Blog post #11 - Monday,March 9th, 2020

Being a student athlete isn’t as glamorous as it seems. Don’t get me wrong, there are numerous perks and benefits. However, you must be mentally strong and resilient in order to balance everything or you’ll literally explode. I remember my first year at Queens. It was like something I’d never experienced before; a new environment with a whole new group of people.

Growing up and playing football, I’d never thought it take me anywhere – and yet I ended up in one of the most prestigious universities with one of the most amazing, traditional and pronounced football programs in Canada… Anyway, my point is, all these accolades contributed to the anxiety and pressure I was facing to succeed academically and athletically. I remember the first weekend after classes, I literally sat in my bed and cried… yikes, looks like things weren’t going to be as easy as I thought. During the season, we have anywhere from 30 to 40 hours of football – from the 6 am lifts, practices, film, recovery sessions, etc. That’s a full-time job plus overtime.

On the academic side of things, taking a full course load means early mornings, straight from class to practice, late nights, REPEAT. The struggle is definitely real. Nevertheless, these obstacles teach us so many skills that prepare us for the real world and more difficult situations – this adversity builds character. To combat this adversity, we must have great time management skills, learn how to be extremely efficient with everything we do and know how to multitask and compartmentalize – decipher what is important and what is not, because essentially if it isn’t benefiting you, it’s likely hurting you.

With all that being said, being a student athlete might be one of the most important factors that has contributed to my growth and character development. It allows us to explore different opportunities, build great relationships, develop new skills, and learn more about ourselves than we ever knew. There’s definitely a method to the madness.