One of our social media interns, Maddy, wrote a lovely piece about her experiences being a student-athlete here at Holy Cross, and I thought I’d share it below:
Balancing academics and athletics and college can absolutely be a challenge! As a junior on the Women’s Varsity Lacrosse team here at Holy Cross, I have learned the ins and outs of time management skills and am here to let you know how you can make it work.
First, if you’re coming to Holy Cross and have completed four years of high school successfully with your sport you likely have some time management skills already. Once in college, you will learn to develop them further. Specifically, you will learn about prioritizing. Inevitably with a packed schedule of academics and athletics, you won’t be able to do EVERYTHING you need to get done in just one day! I recommend investing in a planner, a notebook, or post-its and mastering the art of a to-do list. Set this list up by due dates and what is most important to you!
Next, you’ll need to learn about sacrifice. In high school, it’s generally pretty easy to manage a full load with academics, athletics, extra-curricular events, and a social life. If you want to have all of those in college and continue to sleep you’re likely going to need to sacrifice some things. As a Holy Cross student-athlete, it is likely that your extra-curricular activities or social life load may need to be lightened. My best advice is to join one or two things that interest you the most and give all you can to them. There is nothing worse than committing to an activity or club and not being able to give it your full attention. By selecting what is most important to you, you won’t overload your schedule and you will be able to get the most out of your commitments.
Finally, as mentioned, you may need to make some sacrifices when it comes to your friends and fun. Let me be clear, I have so much fun at Holy Cross and hang out with my friends all the time as a student-athlete. There are nights, however, where I am in the library and my friends are watching a movie or going out. This will happen to you. My best advice is to not let the “FOMO-Fear of Missing Out” get to you. It’s just one night or one event of many that you will have in college. One night isn’t worth letting your grades or athletic performance suffer, trust me.
Balancing school and athletics and everything else is a skill, but you can figure it out! Luckily you have a team filled with upperclassmen who have been there and know exactly what you’re going through. You have coaches who went through the same thing and came out successful as well. Look to them and ask for help if you think you’re getting overwhelmed. It can seem scary at first, but every Crusader is up for the challenge!
(images provided by Maddy Smith)
