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The Pros and Cons of Being a Student Athlete: Balancing Academics and Athletics

Student Life

December 18, 2024

Being a student athlete is no joke. From balancing study and sports to maintaining a good relationship with people around us. It's almost impossible to get time for ourselves.

Struggling from time management to handling stress, student athletes have their hands full. A student-athlete pushes themself everyday so they can be the best version and prove themselves to the people who always said that they would not be able manage it. With so much going on sometimes, being disappointed in yourself is not far away. There are plenty of highs and lows a student-athlete faces.

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Stress

Yes, it's a student's choice to participate in sports, but they don't get the support for the amount stress they handle. Traveling for games far away results in a imbalance of schedule which severely intefere with your academics as well. This stress only increases as you continue playing.

At some point, parents start telling us how academics are much more important than sports as playing a sport is not going to get us anywhere. This is very upsetting as you are giving your best despite being exhausted. Whether it's the stress of performing out on the field or getting good grades, a student-athlete's has a lot on their plate.

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Support

The one thing a student athlete desperately craves is support most importantly from their parents. After a long day of practice and studying, something we don't want to hear when we get home is our parents are telling us that we are not able to balance sports and studies. The most common thing we hear is-"If it's so hard, why dont you just give up." Now, how can we explain to them that its not that simple.

Giving up is not an option no matter how hard it gets. Playing a sport is no just physical activity, the sport is engraved in our heart. The sport teaches us, makes us a better person overall.

Photo by Elio Santos from Unsplash

Endurance: Mental and Physical

Being a student athlete is physically as well as mentally draining. Coaches expect you to perform your best at every game whereas teachers and parents expect good grades. Waking up at 4:30am to rush to practice just to hear your coach say you're not completely pushing yourself is absolutely demotivating.

Afterwards, you attend classes and hear from your teachers that you could do way better. After hearing that you are disappointing everyone's expectations, it's hard to remain motivated. But a student athlete pushes through every challenge, no matter how hard it is.

Photo Credits: Keith Johnston from Unsplash

Rewards

Other than the downsides, being a student athlete is also rewarding. Whether it's about scoring a three pointer in an important match or scoring the winning goal, it makes you feel that every drop of sweat you ever shed was absolutely worth it.

Teammates

If you ask me, this might be the best part of playing sports. They are the ones who you rant to when the coach gives you a hard time, and they make you smile when you win trophies. With all the traveling and practice, it's hard to maintain friendships as most of them are unable to understand how hard it is to take out time for you to talk to them.

But your teammates, despite anything, stick with you. No matter if it's a good game or a bad game, these people love you more than anything. They stand up, defend, and protect you.

Photo by Kenny Eliason from Unsplash

College Applications

Sports teach us many important qualities which develop overall in our personalities. Skills like leadership, teamwork, dedication, perseverance are some important qualities that we obtain as a sportsperson.This qualities reflect when you write your college application.

Photo by Andrew Neel from Unsplash

Anya Sharma
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Writer since Jun, 2024 · 2 published articles

Anya Sharma loves to write and is always eager to share her thoughts. She has varied interests and thoughts which could not be summarized in an article. She is always updated about all the drama and gossip. Also, she is fond of books.

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