Life as an D1 athlete
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The life of a D1 athlete is one of the hardest things to get used to. Many of my peers think that since I get to miss class for meets and because some of my education is paid for because of my position on the team; that life is easy for me. What they don’t see is what goes on behind the scenes. The purpose of this post is to shed some light on what goes on and hopefully change the view of those who think life is a breeze for us athletes. What people on the outside looking into D1 athletics seem not to see is the major time and commitment we give to our specific sporting events. There is weekly team meetings, academic meetings, class and practice. I hear all the time people say, “all you have to do is practice, whats so hard about that?” The problem with this view is my peers don’t understand what all goes on in these so-called practices. They speak of them as a time were the team and I just get together and talk all day. My Coach always tells that the track meet is the easy part. The meet is where you show off all your work. Practice is the hard part. Practice is where your pushed and prodded until you can perform at the highest level possible. I don’t know a lot of people who can be “pushed” and “prodded” for three to four hours a day. Dont get me wrong I love my sport and I love to compete but to hear people say that I have it easy really annoys me. I don’t know a lot of people who can start practicing full-out from six to nine and then go to a class at ten. I don’t know a lot of people who have time management skills at such a high level that their able to manage sports, school and still attempt a social life. For all of those who say that D1 athletes have it easy, I say this, walk a mile in our shoes and then try judging us again.
