Life of a student athlete

Wake up, attend class, eat, practice, do homework, sleep, repeat: this is the life of a student athlete.

Most people only see the finished product of all the hard work and effort put forth by each and every athlete. Each day is busy and stressful trying to complete all of the assignments and studying. The everyday life of the student athlete is beyond challenging. Living this life takes a great ability to balance all of life’s different aspects: academia, performance and a social life, amongst other important responsibilities. Student athletes feel a great sense of pressure on themselves because slipping in schoolwork or performance might be the difference in playing or not.

However, this sense of pressure seems to be beneficial to growing the student in the sense of responsibility and maturity. This also prepares them for life after college, giving them a solid platform for healthy living.

One of the many benefits of the student athlete life is the schedule. Because the schedule is so full and busy, there is a consistent, concrete daily structure built in, and because of this, every moment is productive and not much time is wasted – every minute has a purpose.

Some people may ask why we do what we do. Each and every person has his or her own reason for his or her fight for excellence. We work, sweat, ache, hurt and bleed, not for the chance to woo the fans, but for the opportunity to be great. Each and every athlete has the desire to be great. Even though this life is hard, this life is worth it.

Riley Compton is a junior at Oklahoma Christian University.

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