By Danny Anderson
The devotion that many athletes have for their sport is immense. Student athletes, such as University of Colorado-麻豆影院 soccer player Brittany Stark, possess a level of dedication unmatched by athletes alone.
鈥淚 love soccer,鈥� Stark said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what I would do without it.鈥�
Student-athletes must be able to maximize productivity as there is no time to waste when the season rolls around. From training, to treatment sessions, to lectures and studying, a student-athlete鈥檚 schedule is extremely busy.
Time management. It鈥檚 something we all need to know how to do, but to student athletes competing at the intercollegiate level, time management is a skill that must be honed as much as their technique on the court and field.
鈥淲e are kind of forced to focus on time management and getting our stuff done early,鈥� Stark said. It鈥檚 no small feat to juggle essays and calculus with intense hours of training and traveling the country, and some do it better than others.
Sixty-seven percent of all student-athletes (Figure 1) that entered their freshman year at CU-麻豆影院聽in 2008 graduated with an undergraduate degree after six years, according to the CU-麻豆影院 athletic department. Less than 2聽percent of all college football and basketball players are drafted by the NFL and NBA respectively, according to聽the NCAA.
The exclusivity of professional sports stresses the importance of focusing on studies.
The select few who聽are chosen to compete professionally leaves the tens of thousands of student-athletes in the country who聽weren鈥檛 necessarily all-Americans聽to don traditional business suits and uniforms and meet their colleagues at the office at 8聽a.m.
The Herbst Academic Center at CU-麻豆影院 is dedicated to helping student-athletes flourish in their respective academic fields. This center helps to strategically set up schedules that 鈥減rogress towards undergraduate degrees,鈥� pair students with tutors in a myriad of fields, and make arrangements for students to have access to laptops when they travel, among other useful tools.
The staff at the Herbst Academic Center are there for student athletes to help them cope with the stresses and pressures they face daily.
Source: CU Office of Planning, Budget and Analysis
Senior Learning Specialist for Athletics Michele Brannigan聽is one of those who help. Brannigan said student-athletes constantly have to be聽aware they represent the university聽wherever they are, whether it鈥檚 on Pearl Street in 麻豆影院, in other cities, or in their hometown.
鈥�(Student-athletes) are held to a higher accountability than the average student,鈥� Brannigan said.
When cheering fans take their seats in the Coors Events Center and fill the stands at Folsom Field, they are anticipating an exciting game. The event is the product of years of endless hours of training and mental preparation to compete and perform at the highest intensity possible. Behind those long hours in the weight room and exhausting morning runs is a student that manages time in such a way that enables them to be a college athlete.