The Life of a Student-Athlete

Image by NCAA

Written and media by Christian Caldozo.


Life for a student going to college is very stressful at times. With so much studying taking up time, other interests must be put to the side in order to be successful. Time management is key to a college student’s success, and in order to achieve the student’s goals, sacrifices must be made. Now imagine having plenty of studying to do, but you must also go to practice, do extra lifting, stretch, ice, recover, etc. The amount of time management and sacrifice for this seems impossible, but believe it or not, student-athletes make it happen every day. Today we will look at how a student-athlete is able to balance countless hours of school with countless hours of sports.

Rakim Murphy of the Men’s Basketball Team getting ready to workout. Media by Christian Caldozo

Time management is the process of dividing time and assigning certain tasks during those times to be effective and productive. Based on an article that was written by The University of Michigan-Flint, students should spend two to three hours studying for every credit they are enrolled in. For example, if a student is enrolled in 15 credits, they should spend at least 30 hours studying a week. Now throw in sports into the equation, and a study done by the NCSA states that the average division one athlete spends at least 50 hours in sport, including team practice, extra training, and physical therapy/recovery. Do the math and that is at least 90 hours consumed every week. Sleep, class, eating, and other little things are not even added to the equation. As one can see, a student-athlete spends a lot of time with either school or sport, and with that, it requires a lot of time management. The real question is how does a student-athlete manage their time with all these things going on in their life?

Senior Kealin McLean of the Men’s Basketball Team studying for class. Media by Christian Caldozo

Senior Captain of the Greenville Men’s Basketball Team, Kealin McLean gives us his strategy of how he manages his time, he says,

It includes a lot of late nights and early mornings. During the day when I do not have class, I have to make sure I am always doing something. Whether that be reading, studying, or doing homework for a class, or training for basketball. There is not a time in the day when I am not doing anything.”

Senior Captain of the Greenville Women’s Volleyball Team Allyson Mitchell says,

Personally, having my priorities straight helps me manage my time. I know I need to do my homework when I have free time because my schedule is so busy with volleyball. Also setting high but manageable expectations is important. Every athlete would rather play their sport, but ultimately school work comes first. Volleyball motivates me to do better in school knowing I am not only representing myself and team but my institution.”

Junior Isiah Price of the Men’s Basketball Team doing homework. Media by Christian Caldozo

Junior Isiah Price of the Men’s Basketball Team contributes,

“I like to set alarms during the day reminding me of what I should be doing at certain times. It takes a lot of planning ahead of time but it really helps me get a lot of stuff done before practice. I feel like this method pays off for me because it opens up a lot of free time for me to talk to my family back home and allows me to do other stuff.”

The common element seen throughout all these student-athletes and their relationship with time management is that they are always productive and active all day long. This requires a lot of planning ahead of time as well as a lot of organization.

The life of a student-athlete is never easy, but it is often thanks to a lot of hard work and dedication that they may become some the most successful people in life. So never underestimate the time that a student-athlete puts into their school or sport!

Check this video out that gives tips for time management!

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