Being a student-athlete can be a big responsibility. Staying on top of schoolwork while performing at the highest level possible for your teammates is a full-time job, but you don’t have to do it alone. I used to struggle to balance being a student with being an athlete, but there are some things I figured out that helped me be both at the same time. These are the top five things that I have learned through my five years of being a student-athlete that have helped me excel in the classroom and on the court.
1. Start Assignments Early
This may seem like a no-brainer and something that is said a lot, but seriously, start early. Through most of my collegiate career I chose to wait until the day before an assignment to even open it to start working. As one would expect, I endured many hours of strenuous work and late nights that I could have easily avoided by just starting the assignment earlier. I have found that by just starting an assignment the day it is assigned, I am able to take a day or two and think about how to complete it. Boom. Making schoolwork easier on yourself is essential with the practice, game, and travel schedule of a student-athlete.
2. Build Relationships
Talking to people has helped me greatly in my years as a collegiate student-athlete. Whether it be my classmates, professors, teammates or coaches, there is likely someone that can help you with balancing these responsibilities. A large majority of students at the University of Mobile are student-athletes as well and, in my experience, they are willing to help you if you are willing to help them. Professors are very understanding of sports obligations and will work with you to make sure you are able to complete your classwork if you communicate with them ahead of time.
In my time at the University of Mobile, I have found that taking time to develop relationships with my professors through office hour visits and casual conversation has helped me to retain information from classes and gain a more personalized education experience.
3. Time Management
This is another one that a lot of people harp on, especially to student-athletes. However, I can confirm that time management is the absolute key to balancing sports and academics. It may be a bummer having to miss out on some extracurricular activities every now and again, but if you manage your time wisely, you will be able to enjoy yourself as well. I found that setting goals for myself for days and weeks motivated me to manage my time in a way that allowed me to both complete my assignments, but also to have them done by Friday so I am still able to enjoy my weekends. I have also found that arriving at practice 30 minutes early to stretch and get ready for practice has allowed me to avoid a lot of pain and soreness that I used to experience in my earlier college years. Of course, there are sacrifices that must be made, there are only 24 hours in a day, but by setting goals and priorities it becomes clear how the time that you have available should be spent in order to achieve your goals of being a successful student-athlete.
4. Be Active
I realize that taking more time out of your already busy sports schedule for more exercise sounds counterproductive, but I beg to differ. I have typically been very active in the summer months with weightlifting and running, but I have always stopped partaking in these activities as the basketball season approached. My thought process was that I needed to save my energy for the sport that I am playing, and that any other physical activity was a waste of energy. I have since learned that I feel much better physically and mentally when I remain active off the court as the season progresses. There are a lot of other students on campus that like to stay active and there are plenty of intramural activities that are available to everyone. As a freshman, I never thought I would be the one to be outside playing intramural softball with my teammates, but even though we lost every game, it was a blast.
5. Have Fun
The stress of being a collegiate athlete can be immense. The pressure to perform and always handle yourself correctly will steal a lot of joy if you let it. I found that it is very important to have fun as much as you can in order to maintain the mental state required to perform at the highest level possible. The University of Mobile is a place where the students and faculty are very welcoming and polite, which provides many opportunities for student-athletes to develop lifelong friendships. Spend time making memories with your friends, because just as studying and practice developed you into a good student athlete, making memories develops you into a good person. Get out on campus, show support at sporting events, be involved.
You will get out of your college experience what you put into it. So why not put everything you have into it?
Photo by : Tadeáš Manas
Sage McKenna is a member of the University of Mobile Men’s Basketball team. He is pursuing a Bachelor of Accounting and a Master of Business Administration through the 5-year MBA program in the Grace Pilot School of Business. Upon graduation in May 2024, he plans to join the United States Army to become a Green Beret.