Even nap on the way to tournaments

Please Don’t Call Us Lazy – 3 Myths about Busy Student-Athletes

A typical day: wake up, go to class, eat, and do homework; plus if you’re an athlete  you may have practice or conditioning. For student-athletes they also miss a lot of class time in order to compete for their school. That’s the life of a very busy student-athlete.

For some student-athletes there is very little recreation time and that little bit of extra time while often interpreted, as laziness may not be a fair assessment. Here are three myths about busy student-athletes:

First, student-athletes love to sleep every chance they get. Student-athletes will grab a nap when they can as their body may really need it to re-energize and be ready for the next practice or recreational activity. Power naps can give you that “second wind” to help you put forth good effort. For example, swim team members tend to practice very early in the morning, so an afternoon siesta is not out of the question.

Second, student-athletes sit around playing video games in their spare time. Most student-athletes are fairly competetive so video games can be a good outlet for pent up energy and feeding that competitive spirit.

Finally, the third myth, student-athletes waste time hanging out with friends or watching TV. Actually, most student-athletes quickly learn to be good time managers. They are very schedule driven and have to be fairly organized. So if you look past that remote control you might find someone who has many hours of the day committed to school and athletics and just a few minutes to anything recreational.

My personal experience is with the golf team. Some people don’t give golf much credit as a sport, but actually it is very strenuous and time consuming. You need to be in condition to be ready for the terrain and the elements. Golf is only called off if there is lightening in the area or extremely cold temperatures. Therefore, heat, rain, wind or even with light snow, you’ll find the golf team out on the course! Golfers also have to work hard at the mental part of the game. You play for yourself, but you also play for the team, and ultimately you want to do your best, so practice, conditioning and some spear time recreation, play an important role in your success.

Every team and their coaches have a differnet outlook on conditioning and practice.  For instance, softball and soccer tend to split up their activities, conditioning in the morning and practice in the evening. If a team has not been playing well, or has lost their focus, a coach may have them practice an extra time or two to get the discipline back.

All sports tend to consume a lot of time away from class and away from friends. Most spare time is given to making up class work and catching up on reading and notes. For example, Shelby, a freshman golfer, said, “I go to bed everyday about 1:00a.m., if not 2:00a.m. If I go to bed at 11:00p.m., that’s early for me. So I don’t have much recreation time and if I do I’ll nap.” A number of the freshman guys on the golf team work together on homework and then enjoy the occasional game of pick-up basketball. They make time to escape from school and golf.

One of the biggest challenges for student-athletes is missing class. In one of my classes I get my notes from a volleyball player when I miss and she gets mine when she misses class. The buddy system in class can be a real life and grade saver.

When a sport is not in season, like basketball is not right now, the team members still have conditioning every day. Steven Husk is a transfer senior on the men’s basketball team, although he has more recreation time now than he would during basketball season, he still is a busy guy with school, conditioning and, he even works part-time! When he wants to get away from everything he watches “a lot of Netflix and sports.” Steven said sitting on the couch may look lazy, but he is often thinking about what he needs to do next. “Lately I’ve been watching the FIBA World Cup (basketball) games; if not that, then I go out with friends.” Steven is also into social media, spending time on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram or playing an online game called Clash of Clans.

While it may appear that student-athletes are lazy; they like to waste time napping, playing video games, watching TV, or just hanging with friends. Those short opportunities away from their chosen sport or from class are most likely precious minutes of relaxation and recreation. Time that is often well deserved.