Sports and Studies: Finding the Balance

The life of a student-athlete is a heavy lift — the addition of athletic responsibilities to academics requires physical, mental, and emotional strength. Student-athletes are obligated to maintain a certain GPA while also staying on top of their game in their respective sport. Training for an athlete is imperative and demands commitment and focus. This could mean waking up earlier than most and going to sleep even later. Being a successful student and student-athlete demands time management and self-care.

Time Management

For a student-athlete, academic and athletic requirements are equally important. A student can’t continue to be an athlete without being able to pull their academic weight. Prioritizing is essential to becoming a valuable player and scholar. Mapping out your week will be beneficial. Knowing when and where to focus on specific areas will help plan the right amount of time for each task.

• Creating a game plan and being devoted to the right strategy is crucial to removing barriers and helping manage your time more smoothly.
• Recognize your distractions and eliminate them.
• Working ahead of deadlines will decrease stress and allow more time for other things.
• If you tend to procrastinate, finding an accountability partner may be resourceful. Take advantage of opportunities including team study halls and tutors and make use of any resources available to student-athletes related to time management and studies.

Self-care

Maintaining a high-stress workload can lead to burnout if you don’t take care of yourself. While staying committed to your education and your sport are both important, you want to make sure you take care of your mental and emotional state as well. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, lean on the support systems around you to find and keep inner balance. This may be a coach, a teammate, professor, or even a counselor. Taking care of your well-being helps build endurance for both education and sports.

Maintain Balance

Once you find a plan that works for you, maintaining the balance of your commitment to studies, sports, and self will be invaluable. Take the time to reassess your strategy every once in a while, making sure to adapt as life continues to grow more challenging. Also be sure to step back and re-evaluate your well-being. Use the resources around you to achieve all your goals. Though it’s a lot to carry, you don’t have to manage it all alone. Tap into sources of support to be a successful student and athlete. Finding the right balance can aid you in your academic and athletic career.