The concept of a gap year has grown in popularity over the last decade, evoking images of backpacking through Europe while teaching English as a second language or working in Africa helping to bring water to impoverished communities. 

But, due to current circumstances, the overarching concept of a gap year has changed - and we are here for it. 

International travel isn’t happening, but the idea of taking a year off between High School and College, or College and Grad School, has merit if you go about it the right way. 

Our world isn’t normal, which means you have to think in unconventional manners, and taking a gap year with the right strategy for success can help you leaps and bounds in your career.

Think of it this way - does it make sense for you to pay an incredible amount for a year of traditional college when there is:

• Limited on-campus activities
• No social engagement
• No clubs or on-campus benefits 
• No networking
• No true interaction

I’m starting to wonder if that makes any sense. 

So here is an alternative plan: Take a Gap Year before college.

The college lifestyle will still be there for you next year and the experience will be what you want and expect it to be (and what you paid for)!

Here are multiple reasons a gap year makes sense:

1: It can IMPROVE your Grades.

Your parents are likely concerned a gap year will stunt your growth academically, but studies prove otherwise. 

Research has consistently shown that students who take a gap year achieve higher grades in college compared to their peers who didn’t. 

Take that Mom and Dad!

2:  You Can Gain New Skills

Let’s not confuse a gap year with a year off. That is NOT what we are advocating. 

Our idea of a gap year strategy isn’t:

• Master franchise mode on Madden
• Finally, read The Blind Side
• Meditate every morning
• Meditate after lunch
• Meditate after dinner

That’s not going to cut it.

We are pushing you to have a learning strategy for the year that is robust and targeted to who you want to become. 

If you have the right focus, you can finish your gap year with highly defined skills! 

Here's an example: 

Say you have an affinity for football, you love the game, played the game, know the game. During your gap year, you can discover if it makes sense for you to pursue a career in the direction of this passion.

Rather than taking core college courses online, you could be taking:

• Football GM and Scouting
• Football Analytics
• Football Player Development

These are 8-week online courses, taught by experts in the field like former NFL head coach Marc Trestman, former NFL GM Mark Dominik, and Football Outsiders founder Aaron Schatz.   

Now, at the end of your gap year, you have incredible insight into the business of football and how it operates. You are ready to hit the ground running with incredible knowledge, skill, a robust resume, and a thriving network of connections.*

(*more on that to come)

3: Change Your Point of View

As a high school senior you are 17-18 years old and expected to go to college, determine a major, and proceed toward a career. 

But what if you haven’t defined your path yet? What if you have no clue what the future holds?

I don’t think it’s fair to assume you should know exactly who you want to be yet, which means you should be trying things and experimenting.   

It gets pretty expensive to experiment while in college. Switching major sets things back, and then what if you don’t like that one. The pressure builds and builds and so do the bills!

A gap year can allow you to dabble in many potential career courses, in a much more economical manner. Find what excites you! Then pour yourself into it next year when you enter a traditional college experience.

Win-Win!

Let’s use another example (I love examples): 

You love baseball statistics, you could read box scores and stat sheets all day long, so you sign up to take our Baseball Analytics online course with Ari Kaplan, one of the founding fathers of baseball analytics. 

Ari is great, you learn a lot, but you also decide the coding languages and database tools like Python, R and SQL aren’t your passion.

In an 8 week course, that was completely affordable, you learned what you like and don’t like about the industry, and can pivot with ease to something new. 

You still love baseball, so you decide to enroll in our Baseball GM and Scouting course with former Dodgers GM Dan Evans, or Baseball Player Development with former Red Sox, Expos and Orioles GM Dan Duquette.  

Or maybe you switch to Sports Administration, Sports Broadcasting, Sports Sales and Marketing -- we have over 30 courses covering all angles of the sports industry! 

4: Network in a real way 

Since we began teaching online sports business courses over 15 years ago, we have been focused on connection. Our mentors connect with our students, and provide references on their resume!

Let’s play that out for a second (oh goody, another example!)

You = Hockey Lover

You sign up for our online Hockey GM and Scouting course taught by Hockey Hall of Famer Harry Sinden, and Peterborough Petes GM Mike Oke. After completion of the course, you now know a Hall of Famer connected to everyone in the NHL, an active GM of a junior team in the Ontario Hockey League, AND they’ve both giving you endorsements on your resume. 

A gap year is a winning strategy -- if you plan accordingly.

Our Sports Career Counselors are ready and willing to help you build out a strategy that works for your goals, so call us today, let’s get a plan together!