With the start of the spring sports I feel it is time to talk about those who do not receive the praise we deserve, and that group is division three athletes. Though I might be biased, I am a member of the Marymount Mens Lacrosse team.
I have been around sports my whole life and I played three sports throughout high school. At this point you would think I would be accustomed to the 7:00 AM practices where it is a struggle to keep your eyes open, let alone run. Or devoting 35 hours a week, sometimes more to my sport. But I think that us athletes get a bad rap, especially at smaller D3 schools.
My entire collegiate life I have been surrounded by student athletes. They are truly the only ones who understand the struggle. That struggle differs sport to sport weather it is the cross country team running 6 miles a day (seriously, thats crazy), baseball and their four hour practices or lacrosse and soccer doomed to run on the hardened mess that is the backfield.
Or the fact that we have a gym about the size of one and a half Ostapenko dorms that we share with our entire team. We also receive scrutiny from the student body and sometimes even staff. I will never forget my freshman year when I told my professor that I would be unable to attend this Wednesdays lecture due to a game. If looks could kill. You will be told that professors will be understanding of this but in the end we know that isn't the case.
People also view D3 athletes as "not serious" and we become branded with stereotypes that we aren't real athletes and we are only here to have a good time and to drink our way through the weekend just to get to the next week.
As a D3 athlete I know that this isn't true and we are all just as devoted to our sport and team as any other athlete in any other division. if anything we deserve a applaud for doing what the big schools do with less funding, a smaller training staff and the fact that you are constantly in the public eye. When you make a mistake as athlete, you aren't just effecting yourself. You're making a mark on your team and depending the magnitude of the mistake, possibly even the school you represent.
Of course, it all becomes worth it to take the field with your brothers on game day or to beat your PR or just beating the crap out of Catholic University when we play against them. Juggling classes, sports, a job and still staying sane is tough, but we all know why we do it. And that's what makes the elite of all the graduates.
