I’m going to give you three options: good grades, a social life, and sleep. Now, pick two of the three... Hard right? This is what it’s like to be a regular college student. Now I’m going to give you six options: go to practice, go to games, go to the gym, get good grades, have a social life, or sleep. Now you get to pick five, BUT the first three are mandatory. Even harder right? This is what its like being a student athlete. Now, most of us somehow find a way to do all 6, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.
The most important thing to learn as a student athlete is time management. Without it, you’re doomed. Most have us have scholarship responsibilities, so we cant afford to fall behind on schoolwork. But we also have a responsibility to our coaches and teammates. We have a responsibility to perform our sport to the best of our abilities. The phrases “I cant, I have practice,” and “I cant, I have a game” will be your response when your friends ask you to go to that frat party this weekend more times than just once. Unless you want to show up to a 7 am practice half dead. Being a student athlete means giving up A LOT of sleep, and missing a lot of parties. Unless your friends and roommates are also athletes, they’re probably going to get annoyed that you’re never around.
However, living this double life does have its perks. For one, you have a team of 20+ friends before school even starts. You have a group of people that you have an automatic closeness with because they are the only people who actually understand what you are going through. And who doesn’t love all of the free merchandise? I personally have two drawers dedicated to all of the t-shirts I’ve gotten. Getting out of class for sports related events is pretty nice too. Now, being that I am a cheerleader, I sometimes don’t get included in the “student athlete” category. But think about it this way. When soccer season is over, its over. When basketball season is over, its over. When you’re a cheerleader, your season is never over. Once we’re done cheering for soccer or football, we have to cheer for basketball. And not just one team, men and women’s for every sport. Then there’s competitions. On top of that there’s all of the school events like open houses, pep rally’s, etc. Needless to say it takes up a lot of time.
Student athletes, no matter the sport, give up a lot. It’s a huge commitment that sometimes doesn’t seem worth it. But then you step on the court, field, or in my case, a blue mat, and you remember why you put yourself through it. You remember why it's going to hurt so bad when it’s all over. I don’t think any athlete's college experience would be the same without it, and I don’t think any of us would trade it for the world.
