My Monthly Sports Minute: Develop as a Student, an Athlete & a Person

Me: “What’s something you have never seen?”

Nobody: “A student-athlete with free time.”

It’s no secret that being a student-athlete requires a tremendous commitment of time and energy. As a former student-athlete, a former student-athlete learning specialist, and a current faculty athletic representative (FAR), I’ve experienced and helped student-athletes with challenges such as time management, academic readiness, and motivation, to name a few.

I still remember my first official day on campus as a student-athlete. I scrambled to do what all of the other first-year students were doing — running to the student center to get my campus ID, then running to an advising meeting to get a class schedule, and trying to move into my dorm. Some aspects of my first day were typical of many first-year students, but unlike my peers, I had the added itinerary of getting a physical, meeting the equipment staff to get issued official workout gear, and having my first workout. I also had a host of other athletic-related activities, which I was required to fulfill within the same 24-hour day as all other first-year students.

The need to split and manage time between obligations as a student and athlete can be challenging even with supports provided by universities. For me, it never felt like there was enough time to do anything beyond the necessities. While this is a common feeling among student-athletes, 2020 — with all of its difficulty — has presented a unique opportunity for change.

The regimented in season and out of season schedules that student-athletes have been conditioned to live by have been turned upside down by the uncertainty of the pandemic. Not being able to compete for championships in a traditional way, has created the opportunity for student-athletes to explore their campus and community on their own terms, not just through athletic department programming. For many student-athletes, their collegiate experience is a time for them to develop not just as students and athletes, but also as young men and women. Oftentimes, if it is not an academic or sport-related task, then there is little time for student-athletes to explore other areas that support their development as people. The below list contains a few places on campus and in the community that student-athletes can visit during the pandemic to develop, not just as a student or an athlete but as a whole person.

— Morris Council III, PhD