There comes a time when you find yourself in what I refer to as "a slump." School is stressing you out, you're not competing well, and you have a first-class seat on the struggle bus. It's hard to have any confidence while in a slump and you begin to convince yourself that the glory days are behind you. It's incredibly frustrating when you are putting everything you have into both your schoolwork and your sport, but you aren't seeing positive results in return. Overall, it's mentally and physically exhausting. However, as cliché as this is, the best advice is to never give up.
Sometimes in the height of the crazy lifestyle that student-athletes live, we forget to look at the big picture. Being a student-athlete is an honor that only a select few get to experience. Meaning that if it were easy, everyone would do it. It's easy to beat yourself up after bad practices, races, games, matches, etc., but in 20 years, you may still remember the sadness you felt after a tough loss or a bad season, but your fondest memories will be those spent with teammates, having fun, and doing the sport that you love. Being a collegiate student-athlete is a once in a lifetime opportunity and sometimes we begin to put so much pressure on ourselves that we forget to truly enjoy the experience.
It's normal to be exhausted and it's normal to be frustrated, but this is preparing us for something more. Soon enough, we will graduate college and the sport that we put so much time and passion into won't be as big of a priority as it once was. However, the lessons that we learned as a student-athlete will set us apart from others. We already know self-discipline and commitment. We know how to organize our time and we definitely know how to get work done on five or less hours of sleep. The struggles that our colleagues will face in the future are the struggles that we are facing right now.
A slump is a difficult obstacle to overcome, but as we continue to fight through our struggles, we are growing tremendously as people. Don't give up, as this is making you a stronger person. So the next time you find yourself overwhelmed by the demands of school and sports and you are wondering how much longer you can be tough, take a deep breath. Look around and imagine your life without your team or your sport. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves just how fortunate we are. Stop putting pressure on yourself, regardless of how you're performing and simply enjoy the opportunity that you've earned. The road to success is not easy, but it's worth it.
