From intramural, club, or even divisional, college sports can bring on both many pros and cons when juggling them with your other responsibilities. Although cons come up with any sport or extracurricular activity, the pros tend to outweigh the cons, making it normally an enjoyable part of your everyday college life.
Pro: You create a new family who you can rely on.
These people seem to come out of nowhere. Before your first day of practice, the campus seems to be crowded with strangers. But as soon as you walk into the cafeteria after meeting your team, you seem to recognize half the people. These teammates will grow on you, rather quickly, and will help you out in multiple situations, especially those that have nothing to do with the sport itself.
Con: Time can sometimes become an issue.
This becomes obvious when you are struggling to balance the priorities of life that include sleeping, eating, showering, homework, class, work, and so on. Adding multiple hours of practice every week and games can seem almost impossible at times.
Pro: You can skip the gym if you have practice that day.
If you're one of those people who works out every day, no matter the circumstance, then this obviously isn't a pro for you. But for those people who believe that 2-3 hours of constant exercise and conditioning counts as a complete workout, then I agree.
Con: Money isn't always available when you need it most.
Sports can be expensive. Not every sport costs as much as the next, but the dues, jersey costs, tournament bills, and transportation can add up. Not everyone has the money for these sports and when dues are needed, it can be hard to make up the money as quickly as you'd like.
Pro: Gives you something to do outside of the dorm.
Without sports or extracurricular activities, I'd be driven insane inside my tiny "shoe box"-sized dorm. Be thankful to have such opportunities that allow you to not only work on your beach body, but also give you something else to do outside of your room.
Con: You have higher expectations and double the stress.
Many times teams will add extra stress to your life. There are always new things to learn, things to improve on, and work to do. These expectations can definitely add extra stress to your everyday life.
Pro: You can do what you love away from home.
As you leave your home for possibly the first time ever, it can be a time of stress and new beginnings. Even if the sport is new to you, it can give you something to devote yourself to and constantly improve on, and help make the transition easier from the high school lifestyle to college.
