the books is tough. Coach Nichols and his staff have done just that. When grades came back this summer, the Faulkner football team did an excellent job in the classroom. Two Faulkner eagles had a 4.0 gpa. Six players had a 3.5 gpa or higher. Also there were five players that had a 3.0 gpa or better.
There were also 18 players that had a 2.5 gpa or better. As they say in the south, "that aint to shabby".

A lot of people ask what we do to help these young men in the classroom. Sure coaches know a lot about X's, O's, the weight room, and between the lines, but what do we know about academics. Head Coach, Jim Nichols is always finding ways to help his players excel in the classroom. "Football at Faulkner University is more then just practice and games. It's about a quality Christian education" Nichols said. I have to echo that as well. I know from experience that we have these guys in study halls and tutors are made available for everyone. Coach Nichols meets with each and every player...yes...EACH and EVERY player several times during the semester to discuss their grades. Really, what's the point of going to all the trouble of recruiting a player if he can't make the grades? The better a player is in the classroom the better of an investment he becomes to the program. That's how you build a program from the ground up...it starts with a firm foundation. If you see these guys, make sure you tell them "great job". It's hard enough being a college student, but throw in a full time job of a student athlete and things get really tough. Great job guys, thank you for working hard. Keep it up.

GO EAGLES

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think your doing a unbelievable job there at Faulkner and I hope they can keep you on for years to come. I think you have learned well from Coach Tuberville with the grades. Go Eagles and "War Eagle" J. Park Mobile

Anonymous said...

Coach Nichols I want to say thank you for all that you have done for Faulkner University. Seeing this proves to me and people around that you know what is best for our kids. We love those eagles! Kim Lloyd - Atlanta, GA