Life of a Student Athlete
By: Dylan McHale
Imagine a job where you work from 5 am to 9:30 pm, six days a week and there is no pay. Would you take that job? Of course, you wouldn’t but would you call me crazy if I said hundreds of thousands of people across America take this job every year? The job I am referring to is the job of a collegiate football player. Each year throughout the country there are thousands of high school football players who commit themselves to a collegiate sport whether on scholarship or for the love of the game. The life of a student athlete is no easy task and comes with a lot of challenges people may not realize. It also comes with life changing experiences whether they be good or bad. I interviewed a friend of mine Cam Gavin, a former Division II football player at Winona State, to find out first-hand what the life of a student athlete can be like. The three main points I want to emphasize are that these players have many underlying struggles that they are constantly faced with but nobody talks about it, their commitment comes from their passion for the game, and the importance a scholarship has on players.
College football players have one of the busiest work schedules in America and it is hard to debate. They are asked to work, on average, 14 hours a day during their season. This includes doing their school work and attending classes, while they aren’t doing that they are at the football facilities doing whatever their coaches ask of them. As a current college student, I find it challenging for myself at times to balance out my schedule with school, friends, family etc. and I know I have more time in my day than these players do. This is why I commend them so much. They have such a tough schedule but find a way to get through it. When I interviewed my friend Cam Gavin, I had asked him what his biggest challenges were during his four years as a collegiate football player, Gavin had this to say, “Time management. It’s hard to balance all these aspects of your life at once but once you get comfortable with that, it becomes easier. Also, money is always a concern because we don’t have much time to earn it ourselves so we rely on our parents which some players can’t do unfortunately”. With such a heavy work-load I was not shocked by the first part of his answer. It takes time to develop a system or routine to keep yourself on track.
Unfortunately, not all players can get this aspect together resulting in slipping grades. For players on scholarship, if they cannot figure out time management and the importance of balancing school and football, they then run the risk of losing their scholarship and potentially a chance for a college education. Since their schedules are so packed, the second half of his response makes a lot of sense. These guys do not have the time for a job which means they have no way to earn money, resulting in extra stress and anxiety. Without money, how do you live? This is the question some players ask themselves daily but can’t do anything about it, this is a problem that the NCAA needs to solve.
To some of us football or any other sport is just a game, but to others it means way more than that. For some people a sport may be all they have whether they live in a troublesome neighborhood and it is their way out or maybe it is the only thing they are truly passionate about. Whatever the rhyme or reason, sports can be a life changer. When I asked Gavin why he was so passionate about football he told me, “It is something that does not come easy, you have to earn your time and put in countless hours of work so the payoff is very rewarding. Also, it is like a home away from home, your teammates become family and for some people we are the only family they got”. I feel like many players would feel the same as Gavin. Yes, some people are naturally gifted but that does not mean that they do not have to put in the effort. There is something about working hard, overcoming challenges and seeing results that makes you feel accomplished. I like how he touched about the family aspect of being a part of a team too. This is a point that is mostly hidden from people on the outside. For some players, their home lives are not the best and they prefer to stay at school and with the team. Staying on the team for these guys means everything which is another huge motivator for players to continue to play. They don’t care about the money, they just want to feel wanted and a part of something but not many people see this. There are players whose lives would be nothing without the love of a game.
Lastly, to get an athletic scholarship you have to earn it. These are one of the hardest scholarships to attain and for good reason. Like many other scholarships, you are competing with the best of the best so if you want to be at the top you must work to get there. For some, not getting the scholarship is not the end of the world because they can still afford school, but this is not always the case. For others, an athletic scholarship is that person’s only chance at a higher education, it means everything. Every year there is a certain percentage of athletes who are gifted enough to receive a part in the 3.6 billion dollars of the NCAA’s scholarship money they give out each year. For the remainder of the players, they pay full tuition/room and board and are faced with the challenge of fighting for a roster spot and hopefully a scholarship one day. I asked Gavin if he thought athletic scholarships changed players lives and he said,” Yes, receiving an athletic scholarship allows so many people across the nation to have a chance to receive an education that they could not afford without. It allows for student athletes to be more motivated in their success”. Although athletic scholarships may only help out a small percentage of student athletes, they help out in ways unimaginable for some. Growing up a person may think they will never go to college because it has not been done before in their family, neighborhood, or it’s just not affordable but a sport becomes their saving grace. These scholarships become motivation because their futures depend on it. As for those without a scholarship, taking on student loans, etc have a tougher challenge to face but not all hope is lost. There are chances at partial scholarships or earning a full-ride by showing your coaches and team that you are motivated and 110% committed to the team but this might take time. By having this motivation results in student athletes’ success as well as stress or fear because they are working so hard to retain what they have earned and cannot afford to lose it.
Works Cited for Photos
https://www.ncsasports.org/blog/2017/10/03/day-life-division-football-player/
https://www.winonapost.com/Article/ArticleID/65935/Warriors-victorious-at-seasons-start
