Everyone always talks about the lessons in time management, teamwork, and goal-setting that you'll learn as a student-athlete. What they don't talk about are those not-so-resumé-friendly (yet totally beneficial) skills you'll learn from your student-athlete career, such as:
1. How to be a Morning Person
Getting up early for practice may suck at first, but eventually you'll be waking up ready to go at 5:30 a.m. even on the days when you don't have a single alarm set.
2. How to avoid the Freshman 15
Not only are you burning hundreds of calories every time you practice, you also won't be eating pizza in the middle of the night right before that big race/game. Sure, there are those rare days when you need to (or at least you tell yourself you need to) carbo-load, but we don't need to talk about that.
3. How to multi-task
Everyone around you thinks that you've got time management down. They're not wrong, but it certainly doesn't hurt that you've trained yourself to do Philosophy readings while in a plank position and practice reciting your Spanish presentation in the shower.
4. How to Take Care of Others (a.k.a. Your Water Bottle)
Your water bottle is essentially your best friend, and it has saved your life on many occasions. You repay it by refilling it, decorating it with every free sticker you've ever received, and never ever letting it out of your sight for fear of what may happen to it (R.I.P to all our forgotten Nalgenes, left in the weight room never to be seen again).
5. How to handle failure
While all your hard work sets you up for success, it also helps you learn how to accept failure. You won't have your best workout ever every single day. You won't max out every time you bench or squat. You won't always win, and that's OK. Learning how to better yourself from loss rather than letting it tear you up is what will make you stronger. While it's not the most glamorous life lesson to be learned, it's one of the most essential.
6. How to ~really~ Power Nap
It doesn't matter if it's for two minutes or 20 minutes, you can fall asleep anywhere, anytime, instantly. Waiting for your toast to pop out of the toaster. At your desk when you're five minutes early to class. Standing up, mid-conversation. When you need to rest post-practice and pre-anything else, you're more than prepared.
And, most importantly...
7. How to take a bada** squad pic
There's no denying it. When your team holds up that plaque in your matching tracksuits you look fierce. You may not ever get a picture of you in real clothes. Or makeup. Or with your hair down. But at least this one is Insta-worthy.
