Many people play sports as a young child. Starting out with your town recreation team, then moving to a competitive team, and finally being able to play with your peers on your school teams. Sports are a big part of many students lives. As an athlete, never take anything for granted. From the minute you step into the game to the last second on the score board, give it your all and enjoy every second of it. Unfortunately, your time on a sports team will not last forever.

From the age of 5 till my senior year of high school, soccer was a sport that I went back to every year. I didn’t think anything of it, I just knew that each season I would be playing. However, I did not realize how quickly twelve years would go by.

While being a part of the team during my senior year, I did not often think about how this was the end of my sports career, and it did not quite hit me until I arrived at college the following August, that I would no longer be a part of an athletic team that is fully affiliated with my school.

Over the course of my first semester, this hit me slightly hard. Twelve years of playing a sport, getting used to the constant schedule of practices, games, and team bonding. While all of this made for a crazy schedule, it was my schedule as an athlete and I was used to it. Then all of a sudden I got to college and I was starting all over without any of this. This was more of an uncomfortable feeling than I expected. It felt as if I almost had too much time, and did not know what to do with it. While I was able to adjust, it still feels weird not having sports every day, and I liked my old schedule enough and the sport, that I am looking into playing for fun at school.

Therefore, as a prior student-athlete to current student-athletes, I want to let you know that it is okay to miss the sport, it was part of your day to day life for so long. Enjoy the sport and the activities that come along with it while you have the chance, however, also remember that there are options out there if you want to continue playing for fun in college.