College Athletics & Academics

Being a collegiate athlete is hard. It's hard at any level, JC, NAIA, D3, D2, D1. Most athletes are working out at 5 am multiple times a week on top of practicing for upwards of three hours a day, 6 days a week. This doesn't include the individual training each athlete does outside of practice, mental and physical. In season, teams play up to 60 games, many of them requiring them to travel. Like I said, being a collegiate athlete is hard, but it's not impossible. The hard part is doing it well. I'm not here to talk about athletic performance, I'm here to talk about what seems to be deemed less important by many involved in college athletics, academics. For some reason, many athletes, coaches, and even universities don't put education first. It's about your performance on the field, not in the classroom, all that matters is that you're eligible. It doesn't matter if you're on track to graduate, or if you're thriving or passionate about your major. But when it comes down to it, it's up to the athlete to decide what they want to get out of their college education. Roughly 2% of college athletes are able to play professionally after college. The other 98% have to learn how to be a part of the "real world", and that might be hard. Athletes spend their whole lives training for their sport, how are they supposed to just be thrown into the "real world?" There are many great lessons you can learn from sports that can apply to life outside of athletics, the trick is to actually apply them. Taking advantage of early registration, the times you're in class, and the opportunities you are given through your university is so important as a student-athlete. I can promise that any athlete that puts half as much passion and effort into their career, as they did their sport, will find success in any field they pursue. 
 (Colossians 3:17) "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

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