The Coach Behind the Medal: What the Winter Olympics Can Teach Higher Ed About Academic Advising
The 2026 Winter Olympics kick off next month in Milan and Cortina, and though my colleague Amy beat me to the punch last week with her own Winter Olympics blog and with the cold gripping Chicago right now, we're going to give this international ice sports extravaganza the respect it deserves. Soon, we’ll all have the joy of watching athletes from around the world compete in some of the most unusual sports ever devised. Skeleton athletes sprint 40 meters before diving headfirst onto a tiny sled, hurtling face-down around an ice track at speeds approaching 90 miles per hour. Curlers carefully slide stones across ice while teammates sweep furiously to control the trajectory. Biathletes combine cross-country skiing with rifle marksmanship in a test of endurance and precision.
Every time I watch these events, the same question comes to mind: how in the world did these athletes discover they were suited for these highly specific (some might say odd) sports?
The answer, almost universally, is that they had help. Behind every Olympic medalist is someone (a coach, a mentor, a scout) who saw something in them before they saw it in themselves. Someone who understood the sport deeply enough to recognize raw potential and knew how to cultivate it into world-class performance.
In higher education, we call those people academic advisors. And the quality of that advising can mean the difference between a student who thrives and one who never finds their footing.
Nobody Stumbles Into Skeleton
Most skeleton athletes don't start in skeleton. Many come from track and field, where coaches notice their sprinting ability and recognize that those skills could translate to an entirely different discipline. Bobsled athletes are often recruited from sprinting or football, sports that develop the explosive power needed to push a 400-pound sled to competitive speeds. Figure skaters sometimes transition to ice dance when a coach recognizes that their artistic expression outpaces their technical jumping ability.
In every case, someone who truly understood the sport recognized potential that the athlete themselves might not have seen. That's the essence of great coaching: it's not just about teaching skills. It's about seeing people clearly and helping them connect their passion to areas where their natural ability allows them to thrive.
Academic advising should work exactly the same way. Most students, and especially first-generation students, adult learners, and those from underrepresented backgrounds, don't arrive knowing exactly what's possible. They may not realize that their love of puzzles and patterns could make them exceptional data analysts, or that their experience of caring for aging relatives could translate into a healthcare administration career. They need someone who can see those connections and help them find their path.
Understanding the Sport, Not Just the Rules
Effective advising requires more than knowing which courses satisfy which requirements. It requires a genuine understanding of the fields you're guiding students toward.
Consider curling. To the casual observer, it appears to be a simple game of aim: slide the stone toward the target and sweep vigorously when necessary. But competitive curling is far more complex. It requires reading the ice, understanding how temperature and texture affect the stone's path. It demands precise muscle control and timing during the sweep. It involves a strategy that unfolds over multiple ends, where the immediate goal isn't always to score but sometimes to set up a better position for later. A coach who doesn't understand these nuances can teach someone to slide a stone in a straight line, but they can't develop a competitive curler. They can't help an athlete understand why certain techniques matter or when a different approach would be more effective.
The same principle applies to academic advising. An advisor who only knows the rules (credit hour requirements, prerequisite sequences, graduation deadlines) can help a student check the boxes, but they can't help that student understand what a particular career path actually looks like, what skills will matter most in the workforce, or how different programs might align with their strengths and goals.
Bobsled isn't just about driving; it's about sprinting. The driver receives the attention, but the push at the start determines whether you're competitive. An advisor who doesn't understand that a supply chain management career requires both analytical thinking and relationship-building skills is like a bobsled coach who neglects to train the push crew.
The Hidden Requirements
Every Olympic sport has visible requirements, the things you can observe during competition, and hidden ones that only become apparent during training. Ski jumping appears to be about courage and aerodynamics: launch off a ramp, fly as far as possible, land cleanly. What isn't visible is the years of gymnastics training that develop the body awareness needed to adjust mid-flight, or the psychological conditioning that allows athletes to override their survival instincts at the top of the jump. Good coaches prepare athletes for the hidden requirements, not just the obvious ones. Academic advisors should do the same.
A student pursuing nursing needs to know about clinical hours, but do they also understand the emotional demands of patient care? A student entering education might be aware of student teaching requirements, but has anyone explained the administrative burdens that often consume more time than actual instruction? Students can't prepare for challenges they don't know are coming. Advisors who truly understand the paths they're guiding students down can surface these hidden requirements early, before a student is caught off guard in their final semester or first job.
Seeing Potential Before It's Obvious
One of the most valuable things a great coach does is recognize potential that isn't yet visible to others, sometimes including the athlete themselves.
The skeleton athlete recruited from track and field hasn't proven they can handle an ice track. The bobsled pusher who previously played football hasn't demonstrated that they can sprint on ice while coordinating with three teammates. But the coach sees something. They recognize transferable skills or a particular mindset that suggests this person could excel in a discipline they've never attempted.
This may be the most undervalued aspect of academic advising: the ability to see what a student could become, not just what they've already demonstrated. A student with mediocre grades but exceptional problem-solving skills during office hours might be well-suited for a hands-on technical program. A student who seems "undecided" might actually possess multidimensional interests that make them ideal for interdisciplinary work.
Advisors who only review transcripts miss these insights entirely. Effective advisors pay attention to what students are drawn to, not just what they've declared. They ask questions that surface hidden interests. They remember details from previous conversations and connect dots that students can't yet see.
Advising Is a Skill, Not a Side Responsibility
At many institutions, academic advising is treated as something to be managed in the margins of other work. Faculty advisors are assigned students but don’t get the dedicated time to meet with them. Professional advisors carry caseloads that make meaningful conversations nearly impossible.
Training, when it exists, focuses on policies and procedures rather than student development or career pathways.
This approach doesn't develop successful students any more than it would develop Olympic athletes. Effective advising requires expertise in the fields being discussed, time to build relationships through substantive conversations, and institutional support that treats advising as a core function rather than an administrative task.
Final Thoughts
When an athlete stands on the Olympic podium, the cameras focus on them. But behind that moment is a coach who saw potential before it was proven, who understood the sport deeply enough to develop that potential, and who prepared the athlete for challenges they couldn't have anticipated alone.
Academic advisors rarely receive that recognition. But they perform the same essential work by seeing students clearly, understanding the paths they're navigating, and helping them find where they belong.
The institutions that invest in advising and treat it as a strategic priority rather than an administrative necessity are the ones whose students will find their niche and thrive in it. When you watch the Games next month, notice the coaches just off-camera, watching intently, preparing their feedback and guidance. They helped their athletes reach that moment.
Your advisors can do the same for your students if you give them the resources and support to do it well.
