Balancing the demands of academics and athletics can be a challenge. Student athletes take on rigorous training with academic responsibilities while still trying to keep up with their social life. 

Student athletes are seen as people who have lots of dedication and discipline, while they juggle the demands of both academics and athletics. 

Being a student athlete usually comes with early mornings containing practices and late nights containing classes. This balancing act requires time management skills and a strong commitment to both academics and their sport.

A key challenge of being a student athlete is maintaining quality grades, while playing a sport there is usually a requirement that you have to maintain  a certain grade to be an active athlete within the sport.

NECC student athletes have experience with this balancing act. But what is it like at a four-year school? 

I got to talk to Nola Bowes, student athlete at University of Rhode Island, “personally I don’t think it is hard to balance education and a sport, for my team we have mandatory study hours each week and so far I have been able to stay caught up on work even with out busy schedule.”

Bowes also, goes into saying she also tries to make free time in the mornings to study and or do homework. 

Being a college athlete it is very important to be able to get in time for assignments and studying, colleges who support mandatory study periods can be a huge benefit for the athletes. 

Students who are worried that they are unable to fit in time, can be less stressed with having mandatory study period.  

Not all have it easy like Bowes, who said it is not a challenge for her. Marvens Pierre Jules, student athlete at Nichols College expressed, “Sometimes it is to much for me balancing everything, especially when the work load gets to be a lot and when practice gets tough, but I always get over it.”

Being a college athlete can be stressful, and have been expressed to be sometimes a lot on the athletes.

Also being a student athlete can put a strain on ones social life, Pierre Jules said on that topic, “I have learned how to manage my time and balance between school and cheer, while sainting a social life and time for other things.”

Being a student athlete can be a lot on one person, but is said to be maintainable. When asked if Bowes regrets playing a sport in college, her response was, “I do not regret playing a sport and think it is a good experience and have been enjoying so far!”

Overall the response to being a student athlete is very positive. 

There are said to be many positive benefits to being a college athlete. 

Starting off at a new school can be difficult, not really knowing anyone. Joing a sport can help ease a way into new connections and friendships.

Bowes explained, “I think playing a sport in college can be positively help your social life and allow you to meet new people.”

Expressing that playing a sport was positively helpful in the social area of school. 

Pierre Jules also had something very similar to say, “I am glad I decided to do cheer to keep me on track and it was an automatic friend group and people to hangout with when I got to campus.”

Overall she said being a student athlete was a huge help with the social interaction part of the college experience. 

Being a student athlete can also build strengths needed for the future, for example someone who is bad at time management and unorganized, being a student athlete can help better those skills. 

Bowes worded it as, “Being a student athlete i’ve learned how to effectively manage my time. I’ve gotten into a routine and have learned what works best for me.”

For Bowes, being a student athlete has positively impacted her and gave her more success! 

She continues to preach student athletes and positive impacts it can have. 

While there are many positive effects and impacts of being a student athlete, there also comes negative effects. While mental health being a big issue within student athletes, there’s a lot of pressure when being on a sports team, while there is also a lot of pressure in academics. It can be draining for some and can lead to anxiety and depression. 

“According to a Duke University article, 30% of student athletes have reported feeling anxious, stressed and mentally exhausted.  Out of that 30%, only 10% of the student athletes seek help,” said oakmonitor. 

When being a student athlete comes mental heath, which can be a struggle for others to express. Why is it hard for a student to express their mental heath concerns, Oakmonitor continues on to say. Schools often look up to their star athletes as heroes, and due to this, athletes may feel the need to stay quiet about their struggles in order to fit the “strong, capable student athlete” stereotype.”.

Being a student athlete can be hard, along the way there may be struggles, but from what has been heard, it’s also very positive.