Wake up. Eat. Go to class. Practice. Homework. Sleep. Repeat. This seemingly monotonous schedule is pounded into a student-athlete long before most of them can even remember.
I am one of those athletes – you know the ones that show up to an 8 a.m. class looking like a truck ran over us. I’m sure you’ve seen some of us in your classes or in passing, half asleep, wearing sweatpants, a hoodie, and some Adidas socks and slides. It’s okay, we like our life, I promise.
As most people might guess, life as a student-athlete is indeed, hectic most of the time. One thing many of us learn right away is to be easygoing. Challenges arise when we are competing, and our character is tested off the pitch as well.
Tilda Green, sophomore women’s golfer from Värnamo, Sweden, recalls an incident that is every athlete’s nightmare: losing gear. She now finds the unfortunate event quite humorous and notes its importance to her athletic journey.
“It was the middle of spring season and we were on our way to Corpus Christi to play a tournament,” she said. “With seven people in the car, seven golf bags, and seven bags full of clothes, it was really hard to fit everything so we decided to tie some of the bags on top of the van. When we stopped for gas, we realized that one of the bags was missing and of course it was mine. At that moment I panicked a little bit because earlier that year someone stole my golf bag. I was trying to handle it as good as I could but at the same time it was very annoying. We had to drive back to Edinburg and I borrowed clothes from a teammate who wasn’t traveling. A trip that usually takes us around two-and-a-half hours turned into eight. This experience was for sure something we all learned from. I learned that the only thing you can do is to be calm and think that it’s only material things lost.”
Additionally, I recall more than once having to turn in assignments while my team was traveling. Airplanes, hotels, buses, and even seconds before the start of matches. But I made it happen.
Sometimes, I don’t know how, but that’s what makes it so intriguing. Without the challenge, there is nothing to gain.
Pedro Lamadrid, junior golfer from Guadalajara, Mexico, knows about the struggles of turning in assignments in just the nick of time all too well.
“I remember one night after a tournament, I was lying in bed around 10:30 p.m. and suddenly something popped up in my mind about a project I had to do,” he said. “I freaked out and checked blackboard and I saw that I had to do a professional video presentation by midnight. I didn’t have any idea how to do the project and my hotel room was like, too ugly to do a presentation,” he said as he chuckled, obviously reliving the moment. “I ended up doing the presentation in the bathroom because it was the only place where it had the right amount of light. I sat on the toilet and I had my teammate, Luca, film me, but we kept laughing so by the time we finished, it was like 11:30 p.m. After doing a really lame job editing the video, I was able to turn in the project at 11:55 p.m. and I don’t know how, but I got a B on the project.”
As student athletes, we are equipped with valuable tools to support our current and future education goals. We have advisers and professors who understand how busy our lives are, and are willing to cut us some slack when we miss assignments or need extra help.
When asked about her student athlete experience, Justinn Trevino, a former track athlete and recent graduate, shares how her coach was instrumental in her education and her personal life.
“Whenever I saw my coach he would always ask questions like: “What did you eat for lunch today?”, “Did you get your homework done on time?”, and “How are you doing?”. My coach knew that I am not always a healthy person and he took the time to make sure I was eating well so that I was ready to perform at the highest level I could be at,” she said. “Your coaches are always invested in you and I think that’s what helps. Some student athletes are away from home and they don’t have that paternal influence. The coaches step in and act like your parents because they aren’t just concerned about sports, but they want to know how you are doing as a person.”
Personally, I always make it a point to get to know the teacher and let him/her know I am willing to do whatever it takes to get a good grade in their class. Being responsible, hard-working, independent, and respectful are four important habits to practice and these traits have assisted me in the classroom at UTRGV.
Trevino also believes character is an important aspect of the mission at UTRGV and although so much is expected of student athletes, we are able to look at the positive things that come out of it.
“Being a student athlete not only makes you learn how to time manage and be disciplined and determined and stuff, but it makes you realize that no matter how hard life is, you can always laugh at yourself. I think that was the best thing about being a student athlete was that I was able to rant about how hard practice is and how hard it is to go to class and weights, but I was laughing about it while I was telling my peers and friends who weren’t student athletes,” she said.
Want to become a student-athlete? Do it! It can be so rewarding! Becoming a family and experiencing both success and failure with each other is a feeling like no other. We look out for one another and pick each other up when we need it the most.
“The guys on my team are some of my best friends and they will be for life. The connection we have and the way we push each other on and off the course is amazing,” said Lamadrid. “Everyone wants that kind of friendship. Like I can’t imagine going to school and not playing a sport. You get a lot of perks and learn a lot. Plus, you get free stuff all the time.”
Green continues that thought as she announces her love for being a student athlete and all it has helped her accomplish.
“As a student-athlete, I feel like we need to challenge ourselves every day and that makes us grow as people,” she said. “Since I got here my first semester I’ve changed a lot as a person and I’ve become stronger thanks to circumstances like my lost bag. I love being a student-athlete even if it’s hard some days. I know that in the long run we are going to have so much experience to bring with us out in the world.”
We love what we do. That’s the beautiful thing about it. We love the grueling Texas heat, the ice baths after practice, catching sometimes more than two flights a day, 6 a.m. weights,…. all of it!
“Just saying your routine out loud will make anyone feel bad for you so at the end of the day you just have to laugh through it,” said Trevino.”You cannot be in self-pity complaining about why your life is so hard because you know you love it.”
Our lives revolve around sports and it’s a full-time job, but the athletic community makes it all worth it. It feels even better when we win on the pitch or are successful in the classroom. After all, we only get four years to make our mark so we do it for the love of the game.