Dating can be very stressful, even if you're just thinking about it. If you plan on dating an athlete, it is a completely different story. Female athletes are sometimes seen as a species like no other. Here are some tips on how to get the girl.

1. We eat. A lot. We know that to stay in top shape, we need the best food. If you take us out to eat at some fancy restaurant, we are not just going to order a salad. That’s child’s play. So be prepared.
2. Don’t treat us like we aren’t athletes. Just because we are females does not change the fact that we are athletic. We train just as hard and for just as long as males do. It’s not our fault that we aren’t built to be as strong or as fast…it is possible though, so don’t get offended.
3. We are more competitive than you think. Even if we act like we don’t care about losing a board game or a card game, trust me, we care. We will be so angry that we lost to you, that we might not speak to you for a few hours. Don’t get upset about that, it’s just who we are so embrace it.
4. It’s okay that we are better than you at our sport. If a girl plays basketball and you do not, don’t be mad when you ask her to play one on one and she beats you. We don’t train to just let someone else win. We train to come out victorious in every situation. And if you do somehow beat us, just remember, we will be bitter.
5. Sometimes we don’t shower after practice for, like, 3 hours. Sports aren’t the only thing on our schedule. After practice or a game we still have to eat, never forget about eating, and we have work to do. It just so happens that showering is not always our top priority. Yes, we get around to it eventually, but if you can’t handle the concept of it, you can’t handle us. Your loss.
6. We enjoy wearing sweats more than most other people. Don’t expect us to look nice. Well, at least not all the time. However, just because we are in athletic clothes the majority of our days, that doesn’t mean we can’t clean up and look nice every once in a while. I mean we aren’t total animals here. Give us some credit.
7. We can’t look nice because we’re either sweaty or anticipating being sweaty. Give us a break. We have tough workout schedules. Don’t judge us because we aren’t able to look like princesses 24 hours a day. If you want to date us, you better be prepared to tell us we look great even when our shirts are soaked with sweat and we aren’t wearing makeup. We aren’t going to spend our time doing our makeup when we will just sweat it off. Besides that shit is expensive, and not to be wasted.
8. Just because we play a sport doesn’t mean that’s all there is to us. Even though we are athletes, we still care about more things that just sports. We are still people who have other likes and interests. We have complex minds. We like to be challenged and pushed to do new extremes and we still care about what you like and what you want to do.
9. Sports tickets aren’t always what we like. We like playing the sport. That doesn’t necessarily mean for our birthdays we only like tickets to games. Yes, while it is true that we understand that you went through the trouble of even getting us a gift -- and trust us, we love it and fully appreciate it, just try to make sure it is something we may actually enjoy. And truthfully, whatever it is that you get, as long as there was some genuine thought put into it, the majority of us girls will love it.
10. We are always tired. Okay okay, so we get it. Everyone is tired. But believe us when we say we are too tired to do an activity. You want to hang out with us after a practice or game? Sure, just accept that we expect you to plop yourself on the futon or bed and watch TV and Netflix with us. When we say we are tired, we really just mean that we are exhausted. However, be ready…on those rare days when we don’t have practice, we will have more energy than you can handle. Make sure you have something for us to do, we will love you for it.
11. We will sometimes smell like you. Don’t be alarmed. When we are training hard, we sweat. And when we sweat, we smell…shocking, we know. So occasionally, the deodorant that is made for ‘men’ is our way of covering that stench. The deodorant that is targeted for ‘girls’ just doesn’t do it for us. So don’t throw a hissy fit and say, “no that’s weird” because it really isn’t. Just put on your big boy pants and move past it.
12. We are still emotional. No, it’s not weird. We are still humans. We still have feelings. We may not cry as easily as other girls who aren’t used to fighting for things. But yes, we sometimes get upset after a hard loss. If we gave it our all and fought the whole game and we still lose, it’s not a surprising thing to see us tear up a little. Don’t make a big deal about it. Don’t comment on it. Don’t tell us that it makes us any less of an athlete because of it. Just build a bridge over the river we just cried, and get over it.

So guys, next time you are interested in dating a female athlete, make sure you abide by these 12 tips. You can just thank me later.