The transition from high school to college can be a difficult for most young adults. The college experience provides an opportunity to living on your own, do your own laundry, cook for yourself, and manage academic life all at the same time. Add the role of an athlete to college life and the transition becomes even more difficult. In collegiate sports, you are expected to be a student first followed by your role as an athlete. Student-athletes have additional daily responsibilities including athletic practices, travel to and from competitions, and study hall. Life as a student-athlete can be hectic and at times overwhelming.
As a student-athlete, there will be days that you will be absent from classes due to the travel schedule of the team. Advice that was been passed to me from upper classmen as well as my coach is that “missing one day of class is like missing two.” Without a solid time management plan and proactive study habits, the academic rigor can become more intense. Student-athletes must miss class for travel and competitions, yet they are still held responsible for keeping up with assignments and tests. If you don’t pass, you don’t play.
The life of a student-athlete is tough and requires hard work, but can be very rewarding. As student-athletes, we are fortunate to receive scholarships (full or partial), be able to represent our school, and have unique, fulfilling experiences that will never be forgotten. To be a champion, you must practice and play hard in both the classroom and the playing field.
As an ex-student athlete, I appreciate this blog. There is a lot of great potential in young student athletes to perform in both the classroom and on the field. Many of these student athletes fresh out of high school have difficulty in time management and may end up quitting the team or dropping out of school completely. A good technique for coaches is to use mandatory study hall. Study hall forces these students to study and do school work. With these study hours, students can knock out homework and not find themselves caught behind in their studies.
ReplyDeleteBeing a student athlete is very demanding, but it can be very rewarding as well. I regret nothing about being a collegiate athlete. Good post!
Being a student-athlete is very time consuming. With the pressure to perform on the field, court, or track, and the pressure to excel in the class room, it's a stressful time in a young person's life. Remembering my time as a student-athlete helps me connect with my players and reminds me to not over burden them. Especially freshmen. Freshmen can easily become over-whelmed by the time constraints of being a student-athlete and end up quitting.
ReplyDeleteThe transition from high school to college was a rude awakening for me. The idea of me being on my own and taking care of things my mom did such as washing clothes, making sure I was up for school and out the house in time, and keeping up with my GPA sounded like the “Good Life”. It took a while for me to get adjusted to taking care of myself. Once I finally made that transition it was still hard to transition from a high school athlete to a college athlete. Things like two-a-days, lifting weights, traveling, missing class, and doing homework and studying on a loud bus took a while to get adjusted to. I know a couple of girls I played high school basketball with that ended up quitting because the pressure was too much for them. Part of being a student athlete is learning to balance school and athletics with athletics coming after school. This means that if athletes can go out have fun and play, then they should and can find the time to do school work.
ReplyDeleteIt is a very big accomplishment to be a collegiate student athlete. The opportunities that present themselves through learning, growing and forming bonds that will never break are priceless. In having the opportunity myself, the education and experiences gained are a blessing but one of the biggest things I have taken away from playing college sports is a brotherly bond with my teammates. I have made friends that I will cherish for a lifetime.
ReplyDeleteBeing a college athlete is the best. Not only do you meet and surround yourself with people that love what you do, but you get a different kind of college experience. Most people do not understand how tough it is to be a successful student-athlete, especially when you are in season. It takes a lot of hard work, dedication, organization skills, time management, and always being one step ahead. Just by being a student athlete so many doors and connections are/can be made for your future. I would not be where I am today, if I had not been a student-athlete, and I will forever have life long friends from my team. Its such an honor and privilege to represent a good school and team.
ReplyDeleteI can relate to this article being a former college athlete and now a college coach. Many times freshman are over whelmed not only by their new responsibilities but also the since of freedom. However, I feel that playing sports can help make athletes more successful than the average student. Student athletes have study hall, free tutors, class checks, and coaches that make sure they are doing well in school. Student athletes that are not successful are because they do not try. If an athlete does not graduate college while playing collegiate sports chances are they wouldn’t have graduated as a regular student. College isn’t for everyone that is why less than one third of students who enter college actually graduate.
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