Being a college athlete is very demanding. We push our bodies daily to get ourselves in the best shape physically and mentally. Once we step on the field or court we have teammates and coaches counting on us to compete at our very best on that particular day. Those who aren't college athletes think we live a luxury college life where we get free gear, and are taken care of by countless faculty on campus. Although these small details are true, little do people know that we give up so much to play the game we love.

Athletes put numerous hours into practice weekly. Averaging 1 to 2 practices per day while in season and then games throughout the week and on weekends. You can’t forget about team lectures, film sessions, weight training and treatment. When do we make time for classes and studying? Something many college athletes have to be great at is time management. During season there isn’t a lot of free time and if there is we are typically napping, eating or studying. When others are up late hanging out with their friends, we can be found at study tables or in the library. A social life isn't something you hear us talk about often while in season. While juggling practice, classes and studying during the week, the time to hangout with friends is very slim to none. While everyone's out partying on the weekends we are on the road traveling or resting for our next big game.

The constant stress and demand to push our limits slowly takes a toll on our bodies. At the age of 19 our bodies feel like we are already in our mid 70s and struggling to get around. Everything from our backs, knees and ankles ache. We find ourselves lying on heating pads before training and after we have ice wrapped around numerous body parts. Then there is the love hate relationship we have with the ever so cold ice baths.

Sleep? What is that? As an athlete sleep is important for our mental health and is something that we love, but can be challenging to get enough of. Days go by so quick when we have practice and classes. Before we know it it’s 9pm and we are just starting to study and then remember there's 6am training the next morning. Free time in the middle of the day is often nap time and is something we love greatly.

Unlike many misconceptions, we do go to class and don’t just get a free pass because of our sport. Being an athlete there is actually higher expectations to show up to class, complete our work on time and get good grades. We have our counselors and coaches constantly checking in to make sure we are getting our work done.There is no time to slack off in the classroom.

We are here to represent our school while receiving an education so we can be successful outside of athletics. The constant grind is something we actually enjoy and without our sport we wouldn’t know what else to do with our lives.