Athletes love their sport. Even when they are struggling through a 6 a.m. strength and conditioning session or stuck on a seven-hour bus ride to a game, they still wouldn't trade it for the world. As much as athletes love every second of it, there are certain struggles all female athletes put up with for the love of the game.

1) Being known as that "Smelly Girl" in class

We've all experienced the struggle of having an 8 a.m. class immediately following 6 a.m. practice. Unfortunately, you quickly develop a reputation for always coming to class still in your practice clothes still smelling distinctly of cold sweat. The one day morning practice is canceled and you actually have the chance show up freshly showered to class, you'll end up sleeping through your alarm and settling for wearing a hat that day.

2) Mysteriously disappearing ponytail holders

After dragging yourself to the gym for a workout you are already dreading, nothing adds to your misfortune more than not having a ponytail. You quickly search through every inch of your bag at least 5 times to no avail. Again, you have to ask around to all of your teammates until someone begrudgingly forfeits their favorite ponytail so you don't have to wear your hair down to practice. Later after a nice, hot shower when you go to put your hair back up, you have no trouble finding another ponytail because it seems as if almost every inch of your bedroom floor is covered in them.

3) A sweatshirt and sweatpants become your daily uniform

In theory, curling your hair, doing your makeup and dressing up for your classes is awesome. You'll look and feel super put together. But let's be real, after your third two-a-day in a row, by the time you actually drag yourself out of bed nothing sounds better than putting on your favorite sweatshirt/sweatpants combo. Don't worry about whether or not it's the fourth time you've worn sweatpants this week. You know that today was leg day, so you deserve it.

4) Trying to do your hair after arm day

Keeping your arms in the air long enough to do two french braids is hard enough on any day. Now imagine trying to do your hair after doing 4 sets of 12 weights on arm day. It's no wonder most athletes resign to just throwing their hair in a ponytail and calling it a day.

5) You're more used to wearing cleats than regular shoes

Any time you get dragged to a formal occasion that requires you to wear heels, you are almost positive you are going to break your ankles. Without a doubt, the second the dinner is over your know you're going barefoot. Honestly, at this point, I'm pretty sure I can run and walk better in cleats than regular shoes.