The general population of non-athlete perceives the student athlete life as glamour, fun, and undemanding. I would agree that there are a plethora of amazing moments that transpire during your period of being a student athlete, but I wouldn’t exactly call it a life of leisure. Kristy Carlin, a junior power forward majoring in business management, understands all too well the demands on student-athletes, "Being a student-athlete is challenging because you have to juggle practice schedules and traveling for games with classes," Carlin said. "Most of us have scholarship responsibilities, so we can’t afford to fall behind in our school work.1" Not only do you have to take care of school and sport obligations, there are sacrifices that you have to make to ensure you are at your best athletically. All of the fun and freedom that normal college students receive does not apply to the life of a student athlete.
Not enough Time
· The NCAA limits official coached practice sessions to twenty hours per week. Although this rule is technically followed by my school, it only applies to the official time on the field while coaches are present. There is also plenty time spent with physical therapist for pre-training treatment, having the athletic trainers tape you, warming up for practice, cooling down after practice, traveling back from the field, or seeing the trainers for post-training treatment. The rule also doesn't take into account team meals, individual meetings with the coaches, or team organized meetings either, all of which are frequent during the season. Of course, there's also travel time spent on the road. Many full-time students have part-time jobs, but those jobs are usually 20-30 hours a week. A student athlete spends 40-50 hours a week on their specific sport and other activities relative to the sport. For the most part, that's a full-time job. For college athletes, you have to be a full-time student to be eligible to participate in sports, so in essence full-time student with a full-time job.
Teaching yourself
· Imagine taking a course that is challenging for most students. Now imagine missing at least a day's worth of lectures every other week during the regular season. Not only are you behind the rest of the class, but you are on the road. You have to teach yourself the missed material from the back of a bumpy bus, an airplane, or in the computer room of a hotel. There's no professor or teaching assistants present to ask questions or review a difficult chapter; there's just you and the textbook. What if you need to stay up late and finish an assignment, but you have an important game the following day. What do you do? What do you sacrifice? How do you manage your time? The answer is that if you are not 100% on top of every one of your assignments, if you are not in constant contact with your professors, if you are not willing to do what regular students do but in harsher environments, you will not succeed2. Not maintaining a 2.0 could cost you your eligibility, scholarship and possibly get you kicked out of school. This is the risk you take when agreeing to become an athlete in college.
Sacrifices
· Wait a minute, I don't have any "me time." How am I supposed to check Facebook, do my laundry, call my mom, and play Xbox? Treat your responsibilities as if they were your-full time job, because they are. Me time is scarce when taking care of business, you don’t have the luxury of wasting plenty of time on unimportant events. Remember to be wise, signing on to be a college athlete automatically projects you into the spotlight, on the field and off of it. You are the face of your university, and your actions reflect on your institution and your sport, both positively and negatively. Make good decisions, especially when it comes to alcohol and drugs. One bad decision will negatively affect not only you but your team, your family, and your whole athletic department. Understand that as an athlete, it's not just about you anymore; you are part of a greater whole3.
You may experience some of the best college experiences during your time competing in sports for your school, but remember everything is not all fun and games. Being a student athlete is a full-time job filled with sacrifices. Although these athletes receive scholarship money for the many hours they spend working to represent their respective schools, it’s not easy being a full-time student with athletic responsibilities.
References:
1https://www.southeastern.edu/news_media/homepage/stories/student_athletes.html
2http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/professors-guide/2010/03/24/8-tips-for-the-student-athlete
Thank you for sharing this article. To be honest, I often view collegiate athletes as spoiled. It was my experience while I was at Texas A&M many years ago and, frankly, when you see the Johnny Football images and things that hit the highlight reels, it is easy to make these snap judgments. This would be a great story to send to college magazines and campus newspapers. Well done.
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