A student-athlete has a lot on their plate while in season. Every sport misses some class, some sports more then others. For example golf. The tournaments are sometimes two days long and if they are a good distance away they have to leave a day early to travel. That’s three days of class they just missed for one tournament.

When the golf team misses class every student-athlete does things differently to stay or get caught up. For instance, they have to be very organized, or they have to have a good relationship with their teachers and go in and talk to them before and after the tournament, and get the assignment and help if needed.

Sarah Davy, who’s one of the seniors on the Morningside Women’s Golf team says “I stay caught up by keeping a very detailed agenda in my planner. I am big in making lists and this definitely helps me stay caught up and remembering what to do that I missed in class.”

Golfers having anywhere from 2-6 hours of homework a day and are use to it. In fact Cristina Salinas who golfed for Iowa Western Community College said  “expect to do about 2 or 3 hours of homework a night, if not more. But that just comes with the territory of being a college golfer.”

They can’t help their schedule as to when and how much class they may miss, it isn’t their fault, it’s not intentional. So when teachers don’t understand, it gets a little frustrating. It’s very irritating to the athlete when the teacher gets frustrated that they are missing yet another class. Sometimes teachers just joke about the student being gone again but the student doesn’t know the teacher well enough to tell if they are joking or not.

Kelsey Nelson who’s a senior on the Morningside Women Golf team says “Some teachers support me others I don’t think do. But sometimes it is hard to tell.” She continued to say, “My teachers always joke about how much I miss, but they are usually okay.”

Becoming a college level student-athlete can be very intimidating and scary. But it’s manageable. If you are smart about how you handle being a student-athlete. Being so busy with classes and sports can be a blessing in disguise. There is a much lower rate of college student-athletes getting into trouble around campus as compared to the college students who are just students. Why? Because most student-athletes pick a school more for their sport, like football or basketball, “they pick a school with athletics in mind first and academics second,” says Gary Gutting author of The Myth of the ‘Student-Athlete’ in a “The New York Times” online article.

Davy’s advice to student-athletes, “I would tell them to take advantage of all the opportunities you get being an athlete AND a student. There are so many things going on, especially as a freshman, and to form those bonds and friendships is key to a happy and successful time in college.”

Salinas’ advice to student-athletes who are thinking about continuing their athletic career in college says, “ Always go to class and try to get ahead instead of being right on track or behind.”

Balance out your time and life, know when to have fun and when you need to buckle down and do work for class. Being a student-athlete is a privilege and can be taken away at anytime. Not being eligible to play because of grades is the worth thing ever. Some coaches even have scholarships set up so that if you are suspended or aren’t playing because of misbehavior or bad choices will not think twice about taking away your money and your parents will not be happy to hear you lost your scholarship. Also remember you are in college, it’s your chance to have fun. Just figure out right away what’s good clean fun vs. bad choices fun.