How did Brown University women’s basketball player Charlee Arthur control the controllables in her college recruiting process?
The college recruiting process can be extremely stressful under normal circumstances. However, over the last year and a half, high school student-athletes have faced the very unique challenges associated with COVID.
My guest on this episode, Charlee Arthur, is one of those athletes. Charlee went through the most critical period of her recruiting process during the pandemic. Further, Charlee was rehabbing from a major shoulder surgery that time. Talk about frustrating.
Charlee is currently a freshman at Brown University where she is on the women's basketball team. She chose Brown based on her comfort with the coaching staff and understanding that the fit with Brown extended way beyond basketball.
In Episode 26, Charlee shares the details of her recruiting process and how she focused on controlling the controllables during a very uncertain and stressful period of her life.
Charlee exhibited great maturity and awareness throughout her recruiting process that led her to choose a world-class institution in Brown University. Charlee understood that her identity extends beyond just being an athlete.
My suggestion to young athletes is to focus on what they can control in the recruiting process rather than focusing on the things going on outside of them. It can be difficult when things don’t go your way, but as Charlee experienced, you never know what might be around the corner if you focus on your effort and attitude in the process.
I want to thank Charlee for her kind generosity and the wisdom she shared with The Freshman Foundation Community.
You can learn more about The Freshman Foundation on our website at freshmanfoundation.com.
Thank you for listening. We’ll see you back soon for Episode 27!
Mike: Hey, Charlee, how are you?
[00:03] Charlee Arthur: Good. I'm doing good. How are you?
Mike: Great. Thanks for coming on. It's great to have you here. For everybody who's listening and may not know you. Could you just tell us a little bit about yourself?
[00:15] Charlee Arthur: Yes. So I'm Charlee Arthur. I'm a women's basketball player. I'm committed to Brown University, which is a division one program part of the IV League.
Mike: Excellent. And so, now that we know you're a Brown University basketball player, maybe you can start off by telling us a little bit about your recruiting journey, in your own words.
[00:38] Charlee Arthur: Yeah, I'd say my recruiting journey was crazy, just because I think everyone can agree COVID was insane on so many different levels. So losing out on the junior year, recruiting season was definitely stressful, as that's the most important year for us. But I was lucky enough to find a school that worked for me. And Brown had a new coaching staff in the middle of COVID. So they had a they also had an interesting setup as well. So I was contacted by them. In May, I think, and I was pretty excited, my grandpa went to Brown. So I did know about them. And we just we had talked for a really long time. And I was really excited, I ended up committing to a different school. And then a few months later decommitted, which that was stressful as well to decommit. But I was lucky enough to when I contacted them, I was able to still have a place on the team. It was really excited as I knew the school I primarily committed to I knew those coaches for almost two years, where I knew these coaches for three months. And that's kind of where I put how that happened. And so now that I know the staff at Brown for so long, I am so thrilled with my decision and so happy that they wanted to have me back on the team.
Mike: Yeah, it definitely sounds like it was a stressful process. I think having the wildcard of COVID does not certainly did not make things easier for anybody, regardless of what it is we're doing, whether it's recruiting or anything else in our lives, so but can you just talk about what were some of the factors that went into ultimately choosing to commit to brown?
[02:23] Charlee Arthur: Yeah, so I would say my biggest thing is coaches. So the head coach is really great and made me feel the most comfortable as, obviously Brown is really far away from Washington, which is where I'm from. So I think if I was going to go far, I wanted to be comfortable with the coaching staff. And she was great. And then I met our assistant coach and he was just he was awesome, too. And then we when we hired they hired the third assistant, she's amazing. So like, it's just the best of both, we're all the coaches are great, I feel super comfortable leaving my parents and going my parents feel super comfortable with the coaching staff. And then I also would say, obviously, the academics My parents always had, I have a little brother and we academics is something where we have freedom until our grades are down or when we don't. So we've always kept our grades up. So I always knew why not use my basketball talent to get me to a school I may not have I wouldn't have had the opportunity to go to without basketball. So obviously an IV League so and then the campus I actually visited which I was lucky because a lot of people had to commit without visiting. And my parents were like, well, why don't we just go look? Why don't you just go look? And pretty much the moment I got to campus, I knew I wanted to, I wanted a commit and I called the coach pretty much the next day and said, Yeah, I'm gonna commit. This is awesome.
Mike: So at what point? I know you said May 2020, I think was May 2020 was sort of Yeah, a connection point. But like, at what point did brown first contact you?
[03:58] Charlee Arthur: Yeah, it was May. It was actually I was just. I think it was I literally was driving and going to a training or something. And she in the head coach wanted to talk and I was pretty excited. And then I think a biggest thing is when we talked, we had long conversations, which I'm sorry, I'm a talkative person. So it was, it was really cool that she took the time to have long conversations where other schools, maybe it was 10, 15 minutes at the most where these were, you know, 40 to an hour long. And so I felt like, I really did get to know them. And even now, as I've been, you know, committed for such a long time she still and all the coaches still take the time to talk to us for a really long time. So it's pretty cool to just have coaches that really care about what's going on in our lives. And it's not even basketball like they just want to know everything. So I feel like they really get to know us as like a full person, not just a basketball player.
Mike: Yeah, that's really that's really cool. And it's really important, because I think, you know, one of the things that comes up a lot in these conversations that I have on this podcasting outside of it is identity, right? Like how much of our identity is wrapped up being in an app being an athlete. And when you have coaches who are looking at you from all those different perspectives and care about you as a person that makes you feel more comfortable. So I think that's incredible. So how, how did they identify you? How did they find you as a recruit or prospect for them?
[05:24] Charlee Arthur: I think it may have been my AAU coach; it's crazy that I don't fully know. I just feel like sometimes those questions don't always get asked, but my AAU coach is awesome. And he did a lot by taking us to travel in July in the middle of a pandemic. So he did a lot for us and did a lot for me and still does a lot for me, even though I'm committed. So I think it may have been that or an email or just come across video, but I think it was him which that's why I always like having a good AAU coach and programs. They're important just because you want a coach that if they fall upon and a program they think fits for you puts your name in the hat right away. So I think it was my you coach,
Mike: I was actually going to ask you that question as to what your coaches’ involvement was in the process. I think it's incredible that you have coaches, a coach for coaches that are going to be proactive on your behalf. Because I think one of the things that I hear a lot about is from coaches is that they want the athlete to really be proactive in the process, right to be the one sending the email to reaching out, you know, those kinds of things and not having it come from necessarily say a parent. Were there any schools and you don't have to name the by name, but were there any schools that were on your radar that you really liked that you were kind of going after? You know, proactively to say, hey, I want to be a part of your program.
[06:43] Charlee Arthur: Yeah, I would say one thing, and I my brother's wanting to play, and I think advice to him was to get emails out earlier, because I think with before COVID, it just felt like, well, they're gonna come to you, which they did in a way. But I think I could have generated a lot more if I would have, you know, put my, put my own self out there. And so during COVID, I send a lot of emails, and I definitely generated some. And that's one thing that I just wish I would have done earlier, because it didn't take that long, it just took me to make kind of a template and figure everything out, and then just spend the time sending those emails out. And I would agree that coaches want to hear from you. And so that's something my parents were pretty hands off with, they were in the background helping and everything but they never, they never send an email, they weren't talking to coaches. For me, I think they were really into like, this is my process. So if I want to play, then I'm going to have to do what it takes to play. This isn't their process. So I would agree that's super important to be the one that's putting yourself out there, not your parents, because they're not recruiting your parents, they're recruiting you.
Mike: Absolutely. And I think I think a lot of coaches will say exactly that same thing. And I think, you know, when you're thinking about the prospect of going away from home, especially for somebody like us leaving, you know, you're from the Seattle area, right, going from the West Coast, all the way to the opposite end of the country, right, they're gonna want to know that this person is accountable and responsible for themselves, and that they can take care of themselves. Because the last thing any coach wants, regardless of the level is constant phone calls from mom and dad saying like, Hey, what's going on here? I want to be able to deal with you directly. Yeah. So talk about your parents a little bit more. I mean, I certainly I appreciate their style, as you've described it, as a parent myself; I'm sort of the same way. It's like, you know, if you want something, you know, son or daughter, you have to go figure it out for yourself, because otherwise you're not going to be motivated to do it. But I think also as a coach, I think there's definitely something to be said for the athlete taking the lead on whatever it is that they want. So can you talk about their role in the process in a little bit more detail?
[08:58] Charlee Arthur: Yeah, I would say my parents are super supportive. They are definitely went to every game. And if they weren't at a game, and there were some emergency that they could not be there, but they were at all my high school games, pretty every one of them at least would travel to watch my AAU and I'd say my dad played when he was younger. And so we have the classic father daughter relationship of when I was younger, he was the one that pushed me the hardest to play. And then we he always says he's my number one fan, but he's also my biggest critic. And so I think we have a really cool relationship where he even when I have other coaches that you know, have a whole team of players I have my a coach that's looking out for what I'm doing and making sure I'm on top of my game and I would say my mom at first didn't really know basketball like she hadn't, but when I started seriously playing. She took the time to learn pretty much everything so she knows, and they both have been, I always say, like, I would not be able to play or be as at the where I'm at today without their help, because they drove me everything stayed up late talking about advice, you know, came to everything they just were, I would say I got I couldn't have had better parents in the process.
Mike: That I'm sure they'd be happy to hear that. That's great, though. And listen, you know, what I'm learning about that AAU process is, is that there's an immense amount of travel. And then there's a significant financial investment in the process. So to have parents that are not only supportive in that way, but also emotionally supportive. I mean, I think that that's, it can be stressful for parents, you know, so to have parents that were positive and on, you know, on your side the whole way, like, that's got to be a relief. Right? Yeah. We're trying to find your way.
[10:59] Charlee Arthur: Yes, absolutely.
Mike: So what would you say is the was the most challenging part of the recruiting process for you?
[11:10] Charlee Arthur: That's a good one. I would say COVID as a whole was challenging because no one eat like, you know, my AAU coach, parents, no one had any coaches I was talking to, like, no one had seen that. So they didn't, with everyone committing early, that was really, that was tough to just have coaches and schools drop off, not because they didn't want you anymore, but just because they had someone else commit and your position. And they were they weren't expecting that. So I just think that was that was probably the toughest just because it was seemed like really, it was a whirlwind. And it was a super stressful time for like five or six months of just wondering like, Where the heck am I gonna go? And then, or, you know, just everything being up in the air of not knowing if we are going to play in July? Are we going to play in August? We're going to play in September. And so I think the whole nothing being really concrete was definitely I'm someone I like a schedule and like to know what I'm going to do. So I think having to be patient was probably the most difficult during COVID.
Mike: Yeah. And listen, I think we live in a world where being patients just hard in general. And then you're in this unknown situation that none of us has ever faced. And when the phone isn't ringing, or the text messages aren't going off, and you're wondering what's happening here, it can be really challenging. So what, how can you tell me more about how you were able to handle that are able to kind of deal with that cold stress? I'm not sure you were stressed out. But like just that idea that maybe you don't know what's going on? Like, what were some of the things that you did to kind of manage that process?
[12:54] Charlee Arthur: I would say I spent a lot of time just focusing on like the workout like working out and just staying, staying ready. So that when the time did come to play that I was ready to play and wasn't caught off guard. And then I think just talking to friends and family because everybody was feeling uneasy and no one knew in every aspect of what work everything nothing was setting. So I think just talking to friends and family, because I have a lot of friends that went through the recruiting process. So I think all of us being there for kind of like just able to bounce ideas off of each other and kind of just know that it is gonna come to an end at some point, we just kind of have to wait it out and see what happens. So I think we're kind of trying to stay in a routine as much as possible. And then leaning on others was the biggest thing that helped me ease that stress that I had.
Mike: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, having a routine is critical, because that's what you can control, right? The idea that you're getting up every day with a plan, working on stuff knowing that, you know, there's no control over whether the phone rings or not, or something happens or not, or whether COVID goes away or not. But you're just doing what you need to do to kind of get better and continue to progress. And I'm, if I recall correctly, you were also during the time going through injury rehab, is that I got that right.
[14:14] Charlee Arthur: Yeah, right before COVID I had a pretty I had a surgery and so I think it was the perfect storm where my junior year right after my sophomore summer I opted to get a shoulder surgery to fix something that I dealt with that entire summer and I had struggled to play like myself for so long that I just finally the doc was like let's just get it done. And so I was like okay, let's just do it. Had a great recovery. I came back very quickly and made it to my high school season and was primed and ready to go for AAU and then COVID hit so it was like this perfect storm of I missed a chunk of recruiting because the coaches wanted to come visit me at my house and I obviously was in a shoulder sling so that couldn't I wasn't able to have that happen. So then it was okay, we'll see you at the AAU tournaments and then COVID happened. So then it was pretty, like, Oh, what a perfect storm of everything that happened.
Mike: But I have to imagine that in some ways, you know, with an injury, you know, having surgery is such a, I mean, traumatic, physically traumatic thing, right. And the rehab is a process, right? I have to imagine in some ways, it almost like, starts your back from like, you know, square one, right to the point where, like, you're just focused on getting rehabilitated. Right. So you just getting up every day, and like, this is the work I have to do. I mean, did the injury help you sort of keep your focus just on that process, as opposed to maybe worrying about some of the things that were going on outside?
[15:49] Charlee Arthur: Yeah, I would say at first, I think when I first had the surgery, there was one time I miss a few events is when I think I was a little upset for me, I'd say two weeks, but the moment that they said I could start moving in a little bit to try to, I would agree, I woke up feeling like, okay, this is the rehab, I'm going to do and this is what I'm only focused on just rehabbing it and getting it better and better every single day. So I think the sitting time when you're just waiting to get clear to start doing anything is where sometimes I think you can start thinking of oh, well, this is what I'm missing out on. And this was I'm not able to do. And again, my parents were really good at being very keeping me busy, or kind of just knowing that we're just going to keep my mom's really good at PE like, well, it already happened. So we're just gonna keep we're not even going to talk about it. Because it doesn't even matter. Because you're not, we're just gonna, we're already in this process of getting it fixed. So yeah, I would say the routine of rehab is once you start it is makes things way easier to compare to just waiting around, and just waiting to see when can you start doing things again?
Mike: Yeah, well, first of all, I have to say your mom comes up with some pretty good advice here, right? There's nothing you can do about it. So its why worry twice. But I, you know, I think that that's a really, you know, good example of, okay, like, I'm going to get up every day. And I'm just going to try to get better, right? A little bit better every day to get to the point that I want to be. And I think a lot of times, athletes look at injuries and they go, why me, right? Why me, it would be easy to get negative, especially in the COVID environment where you go like, well, no one's gonna see me I can't play, I can't do anything. I'm injured, like, you know, the world is crumbling. And I'm sure there are a lot of people that felt that way. Even those who are not athletes are injured, right? Like a lot of people had a really hard time with it. So, you know, it sounds like you had such a like strong support system through that situation where it was positive. And it was, you know, your energy was focused on the process of getting better. And obviously, the outcome was great, because you, you committed to Brown in that in that environment. So I mean, that's a testament to you and your family, because I'm sure that wasn't a very easy thing to deal with at times. And now it's June. Are you finished up with school now?
Mike: So when do you leave for school?
[19:46] Charlee Arthur: I leave in August. So I my family and I are leaving a little bit early just kind of get some more time over there. My mom used to go over there every summer and so it's kind of just like let's just we haven't taken a family vacation and so long, especially with a you a four COVID. We never we really did it. And then I think the one time we my family did, I didn't go because we had gotten into the state tournament. I wasn't going to miss playing. And so I didn't go. But now I feel like we need to get one more before I leave for college because then they really they're like, then we really won't have time to do it. So we're gonna go a little bit early. But yeah, it is crazy to it's already almost July and then it'll be August, and then I'll be gone.
Mike: It goes really fast. Yeah. So how do you feel about how do you feel about picking up and moving to Rhode Island and leaving home? Presumably for the first time?
[20:46] Charlee Arthur: I think it's an interesting like, I'm totally ready to leave and get to brown. And I think I just think my only that definitely the family will be very difficult because all my family lives in Washington, pretty much. So I think that one will be tough in the moment. But I think I'm overall I'm very ready to go and start just being I'm excited. I'm ready to be in college now.
Mike: What kind of contact have you had with your teammates there?
[21:19] Charlee Arthur: Actually, that's a, I get that question a lot from everybody and the incoming class, we are like best friends, it's pretty cool. We all found each other. Once we all kind of knew we were all going to for sure. Going to Brown, a slot of us found each other because there's four of us. So I found one girl. And then she had found two others. And then we just happened to all kind of start talking. And then it was like, we all clicked and Face Timed. And then you know, it's kind of one of those when you're about to Face Time people you don't know, but you're about to be with for four years, I was thinking I don't know how this is gonna go. But and then from then on now, I mean, we Face Time pretty much every week. And so I would say went from being like strangers that we still haven't met. But we're pretty much updated on each other's lives every day. And then I actually get to meet them next week, because I'm going out to brown and all of us decided, let's just go. So I'm excited for that. So I would say on top of the coaching staff being great. I also lucked out with I have an incoming class where we're already such great friends so that when I arrive to campus, I already have people I know, like, I have so many people I know and the older teammates have been really great with trying to help us just even asking to Face Time us and getting to know us and texting us. So I just I lucked out with such a great team that I'm about to be a part of.
Mike: That's really cool. So that's the benefit right of technology. I assume you all found each other on social media as I. Yeah, and that's, that's the great part of the world we live in is that we can have those types of interactions face to face with people that we've never met before and start to form friendships that, you know, normally, you know, in the past that would have been, you know, have to meet you in person. And now that's not necessarily the case that, but I want to kind of take a step back to the recruiting process. Like, because this comes up a lot for me, I'm always curious, like, how, what role does social media play in the recruitment process for you good or bad?
[23:35] Charlee Arthur: I would say there's some good in it as if you get a coach that follows you or you can look at their team Instagram and kind of try to keep up with them and see what they're doing. And I would say the bad is sometimes there's extra hype around certain things that I would say everybody's recruiting process is different. And so sometimes people choose to put their recruiting process all over social media where others don't. So I would say sometimes opinions, you can form your own opinions thinking you're behind or your something like that. And you're really not it's just everybody has different process. And I and I used to think when people told me that they were lying, but like that I would have totally compared to like, even just my friends on my AAU team, like we all just had such different processes, and then even then you go to other sports and other sports process are so different. And so it's just so different from one to the next. So you really have to focus on what your process is. And so for social media, I would say I'm pretty good at just even especially when I was younger, just try not to look at those search certain things and just trying to ignore it just because sometimes the noise you can kind of get distracted and it's like you just want to focus on what you're doing, not what someone else is doing.
Mike: That's great advice, because I think that that's kind of where I was going with it because what I hear a lot of is, you know, recruits are modifying their process based on their reactions to what other people are doing right. So I pick a school based upon what somebody else is going to think, or somebody who's my contemporary in my recruiting class is going here, and I don't have an offer yet. So then the pressure mounts that, hey, I don't have an offer or so and so is going here, like I should be going to a comparable school. Right. And, you know, from what I mean, this is a generalization. So I kind of hesitate to say it, but from the limited interactions I've had, females are much better at managing that than males are, I think the females are much more tuned in to what's important to them. And they're making choices based on their own process. Whereas I think the boys are much more reactive to like, so on sob’s going here. And I want to go to this big school because I know a couple of people who have gone on to college, and they've big name programs, and they've struggled a bit because the Fit isn't as good as they thought it was going to be. And so I think it's really important to know yourself. Right. And that's, I think what I heard from what you said, is like knowing yourself and knowing that your process is not somebody else's, and being okay with that, because it's easy to get sucked up into it.
[26:23] Charlee Arthur: Yeah, I would definitely go ahead. And I and even back to my injury, I would say my biggest thing is, because when was that? That was September of my junior year. So September of 20. Was that 2019? Yeah, September 2019, I would say. We've mentioned sometimes the identity outside of the sport. And I would say that time forced me to kind of figure out what other things I like to do and what else am I besides a basketball player. And then I think that led into the recruiting process, more of feeling more confident in what I was doing, not what others are still doing. And I, I say I still that's definitely something I still work on. And I really have tried to work on. And I'll think everybody has some way shape or form, they can work on it. And then so that's where I think injuries sometimes like you said, people can say why me and I think the second time, when I first found out I definitely had that Nate probably my mom said, you get a day to be pretty negative because she kind of she really It sucked. You can when you get a day, they kind of feel like, oh, this sucks. And I, I just felt like it didn't get me anywhere. I felt I mean, I felt bad for myself. But then the next day was just like, this is not I don't have anything to feel bad for myself. I'm lucky I get to get it done before I go to school. And I just think knowing yourself and being confident in yourself is the biggest, like, that's just something. I think I've heard that so much. And then I didn't fully understand it until my senior year, which I wish I would have understood that when I was younger, because I think it would have made some sort of aspects of basketball more enjoyable.
Mike: Yeah, but I mean, I think what you said about, we're always working on it. I think that's the truth, right? Like, you're human. And I think that, you know, you being 18 years old, like knowing that now, I mean, you're much, much further ahead of the curve. For most people, most people don't figure that out until later in life of like, hey, I don't have to worry what everybody else is doing. I have to just work on me. And like, look at everything as an opportunity and try to get better. Some people never get to that point, because they're always so concerned about what's going on around them or what's happening to them, or, you know, what they can't control they're focused on and that's, it's not productive, right, that you can feel sorry for yourself. Yeah, that's your choice, but it's it, what is it really accomplishing? Other than making yourself feel better in the moment, but it's not really doing anything? Yeah. So sounds give you a really good outlook on things. And so I guess with that, like, is there anything specific that you're working on now as you prepare to head off to college? Or is there anything that you're kind of looking at looking forward at and saying, like, Hey, I'm concerned about this, or I see this challenge, I need to be ready for it. Like, is there anything that you're kind of working on right now in preparation?
[29:24] Charlee Arthur: I would say probably working on the compare, like just worrying about myself and just going into ground feeling confident in my abilities and not trying to compare with others of what they're doing. And I think having an injury, you know, recovering from an injury, I won't be able to do full contact play right away, but we'll be able to do it in like two weeks, but I think the point is, I know that I'm not going to be able to show right away what I know I can do and so I have to be okay with you know, taking that step back and just watching and I would say now watching a lot of film, I think film as another thing, my dad would make me sit down and watch film after my games and I would get mad. But I think that is a huge people that you they don't watch film. I think it's such a because I used sometimes there's games, I thought, oh, that was such a great game, and then we'll go watch it and be like, what in the world was I doing? I don't even know what that was. And so I've been watching a lot of film and getting myself back into that, since I haven't really had filmed in a really long time. So I just been watching film on college, some IV league teams just to see how they play. And I know that I think the speed will definitely be an adjustment. Because when I first entered high school to speed high school games as an adjustment, and then when I started playing for my UIBL program, the speed of those games was just different than I was used to. And so I've heard a lot of the college is obvious is vary, the speed just changes. And so I think being ready to know that there's gonna be an adjustment, and I'm someone that like, I like things to be when I get there, I know exactly what I'm doing. And I think I'm trying to warn myself, there's gonna be an adjustment period where I do not know I'm doing and I feel a little like, whoa, there's a lot going on. But I also just super, I'm just excited to get back on the core and start playing at the next level.
Mike: Yeah, there's a lot of good stuff in there. Because like, if I put my sports psychology hat on there, right, like, you're focusing on what you can control, right, which is the choice to sit down and invest the time and watching film, so that you can build the awareness to understand what it is you're walking into. Now, like you said, like maybe on day one, you know, the speed is faster than what you're used to. It's a new game. And maybe it takes a little bit to adjust. But just having that awareness of, hey, this is something that I know I'm going to have to adapt to and be ready for that is a huge thing. Because I think a lot of athletes a lot of times don't want to know, right? They don't want to know that, you know, what's coming up for them where they want to sort of delude themselves into thinking like I'm going to walk in, and I'm going to be, you know, the greatest thing since sliced bread, rather than looking at it honestly, and saying, hey, like, this is going to be hard. And I need to understand what I'm getting into so that I can work on those things to get as good as I can. The day that I walk in the door. And I think that's a really important message for anybody who's listening, whether it's a an athlete who's a high school athlete who wants to play in college, or a parent, like, hey, we got to work on the things that we need to get better at being honest with ourselves is important.
[32:37] Charlee Arthur: Yeah, yeah, I would say that's where my and my friends that were freshmen that were really good just in they played a ton on their team and started just said their biggest thing is you still can learn a lot from the people who have like played. And so the advice is, if you go in thing, and you know everything, even if you are one of the pet like you, it's just good to take a second and learn from others who've experienced the speed and experienced what it is to be a college athlete, because it's a lot different than being a high school athlete. And so I just think the overall talking on my friends was just take as much knowledge as you can from coaches and other players that know the system that can help you out. And that's one interesting thing is, since my coaches, since she's new, it will be it'll be interesting, because I think now that they've had a lot of time to learn. And so that was the cool thing is, at first I think people were we were wondering if they were ever going to even get in the gym before we would get there. And so it was nice that they've had this time to be in the gym so that when we get there, it's not like we're all trying to learn together that they can, they can still give us some pointers, but i It'll be it's gonna be fun.
Mike: I'm curious on that front, like with their coaching staff like not knowing not really understanding it. So a little bit of ignorance on my part. Well, they like through the recruiting process, do they give you feedback? Or did they give you advice as to say, hey, obviously, we offered you so we want you here and we'd love your game. But will they be like, hey, this is something I think you need to work on, like consciously or is that something that you think will happen when you arrive on campus and start to kind of interact with them, you know, in person.
[34:22] Charlee Arthur: I would say for overall recruiting process, I would say coaches are so they want you to like them so they don't always give feedback. I like my dad to get would always push me to ask for and so I did sometimes tend to ask the coaches what they thought I could work on and then for brown Yeah, I think I think right when we get to canvas like I think the coaches are great and I love them. And I also think they also will be coaches are going to let us know what they think we can work on and so I think I'm excited to see them in action as like coaching us as not just through the phone or through Face time, so I think it will be fun to be coached.
Mike: Yeah, well, that's good to hear. I mean, but credit to your dad, because I think one of the things that I I'm very focused on when I work with high school athletes is getting them comfortable with asking for help, and asking for feedback. Because sometimes, like you said, sometimes there's a fear of not wanting to hear the truth. And it's easier not to ask, right, but unless you ask, and like you said, I think you made a great point, right? Like coaches they want, they want you to like them, right? They're there. They're courting you, right? So they don't want to be negative, they want to be positive. But once you get on the court, that it's a whole different thing. And I think that's an adjustment a lot of athletes struggle with, because they're so used to not only being liked or courted to the recruiting process, but they're so used to being stars in high school. And then when you get there as a freshman, and then you're 18 and upperclassmen, 21, 22 have been there, there's a sometimes a huge gap. And a lot of athletes have struggled with, they struggle with that, right, like, and so you could look at it two ways, right? Like, oh, crap, like, I'm at the bottom of the food chain here. And I'm not used to being like, this is really hard, or like, hey, I can learn a lot from my peers and my coaches, because I have a long way to go here. And I think that's a choice that we all make, do I want to get better and learn? Or do I want to feel sorry for myself? Because I'm not the best anymore? You know, and it's a, I think it's a big adjustment for a lot of athletes to handle, because they're not used to being that kind of just like everybody else. They usually, you know, they stand out.
[36:36] Charlee Arthur: Yeah, I agree. Like you walk in your freshmen. And I would say the coolest thing I like about my coaches is, they're kind of like, we don't do a seat like a senior freshman and I've played on teams where it is like that. And I always thought, if you can play you, it shouldn't matter if you're a freshman, or if you're a senior, everyone should have the same opportunity. And I've seen you know, some of my friends are at schools were freshmen don't play or freshmen, you know, and they, but I think learning and when we get there being able to learn and work our way up the food chain will be I'm excited I like to compete. And so I'm I think I'm looking forward to competing against I feel like COVID took so much competition away from us where it went from being used to competing, like, literally every day or every weekend at least, like every few months, we got to actually play each other.
Mike: That’s awesome. I love to hear that. So I as we're wrapping up here, I just I wanted to ask you one more question. So if what advice would you give to other high school athletes who are being recruited in going through the process? Like what what's the one thing that you would share with somebody else who's in your shoes, that you think is really important to know?
[37:58] Charlee Arthur: I would say be confident in your own abilities. And don't try to change yourself for a coach or really get so wrapped up in one school and keep all your options open. Because you never know what can come in at the last minute. And I would say like brown I didn't. It was May of COVID. I never saw that coming. And it was probably it was the best one of the best things that ever happened to me. So I think keeping your options open and being confident in your own in your own abilities and just knowing that it's going to be hard work. And I think sometimes that is thing I think people forget is that it's it isn't easy, it is hard. Like it's not like it just comes easy. Like you have to put in a lot of hours to be at the top because it's just, it's what you have to do. So I'd say pretty basic, work hard and just be confident in yourself and keep all your options open.
Mike: Okay, I'm gonna ask you one more than what? Because I've heard you say this a couple times, but I'm really curious, is there anything specific that you've done or you do to keep that confidence up or to build your confidence in yourself?
[39:11] Charlee Arthur: Yeah, I would say I've read a lot of books that I think have good and I'm reading a book right now, but I think its Trevor mode, maybe I'm forgetting the name. But he talks about kind of having a neutral mindset. And I really, I like that, because I think for me, sometimes I would get too amped or to not to low and so the neutral. I think just knowing your own ability and so I think I've worked really hard over the years trying to just know that I'm the player I am I don't have to worry about it's like the comparison I have to worry about what they're doing because I I'm my own player. And so I would say over the years accepting that I'm not going to I may like the way someone else plays but that's not the way I play and I think we like watching the other We watch because they all have their different styles. So I think except like just trying to know that I have my own style. And that's why I got recruited by certain coaches. And that's why, you know, I've done what I've done. So I'm not trying to change that style for whatever for whatever reason. So I just think, accepting that I'm the player I am and being confident in the player I am.
Mike: That's great. That's a great way to end because that's great advice, I think, for anybody in any walk of life, and not just not just athletes or being recruited, so I just want to thank you for joining me here. This is such a fun conversation. My pleasure. It's I'm so excited for you and I can't wait to see you know, where you go next. And hopefully we can stay in touch and good luck in the fall.
[40:51] Charlee Arthur: Thank you.
Mike: Thanks, Charlee.
[40:53] Charlee Arthur: Okay, bye.
Mike: Bye.