Blog Post #4
Maddi Stewart
PS 101
Blog Post #4
28 April 2022
Blog Post #4
As my time as a student-athlete comes to a close, I thought I would reflect on the daily struggle that many student-athletes face throughout their time at school, especially college. Being able to attend a school while playing the sport you love is an extreme blessing. Not only are there chances to get athletic scholarships, but you get a team that becomes your family, as well as many important life skills such as time management, discipline, and the ability to communicate and work together in a group environment. However, many student-athletes also experience downsides when it comes to going to school and playing a sport. Student-athletes tend to feel more stress and pressure in both their academic life as well as their athletic life, they don’t receive the proper amount of sleep, and balancing obligations can become a problem.
With the increased stress and pressure as well as the lack of sleep, student-athletes can end up risking not only their physical health, but their mental and emotional health too. For many student-athletes, their day starts early, either with morning practices or workouts. After that, they go straight to attending classes, and by the time classes are over, it is about time for them to go back to practice. It may seem like after their practice ends, student-athletes finally have a chance to take a break and enjoy some downtime, however, that is not the case. These student-athletes now have to do homework for multiple classes that could end up taking hours upon hours. At this point, it may seem like these student-athletes’ days are completely full, and they have no time to do anything else. However, what I didn’t mention is the time they spend in other organizations such as Greek life or SGA, or the study groups they may have to attend, or professor’s office hours, or even something as simple as eating lunch or dinner. Student-athletes’ days are almost always crammed and balancing both academic and athletic commitments can be challenging and stressful. Most student-athletes also don’t receive the proper amount of sleep due to all of their commitments. Not only can this cause problems in their athletics but in their academics as well. Student-athletes may start to lack energy when they are practicing or when they have games, and if they continue to not get enough sleep, they may start to fall behind in school and their grades may suffer because of it.
When it comes to these student-athletes’ lives, there are few different perspectives, the first, most importantly, is the student-athlete themselves, but there are also coaches and professors that play a part and may hold a different perspective as well. Every student-athlete wants to succeed both academically and athletically. They want to make good grades and get a degree, but they also want to perform well in their sport. However, most of the time, in order to make that happen, other aspects of their lives tend to suffer. Aspects such as their sleep schedule, their social life, or even their ability to have some casual downtime. These student-athletes can end up risking some of their happiness in hopes of succeeding in both their academic and athletic life. Of course, every student-athletes’ lives won’t be the same, but I know from personal experience how draining it can be to try and always excel in the classroom and on the court without the ability to take some breaks or do something fun throughout my day. I have no doubt that coaches and professors want to see student-athletes do well in all aspects of their lives, however, at the end of the day, coaches want the student-athlete to perform well in practice and in games, and professors want the student-athlete to perform well in the classroom. There are many occasions where student-athletes have to miss class due to athletic events which can lead to them missing assignments, tests, projects, etc. Most coaches don’t even think twice about pulling their athletes out of the classroom, however, for the student-athlete, the work they are missing will always be in the back of their mind. This can also be frustrating to the professor because they are having to go out of their way to make sure the student-athlete has a way to complete the assignments.
Unfortunately, there will always be a little bit of a struggle for student-athletes as far as balancing commitments between their academic and athletic life. However, there are a few solutions that can ease that struggle. The first solution is for student-athletes to create a daily or weekly schedule. This schedule can help students organize all of their commitments as well as keep them accountable for any upcoming assignments or events. It also allows them to plan their time accordingly in case they need to block off time to prepare for those specific assignments or events. The second solution is for professors to be more understanding and more lenient when it comes to missing class or assignments for sports. It would ease a lot of stress off the student-athlete if the professor showed some understanding when the student-athletes comes to them to let them know they won’t be in class. I know it can be irritating or frustrating for the professor but showing that frustration to the student-athlete can end up making them feel bad. At the end of the day, it isn’t the student-athletes fault they are missing class when their sporting event requires them to do so. The third solution is for coaches to schedule practice and/or workouts for only a specific amount of time. Filling the student-athletes’ day with long practices and workouts will only add more stress and pressure into their lives. By limiting the amount of time student-athletes spend at athletics, they will have a little bit more time to focus on other aspects of their lives, whether that be schoolwork, other organizations, or even just some downtime. This will help limit that stress as well as help balance academic and athletic commitments.