Being a collegiate student-athlete is fun and rewarding, but definitely a challenging experience. While in-season, it becomes challenging to balance academics and hectic schedules. Between traveling, practice, games, study hall, missing class, and other events like team meetings, there is a lot to juggle. However, when focused on the right things, there are uncountable things to appreciate and enjoy about being in being in-season.
As a person who loves to travel, trips for games provide a great opportunity to get to new places and explore new cities. While in season, away games are chances to get off campus that the average student would not get.
This past semester, my team traveled to numerous schools in different parts of Virginia, DC, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland, but most notably Baltimore and New York City. We were traveling for a competitive match and had limited time to see the area we were visiting, however our coaches planned time into the trips for walking around and spending time being tourists. While these cities are close and some of us had visited them before, it was a unique and valuable experience to visit as a team and it was always refreshing to get off campus to new places.
Second, games and practices limit partying/alcohol for student--athletes. For the average college student, this may seem like a major bummer. However, it is rewarding to spend time bonding with teammates in a sober environment. It promotes a healthier lifestyle, is safer, and provides an opportunity to know how to have fun without the effects of drugs or alcohol. I know that some times when my team stayed in nights before games, I have had much more fun than I would have had with a night out.
Third, playing a college sport means gaining [x] new friends. Of course every player isn't best buddies with everyone else on the team, but most often a team's dynamic is accepting and supportive. You understand and go through lots of the same struggles and experiences, having spent the majority of your lives playing the same sport and understanding similar mental and physical demands.
Lastly, playing a sport at the collegiate level teaches all kinds of valuable lessons that can be applied in the real world. Growing up, I didn't always realize how much playing a sport taught me about discipline, emotional maturity, and communication.
In college, interactions between you and the coach, with other older and younger players; experiences with injuries and playing time; and responsibilities like time management all will shape you as a player and most importantly, as a person.
Participating in a college sport is one of the best decisions I've made because of the invaluable lessons I've learned as a person and player, the opportunity for new rewarding relationships, the traveling we get to do, and irreplaceable team memories. While it is a challenge to balance academics and athletics at the collegiate level, the rewards are unmeasurable.
