#studentathleteproblems

There’s a group of students on campus that wake up to the buzz of an alarm clock just hours after most of the student population has gone to bed.

You may think of them as the ‘dumb jocks,’ think they have nothing to offer but some athleticism, may only see them strolling into class a few minutes late, and may only hear from them when they need the notes from the last three classes that they missed.

If you’re not one of them, you know who they are, and if you are one of them, that paragraph above was sure to get you heated.

They are your student-athletes.

There’s something you need to know though, because to the general student body- there are things you don’t see.

Those ‘dumb jocks’ spend the majority of their time training their bodies, and when they’re not, they are studying, getting caught up on classes and teaching themselves new material. You haven’t seen them in class for the past week because they’ve been in and out of hotel rooms, traveling and competing to represent their school well. They are doing homework on the bus on the way to competitions, staying up late on the road to finish online exams, attempting to balance what normal college students do alone, but instead they do it while holding a full time job. You see them strolling into class late because they’ve been at practice and in the weight room since before you even thought about getting up and you can forget about having time to actually eat or even shower, you see, the thing is, they’ve already put in a full day’s work before they even pick up their books to start a full day of classes.

Try missing the majority of your classes while still maintaining a 3.0 GPA (many are even higher) and putting in over 40 hours of hard physical labor. every. single. week.

If the student-athletes could bet on it (which they can’t due to NCAA rules, but that’s another topic), we’d bet you wouldn’t make it day without wanting to curl up in bed by noon.

So when you ‘just can’t’ make it to class on a Friday morning after spending your FASFA money on thirsty thursday drinks and then are quick to judge the athletes who may roll in a few minutes late after hours of training, think again.

These are the students who were up just after you went to bed, who’s bodies hurt much worse daily than yours likely ever will, who are struggling to find enough time for school and sport, that are in class, focused and learning, when you ‘just can’t’.

They are focused, competitive, and gaining life skills on and off the field that will likely make them more attractive on the job market than you.

They wish they had time to sit around and get to know you, they don’t mean to be hostile, and they really wish that they didn't have to use you for your notes, but the unfortunate fact of this population is that they simply don’t have much time to spare, can’t study with you in library because they are too busy hustling to get to practice, or attempting to complete their mandatory study hours in their athlete designated study area.

This group of students work hard day in a day out to represent the University that you love so dearly, just so you can enjoy a day full of tailgating or share in the excitement of a run at the playoffs.

So next time you see them strolling into class a few minutes late, remember that there are things that you just don’t see.

They are working hard at their full time job and as a full time student.

Think twice before labeling you student-athletes as ‘dumb jocks.’

Everyone (including me) was like....