Time Management
While most students baulk at the prospect of such a tedious schedule, for the majority of student athletes, that's just life.
We've all seen that student. The one that's always wearing sweatpants, a green athletic jacket, shows up to classes 10 minutes late, and always has a double-double with a half-eaten bagel in hand with their books. They immediately flop down and start ferociously taking notes, much to the chagrin of the professor whose lesson they just disrupted.
Everyone in the room looks at her, and they think the same thing. "Why is she always late?" They ask amongst themselves. "Why can't she just get out of bed on time?"
What they don't know is that she just finished an 8 hour shift that started at 6 a.m. She won't be able to limp her sore body home until at least 11 p.m. If she's able she'll scrounge together something more than a package of Goldfish to eat.
While most students baulk at the prospect of such a tedious schedule, for the majority of student athletes, that's just life. Early morning work shifts to workouts to class to practice, every day. The next day, its rinse and repeat until you finally get a day off.
Except it really isn't a day off. Now you have to catch up on an entire week's worth of readings, essays, projects, missed texts for group projects, and assignments that ominously reside in the corner of your room inside that dark green knapsack. You begin the daunting task of catching up on missed schoolwork, lest you drop below the dreaded 'mandatory GPA' and become academically ineligible.
For many people this lifestyle seems like hell, but for us, the work we put in is justified when we put on that jersey. It's all worth it when we are competing for a national title with some of the best athletes in this country. Although some blood, sweat, and maybe even a few tears will be shed, in our hearts we will always bleed green.
