College is a prime time for dating people of many different backgrounds who participate in many different organizations on campus. By far, dating a college athlete is the most hectic, and possibly the most rewarding. There are a few things that happen to you as an individual and as a couple as you move forward in the relationship process, and if you ever need inspiration on how to support your athletic companion while still being your own self, you can look to Ayesha and Steph Curry. Below, I have provided a few examples.
1. You learn a lot about yourself, and your partner just by watching them compete one time.
Watching your significant other compete is an emotional roller coaster, and it's only amplified when they compete in individual sports like wrestling, swimming, or tennis. Watching your potential life partner's reaction to a great win or a heartbreaking loss tells you a lot about that person right off the bat. You can skip all the weird questions on dates, and you can stop waiting for something to happen to see how they react when they're mad. Furthermore, your reaction to their win or loss tells you a lot about yourself. Maybe you're not comfortable with dating someone who loses all the time, and that's pretty superficial and reveals some insecurities within your own self. Losing is a part of life, and you should both be able to get over it and react maturely.
2. Their priorities become your priorities.
It's hard to order a huge tub of chicken nuggets for dinner when your significant other is having a salad because it's regular season and they're trying to eat right to be able to compete to the best of their abilities. Eating right, working out every day, getting homework done in order to be eligible, getting a substantial amount of rest every night; you find yourself doing these things in order to better support your partner in their athletic endeavors, and things are just easier this way.
3. Their schedule becomes your schedule.
Much like the list of priorities, being on similar schedules makes life 100 times easier on the both of you. You go to the gym, or take a nap while they're at afternoon practice, and you both do homework at similar hours so that you can kill two birds with one stone and hang out while getting some homework done.
4. You're basically single on the weekends during the sports season.
I don't mean that you run around sleeping with whoever is sober enough to drive you home. I just mean that most weekends, your partner is gone on long road trips, and this is the perfect opportunity for you to catch up on some laundry, bury yourself in Netflix shows that your partner hates and would never watch with you, or toddle around in some of your favorite hobbies.
5. You learn how to be someone's biggest supporter on and off the field/court/mat.
You get some good practice for the rest of your life. You learn ways that you can respond to your future kids' wins and losses in sports and in life, and you learn good ways to support your future spouse, even if they don't compete in professional sports. Being able to support someone while they are competing is a great practice for supporting someone in real life. They didn't lie when they told us that sports provide good life practice.
