A Day as a Student-Athlete

As student-athletes we all have responsibilities. It doesn't really matter what sport an individual belongs to because our lives pretty much consist of the same daily routines. It is critically important that all athletes have a balance with being a student first and then an athlete second. Time management is a necessity and while I cannot speak for all athletes I think that most athletes can come to the consensus that things can become quite overwhelming if one doesn't take care of everything in a timely, well-planned manner. When competing at such an intense level physically and then also having to exceed average expectations in the classroom a student-athlete needs to familiarize him or herself with a daily routine until this habit becomes beneficial to success.

Here I will explain how an average day as a student-athlete played out for me. Usually my day began very early in the morning. It would begin with an early morning practice or an early morning weight training session which usually was around 6:30am. Directly after that I would head to the training room where I would do some type of physical therapy or rehab because of injury or minor aches and pains. By 9am I would be returning home to shower, eat breakftast, and preparing for my classes. Classes usually lasted all day until it was time to return to practice which be around 330pm. Practice lasted a good 2 hours everyday. Directly at the end of practice I would return back to the training room for more treatment. After practice and treatment was complete I would return home, shower, eat and then head to the study center because as 'student'-athletes we are required to clock in so many hours every week. My day usually ended around 1030-11pm and the next day the cycle would repeat itself all over again!

My main message here is that you have to be prepared for long, full days. Being a student-athlete means making sacrifices that normal students don't have to make. Time management is key.