Many people were student athletes while they were in high school, but being a college athlete is a whole new experience. Imagine having to pick three things out of the following list: having a social life, academics, a chance at a starting position, sleep. That is just a sneak peak at what it is truly like to be a college athlete at any level.
For those who play fall sports, you are required to move into school weeks early, cutting your summer short by more than you would ever want. You will go through intensive workouts in the brutal heat and the blazing sun, risk not even getting playing time, and go back before nearly anyone is on campus. You'll have morning workouts and lifting sessions, team dinners, and team activities. For those who play spring sports, you may have a brief fall season with a tournament or two, but then as soon as that is over, winter workouts begin; 7 a.m. workouts to be specific (or maybe even earlier). You'll have workouts from the day that your fall "season" ends until the day that your spring season begins.
I personally am a softball player. We had a brief fall season, a winter full of workouts and conditioning, and a long spring season beginning in January. I wouldn't trade this life for the world. Playing softball is something that I have loved since the first time I ever picked up a ball. I'm sure many of you reading this can attest to this, whether it be with softball or any other sport that you play. So what would you be willing to do to play that sport on a whole new level, in a college setting?
Would you be willing to give up Saturday night parties to travel five hours to play the sport that you love? Would you be willing to give up hanging out with your friends on weekdays because you are too busy with class, practice, dinner, homework, and sleep (if you're lucky)? Would you be willing to get motion sickness on a bus ride back from a game trying to do your homework so you can find time to socialize with your friends?
Being a college athlete, you learn to balance all of these things. You learn to schedule your classes so that you finish as early as possible, giving you time to do homework before practice, so maybe, just maybe, you have time to have a social life later on in the night. You learn to fight through the three hour practices that sometimes feel like torture. You learn how to do anything and anything so that you are able to play the sport you love. All of these things sound negative, but they're not if you truly love your sport. And I personally would do all of this to play softball for the rest of my life if I could.
