When you play a sport in college do you have time for anything else?

I played sports in college, it was demanding and very strict on times. We did have a curfew (during the season) and we did have grade expectations. I also was involved in other things, including a sorority; however, I did have to sacrifice a few events.

It depends on what you want. I wanted the scholarship money and a degree more than parties and formals. I didn’t miss out on things, but I did need to be a bit more focused – for my grades and my sport.

It depends on what level you’re playing at. I played and have friends that played d2 or d3 and it was demanding, but nothing they couldn’t manage while still juggling classes, social lives and occasionally jobs. However, I also know some people that play d1 and they seem to eat, sleep and breathe their sport. What level you want to play at will make a big difference.

It is indeed demanding, but I did notice that the football players always figured out how to work in time to party. Then the coaches started locking them all up in an off-campus motel before games, so that slowed them down some.

Of course, the time you spend with your sport in comparison to the scholarship money you get is often a better return than the time and money involved in work-study. And it sure beats those hefty student loans.

I made the decision to row in college. I had rowed all through high school as well so I was used to managing my schoolwork and being an athlete.

While looking at schools I thought I would be ok at a casual club program or even at a school that didn’t have rowing. The more I thought about it the more I realized that I wanted to be a part of a competitive team. I ended up going to a D1 school and rowed all 4 years. It turned out to be the best thing for me. I wasn’t on scholarship, but that didn’t matter to me. There were many benefits to being an athlete. We registered early for classes (after honors, before the seniors and everyone else) so we always got into the ones we needed. We had academic advisers just for the athletes. There were free tutors, computer labs. They helped us get housing in the on campus dorms and apartments with other athletes. There are NCAA limits to the amount of supervised training you can have per week, so as not to interfere with your studies. I’m not sure what it is for D2 and D3 but it was 20 hours in-season and 8 hours off-season. From an academic standpoint, there is a lot of support. They want you to succeed and they stress that you are a Student-Athlete, not the other way around.

We had plenty of time to do other things. They did tell us when to wake up, but that’s because practice was at 5:30am. We were never told when to go to bed or to go to class, although we were expected to maintain a decent GPA. Many girls on the team had jobs and internships. They were involved in other on-campus clubs and activities. If we went out to party it was mostly in the winter “off-season” and on Saturday nights. Technically we were supposed to be dry, but we were college students.

I wouldn’t say being an athlete took away from my college experience. In fact, I think it made it better for me. I’ll never forget sitting at graduation and a speaker saying “You are Blue” All I could think was that I was extra Blue because I was able to represent my school and wear those colors on the race course. It was one of the best feelings in the world. I feel that I have a stronger bond to the university because of my participation in a varsity sport.

Ultimately it is up to you. If you come from a competitive high school program, you will probably want to continue at that same level in college. My senior year we won States and I had friends from that boat who had gone on to college club programs and were disappointed. You do have to pick the school you like, in case you change your mind about field hockey and want to focus on other things.

Yeah i agree im not a big party animal myself i want to continue what i love doing in college,many people just quit after high school i think thats good that you kept doing the sport you loved ! I hope i do the same,i dont want to miss out on my friends.

I played college softball. I ended up quitting after my first year because I was taking too much time away from my academics. Some people can balance the 2, but don’t let love of sports bring down your GPA. You can always play recreational instead of on the college team. When you graduate and go to get a job (unless you want a sports related job) they are not going to look at you W-L record. That is why i quit, i was thinking more long term, and i accomplished my goal.

So it all depends on you. I’d say give it a try, but don’t feel bad if it is too overwhelming for you. Sports should be fun, not a chore.