True Life of a Student-Athlete

According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), there are more than 460,000 student-athletes who compete in college sports every year. These student-athletes all come from different cultural backgrounds and work hard to bring pride to their schools, their families, and themselves through both athletic and academic achievement.

However, over the years they have been a stigma that has been placed on student-athletes, an assumption that they receive special treatment as a result of their student-athlete status. In the eyes of regular students and some professors, our lives may seem like we have it all and we are spoiled because we have access to resources that traditional students do not get.

As a women’s basketball player at the University of Central Florida, I know being a student-athlete comes with the good and the bad. While the lives of a student-athletes may seem glitz and glamorous, in reality it comes with different struggles. Despite of all the misconceptions, student-athletes face many obstacles when it comes to juggling their academics, their sports, and their social lives.

As a student-athlete, I have priorities that motivate me every day to do what I am here to do, which is to play basketball. My top three priorities as of now is academics, sport and my social life. The first priorities in most student-athlete’s lives is academics. I choose to talk about academics because, there are some professors who automatically have that mentality that student-athletes aren’t in school for their academics but more of their sports.

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Stereotypes can be defined as ‘qualities perceived to be associated with particular groups or categories of people’ (Schneider, 2004, p. 24).

In an article called Student Athlete Perceptions of Academic Success and Athlete Stereotype On campus by Jennifer Parsons, she talks about student-athletes and the stereotype they receive on campus. Some stereotypes are not always negative, but in the case of student-athletes it is usually negative and inaccurate by many people. When it comes to academics there is a type of “dumb jock” stereotype that professors perceive some student-athletes as. The dumb jock stereotype assumes a lack of academic ability and motivation (Simons et al., 2007) even though studies have demonstrated conflicting results regarding athletes and academic performance when compared to their student peers.

Students and faculty do not realize the pressure of doing well academically while trying to balance your position on their team. First to be qualified to have a full athletic scholarship your GPA must be maintained. Not only does the stereotype goes towards NCAA Division I collegiate athletes but also to NCAA Division II students and “the faculty members at the private college held prejudicial attitudes toward male athletes concerning special admissions policies, scholarships, academic support services and media exposure.” (Pearson, 2016) In the study, there were 252 student-athletes that were asked to participate. It was mixed with male and females; all participants were undergraduates on different levels from freshman through seniors.

The results of their GPA by the athletes was a 3.01 which was slightly lower than the GPA (3.17) of all undergraduate students attending the institution. This proves that there are certain stigmas that limit the success of student-athletes. This stereotype has even invaded the mind set of coaches and practitioners who often encourage athletes to choose what they believe to be non-challenging courses.

As a result, student-athletes are largely underrepresented in the Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM) program. According to the article, Undergraduate Experiences of Division I Athlete Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Graduates, “academic support centers steer Division I athletes into athlete-friendly majors or academic paths of least resistance in order to maintain their National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletic eligibility” (Comeaux, 1). This is another obstacle that athletes have to face. It is relevant because it shows how the institution and society can limit the full potential of a student’s education and their opportunity to succeed academically. Furthermore, the obstacles that student-athletes face are more than just stereotypes. There are many barriers student-athletes face academically, including previous educational backgrounds and cultural tendencies.

Many of the students attending Division I schools came from different environments, as a result the transition into the new type of academic environment can be difficult. To help ease the transition, Academic Services for Student Athletes (ASSA) has provided athletes with the opportunity to receive assistant in the form of tutoring. To get a closer look at this, I decided to interview one of the student-athlete tutor who works at the University of Central Florida. Libby Kofman, a tutor who helps with writing has noticed many of these obstacles during tutoring session. According to Kofman, “many student-athletes come to UCF without the pervious academic experience needed in order to succeed. It is not that there are incapable, rather they are just unfamiliar with this type of academic structure.” Kofman notes that these issues are more than just pervious high school experience.

For many of the athletes she tutors, English is not the first language, making it even more difficult for some athletes to comprehend material. According to Kofman, “it is a really difficult adjustment for student-athletes and a huge time commitment especially considering all the time they must dedicate to their sports.” What many people do not realize is that playing a collegiate sport is like having a part-time job.

For many student-athletes a day can start off with early lifts, then probably a team breakfast, then those who have class and tutors are rushing to make those appointments. After their classes comes a 2-3-hour long practice. Then comes the mandatory treatment and cold tub, a form of mandatory treatment required after every practice. Again after treatment, some athletes rush to make it to their evening classes and still have to make time to get a nutritious meal to fuel the bodies after long intensive practices.

For many student-athletes finding a time to cook a well-balanced meal is nearly impossible. As a result, student-athletes spend more time and money on eating out due to their busy schedule. This can be a bad thing because quick convenient food is not always the healthiest option and can be detrimental to the health of student-athletes. For some student-athletes there is only one free day a week. It is essential that student-athletes spend this time sleeping and resting. However, this is not often the case for these busy students. Many student-athletes spend this time catching up on their missed school assignments and attending tutor sessions. With so much on the athletes’ plates with school, practices, travel and competitions, many student athletes do not find sufficient time for rest.

Sleep is important not just for student-athletes but for everyone. There is a reason why sleep is needed. Without sleep, the mind and body may not function while awake. According to an article by NCAA, “Sleep is not a passive state of rest, but an active state of rebuilding, repair, reorganization and regeneration.” (NCAA,1). Many student-athletes do not get the adequate amount of sleep that is required.

This is important for many student-athletes because sleep can lead to a better performance both academically and athletically. If there is lack of sleep, it puts a toll on the body and mind. An American College Health Association survey found that on average, most student-athletes report four nights of insufficient sleep per week. This is largely due to the timing of practices, travel and competition.

Joslyn Massey, a 5th year senior and an engineering major on the UCF women’s basketball team was able to provide insight into the huge time commitment that accompanies being a student-athlete. When asked how many hours of athletic related activities she put in a week, she answered, “In season we put in around 30 hours a week. This includes practices, weights, film seasons, extra workouts/shooting, meetings, and games.” Many of these games and practices take place on the weekdays and weekends which can make it difficult for student-athletes to balance their sports and academics. With missing so many class days due to travelling, student-athletes have to plan ahead just to get their work done. With travelling so much during the season, it can be very hard to stay Intune with the class and what is being taught. It is the student-athlete responsibility to make up any work they missed while on the road, which can build up for many student-athletes, especially for Joslyn.

As an engineering major, she has to struggle to keep with her extremely difficult courses such as, Calculus 1-3, Solid Mechanics, and Structures and Properties of Materials. It is difficult for her to balance her intensive classes with her sport. According to Massey, a typical school day can be extremely tiring. She has to wake up early for 6am weights three times a week. Then after weights she has to attend her morning lectures while rushing to get bite to eat. At 12:30pm she is expected to be at practice till 3:30pm. Here she will have to remember the different plays and work on some skill work.

After long hours of practice, she has to attend tutor session then head over to her evening class. Since she is also an active member on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) she has to attend meetings after her long class days. With all of her busy schedule, she will still have to find time to eat her meals, so she can prepare her body for the next hectic day. Massey has some professors who are strict on making up assignments, quizzes, and exams. In the case she receives a 0 on an assignment, she will have to play catch up when she comes back from competition.

As a result, Massey tries to plan ahead for her test days. She knows when she comes back she has to schedule a day to retake the test. This act of creating a schedule in advance is also a time commitment that can be difficult to maintain. As season goes on, the schedule may become even more rigorous.

For example, college athletes may have a game on Tuesday night, then practice on Wednesday afternoon, then a test in class on Thursday and then another game later in that evening. Some athletes may have to miss that class and that test on game day due to shoot around during their class times. This can build plenty of stress within an athlete because of so much extra late nights studying that they may have to do.

They are behind on the lessons and have to catch up on their own, which can be challenging at times because they are not in class to hear the lectures. It is difficult to be an engineering major without having to worry about playing a sport, so with her playing a sport that last most of the school year and an engineering major she struggles to get past the school year. College athletes are prone to high risk injuries.

There is no telling with any sports when there will be an injury. A chance of injuries does come with any sports you play whether it is football, basketball, soccer, baseball, softball, rowing, tennis, etc.… athletes and trainers try their best to prevent injuries from happening, but there is a saying that anything can happen at any time. The longer and harder an athlete play, the more they put themselves at risk for long-term injuries. With an injury, it causes an athlete to have to spend more time with their trainer doing physical therapy which can take up most of your day on top with everything else. Athletes try not to get injured because it is a setback for them physically. I read an article titled, ‘College Athletes Putting Themselves at Risk for Long-term …’ According to Dr. Tonino, “former athletes reported worse physical function, depression, fatigue, sleep disturbances and pain interference than non-athletes.” Those athletes who push themselves to the extreme are the ones who are prone to long-term effects.

Concussions are one of the top injuries also with broken bones, torn ligaments, etc.… This may cause problems for young athletes later on in their lives. As a young athlete, I’ve encountered some injuries that as affected the way I walk. Also as a young athlete, I am diagnosed with arthritis in my left knee, already as a young adult! For many student-athletes a bad injury can severely alter their lives. This can be seen in the example of Francesca Fischer, a young lady on the UCF women’s soccer team who had one more year left of eligibility to play soccer. Unfortunately, she was medically released due to a sufficient amount of concussions she received over the years. Fortunately for her, she was able to become an undergraduate assistant for the Women’s soccer team instead of completely losing her scholarship.

Nevertheless, this was a blow to her athletic career and Fischer expresses disappointment as she watches her teammates play the sport that she loves. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “among women’s sports, soccer accounted for the highest estimated number of injuries per year (15,113), and the highest competition injury rate” (CDC, 1). Fischer is just one of the many student-athletes to experience a long-term injury. As a Women’s basketball player, I am experiencing arthritis in my knees as a result from an ACL injury playing basketball. This is a common injury for athletes who play contact sports. These injuries can sideline players for months, threating their positions on the team and future opportunity for professional play.

Even players who do not feel pain or injury while playing are prone to experience it later on in their lives. With all the academic and athletic areas that student-athletes struggle to balance, there is almost no time for a healthy social life. Student-athlete should also have a time for a social life, with all the stress that they receive, sometimes just hanging out with friends and unwind can be a difference in their lives. With that being said there are some school held activities that athletes have to miss due to their travelling, practice and competitions.

For example, my commitment to the women’s basketball team has forced me to miss out on the biggest tradition at UCF: Sprit Splash. Spirit splash is a tradition and is an essential part of being a UCF student, it is also an event that many athletes simply do not get to experience. This lack of inclusion further isolate student-athletes making them feel excluded. Furthermore, being a collegiate athlete in a division I team leaves little time for partying or doing the things that traditional college students are able to do on a daily basis.

This includes going to clubs, and just having the time to relax and talk with friends. Having a social life is important for all students, including student-athletes. Moreover, student-athletes come under scrutiny for partying more than an average student would. This is because student-athletes are expected to make sure their bodies are healthy and in shape in order to play and to stay eligible for their sports. Family time is also reduced while being a student athlete.

Becoming a student-athlete requires sacrifice. UCF football player, Tristan Reaves, expresses his unhappiness over not being able to spend as much time with his mama as he likes due to his football schedule. When asked what were three things he felt like he missed out on because of his student-athlete status, he responded by saying, “It’s a big time commitment, we had a bowl game after Christmas, so I was not able to see my mama. In fact, I have to miss out of many of the fall and winter holidays. I’ve also missed out on a couple of school held activities that I wanted to attend but couldn’t because of practices or games.”

Reaves is not the only athlete who have missed out on school held activities due to practices and competitions. Missing family events like birthdays, weddings, baby showers, birth of a baby, etc.… are all things that student-athletes may have to miss because of their commitment. Depending on the coaches, there are a few who allow them to go home for a certain holiday break if it do not interfere with the playing schedule. This lack of family time can be especially difficult for student-athletes who are from foreign countries. According to the NCAA, “more than 17,000 international student-athletes studying and competing at NCAA member institutions” (NCAA,1).

These students struggle to adapt to life alone in a new country on top of all the other obstacles that student-athletes face. Many of them also, struggle to learn English as for many of them it is not their first language. According to Kaufman, language barriers can add extra hurdles to international athletes. “I tutor a student from Ghana and from South China, they’re both very smart and capable but must dedicate more time to school in order to stay eligible.” Not only is there stereotype and pressures coming from professors, but also non-athletes are trying to peer pressure the athletes into doing things that is not right.

There is also some stereotyping with students on campus. Some students just assume that student-athletes are lazy and will not do any work if there was a group work assigned. In an article called, Studying Is Lame When He Got Game by Czopp, Alexander, it discussed about the “positive stereotypes” and how it can have some negative impact on student-athletes. For example, “Male participants who personally endorsed positive racial stereotypes discouraged the Black student (but not the White student) from academic-related goals and behaviors.” (Czopp,2) there will always be that one friend who is negative in life, and do not care about the important in life. Student-athletes have to handle the pressure coming from their coaches, professors, and now their peers that surrounds them. In life you have to choose the right friends who will send you positive vibes and be there for you no matter what. Those are the types of friends who realize what you have to do as a Division I athlete and will not tempt you to do anything you do not want to do because they know that any dumb decisions made can cause that athlete to lose their opportunity. Those are the ones that will look out for you and not put them down.

There are some friends like that who are not selfish but supportive in the things their friends do, surrounding those athletes with those types of friends can make their lives a little much easier, because they do not need to worry about any judgment or pressure coming their way. Just like non-athletes, student-athletes have their own personnel issues as well. There are many factors that plays a role in a student-athlete well-being.

In an article called A Systems Approach to Understanding and Counseling College Student-Athletes it presents types of systems that can be effective to student-athletes that are going through so much. College athletes also have additional stresses that can affect their “cognitive, social, moral, educational, and psychosocial development”. For example, “student-athlete’s success in college and their emotional well-being are linked intimately with success in their sport” (Fletcher, 4). With a load of different stress, it can affect the way an athlete performs academically and athletically.