1. Your team is your family
People often say you can't pick your family. Well, you don't get to pick your teammates either. You spend over 80% of your time with these people who share your love of the game, and at the end of the day you would do anything for them and you know they'd do the same.
2. Ice baths get you through the week
Whether it's ice baths or ice bags, there's no doubt that some part of your body is going to be freezing. The worst part is that you know how bad it's going to suck, but the feeling of relief after is worth the pain.
3. You know how to sleep on a bus
Some days it seems like you spend more time on the bus than you do actually playing, but you manage to make it work. Whether you're curled up in a ball, sprawled across the floor, or using your backpack for a lap pillow... you somehow always manage to pass out for hours in extremely uncomfortable positions.
4. It sucks to be a freshman...
It's already hard enough being the new kid on the team, but tack on being the last to eat, hazing (wait, we don't do that), and laundry duty and you'll be counting down the days til' you're no longer "the freshman."
5. You live out of a backpack
Athletes are--no doubt--the most identifiable group of people on campus, because they've always got their matching backpacks. That bag not only carries your books for school, it also has your practice jersey, some extra socks, and a butt-load of ibuprofen. On the plus side, at least you don't have to buy a new bag every year for school.
6. Forgetting your jersey might be the end of your career
This is why you double check your locker and even your teammates' lockers a thousand times before you leave. If you forgot any important article of clothing you might as well start running home, because you're gonna be running for awhile.
7. Some professors don't care that you're an athlete
Although athletics are considered an excused absence and should always be treated as such, every athlete has had that professor that really doesn't care. Most professors are very understanding and more than willing to help accommodate an athlete's busy schedule, but there's always the one or two that just don't like sports.
8. 6 am workouts will never get better
Honestly, no one wants be awake at 6 am, let alone working out. Yet, for some reason, every coach loves to make practice start before the sun's even awake. Your eyes are barely open, you can't stop yawning, and your body isn't moving in the direction you want it to, but almost always it's slightly productive.
9. Athletes are held to a higher standard
No one really understands why, but when other people look at athletes they view them differently than regular students. Because athlete's represent the university, we are asked to behave in a certain way that maybe the average student isn't used to.
10. Your body never fully recovers
Despite countless ice baths, muscles releases, and off days where you literally don't get up off the couch there will never be a day when your body doesn't hurt. Sadly, there may never be day when getting up the stairs gets any easier.
11. Time management is your expertise
With 3 hour practices every day, tournaments/road trips every weekend, games on weeknights, and the occasional extra lift thrown in there, you have pretty much mastered the schedule. Without these time management skills, being a student, athlete, and regular college student would be nearly impossible.
12. You love your teammates, but some days you wanna kill them
Don't get me wrong, they are family, and we love them, but when you spend nearly every moment of every day with the same people, odds are after awhile you're going to want to kill them. Good thing is: you're athletes and can use your sport as a way of getting out some anger.
13. There are some days when you question if it's even worth it
With all the bad practices, horrible games, sleepless nights, and aching muscles, there's no doubt that we've all had our fair share of moments where we wonder why we even chose to subject ourselves to this chronic pain anymore. However...
14. You wouldn't give it up for anything
Even with all of the bad practices, horrible games, sleepless nights, aching muscles, and moments when you just want to give up, there are also the moments of triumph, amazing win, and team bonding that make you realize you wouldn't trade this for anything.
