Your alarm goes off at 5am and you head to morning workouts. Then it’s off to class from 8 to 1. You chow down a quick lunch before practice. After that, you hop in the ice before heading to dinner. You then have mandatory study hall. And by the time your day is done, you are so physically and mentally tired that you don’t even feel like doing anything besides laying in your bed and wondrously glaring at the ceiling fan.
This is the daily life of a college athlete. And people wonder why on average we get only 3 sufficient nights of sleep a week, according to a recent NCAA study.
As college athletes, we often feel misunderstood and people often wonder why we do it. In fact, only 7% of high school athletes decide to take their game to the next level. To the outside world and mainstream media, we are portrayed as young kids who party and are lazy about school. To our professors, we are students before athletes, and to our coaches, we are athletes before students. But who are we actually?
To our professors, we are students before athletes, and to our coaches, we are athletes before students. But who are we actually?
Being a college athlete is not something that can be taught. We are pretty much thrown to the wolves our freshman year and have to figure it out ourselves. Speaking of Athletes is a blog for us. It is an outlet for athletes to learn from other athletes in order to be better as students and athletes. This blog will discuss everything from time management to dealing with injuries. As well as topics such as the differences between divisions and how the transfer process works.
This blog is also “by a college athlete for a college athlete.” I am currently a junior playing collegiate volleyball, with experience at both the D2 and D3 level. I’ve been through those terrible preseasons when your legs feel like a weird mixture of jello and cement. I’ve been through those sleepless nights of schoolwork you had to make up for missing class because of a game. I’ve been through those times when you have to decide whether to eat or take a nap, because you only have time to do one. And trust me, I have set an alarm for 7 minutes to fit in a nap whenever I could.
Whether you are struggling with time management, recovering from an injury, or you just need some more motivation to push through the rest of your season, this blog will be perfect for you. Even if you are a youth athlete wanting to take your game to the next level, there is a lot you can learn from this blog as well.
There is so much to discuss about the college athlete life. If you have any ideas for future posts or a topic you need advise on, feel free to leave a comment on this post or send me a message on the Twitter page @SpeakingofAthl1.
Speaking of Athletes 