Written By: Rylee Evans, writer
Being a college athlete is an experience of a lifetime. You get to be mentored by trained coaches, play with experienced players and travel to play the sport you love. However, you will also be faced with some hard decisions and situations. Here are some tips on how to succeed on and off the field.
- Time management.
I cannot stress this enough. Managing your time is crucial to being both a successful athlete and a successful student. Your schedule will be busy, so it will be hard to keep up with everything you have to do.
Procrastination is a beast. You must try to avoid procrastination as much as possible. If you continually put things off, it will stress you out in the long run. If you complete an assignment on time or in advance, you will have more time to relax or spend time doing other hobbies.
To help you manage your time, I suggest investing in a planner. Tracking your events and assignments will help tremendously. Yes, your sport is very important, but you are a student along with being an athlete. You have to keep up with your studies in order to play.
- Communicate.
Communication will make your life so much easier.
If you are traveling with the team and cannot attend class, tell your professor. It will show them that you care about his class, and they will be more willing to work with you.
If you are struggling with understanding a play or drill, talk to your coaches. They are there to help teach and coach you, so you have to let them know if you don’t understand or need extra help.
If you are having trouble with a teammate, confront them with a solution or talk to your coach about it. You cannot have grudges or arguments with your team and be successful on the field. Talk out your problems before they turn into a bigger problem.
- Learn from your failures.
College will tear you down then bring you back up. You will go through some hard times. But as the saying goes, “Grow through what you go through.” Your experience will get hard on the field during practice and games. It’s not always going to be easy and handed to you, but pushing through the hard times and working for your spot will make you a better player. You have to remember why you started playing and who you are playing for. It will get hard in the classroom as well. If you get a bad grade, learn from your mistake.
- Don’t isolate yourself.
While your team may be your closest friends, don’t settle for teammates. Don’t be afraid to talk to people who aren’t athletes or on your team. Join clubs or organizations that could put some variety in your routine. But along with that, don’t fill up all your time.
- Take care of yourself.
To be a college athlete, you have to dedicate your body to the sport. You need to sleep regularly. Sleep is important for recovery. In fact, athletes need more sleep than an average student.
You need to have a healthy diet as well. What you eat reflects on your performance. Try cutting out sweets and really focus on eating foods that would maintain energy. Staying hydrated is key to a good performance.
- Have fun.
As you are overwhelmed with the work and stress that comes with being a student-athlete, you may forget to enjoy your experience. Don’t take for granted the opportunities you are getting and the memories you are making. It may be hard at times, but always remember the people and the hard work you put in to get you where you are.
Rylee Evans is a Freshman Communications: Digital Media Major at Bryan College. She is from Pikeville, Tn and graduated from Bledsoe County High School. Rylee is on the Women’s soccer team, and she enjoys spending time with her friends and family, hunting and boxing.
