As a collegiate athlete myself, I also wanted to take the opportunity to use my blog as a platform to connect to friends, family, and fans. A lot of people only see college or professional athletes during games or through sports media, but they don't know what all goes on behind the scenes. For this blog, I'll be taking you through a few of my typical days.
The college volleyball season is typically the entire fall semester of school while off season workouts begin right after winter break and continue up until we start back up in August for the next season. This time of year we are focusing a lot of strength, conditioning, and mental focus to improve our game come fall.
Off-season day- March 5, 2015:
5:35 a.m.- I wake up to my alarm before the sun rises 3 days a week during the spring semester. I go through my daily morning routine before heading to the gym.
6:05 a.m.- For the next 1.5-2 hours the team and I work on a lot of body strength and technique. Our strength coach puts us through a variety of exercises or runs to work our muscles in different ways. These exercises include things like one-legged squats, uneven push-ups, hand-stands, and running stairs.
8:00 a.m.- After the workout, the team and I head to the cold tub to help our muscles recover. We then head back to our locker room to shower and get ready for our day.
9:45 a.m.- Back at home, I usually take some time to eat breakfast and catch up on some social media from the night before. I'll then have the opportunity to take a quick nap. Being an upperclassmen, I've been lucky to have a more flexible schedule that allows me to do this.
10:30 a.m.- I have sectioned off this hour and a half block to study and catch up on homework.
12:00 p.m.- I make myself a quick lunch and pack my bag for the rest of the afternoon
12:30-1:45 p.m.- Accounting class.
1:45 p.m.- From my class, I walk directly to the gym to quickly get ready for our team practice.
2:15-4:15 p.m.- Volleyball practice
4:30 p.m. - I head to the locker room to shower and if I have time, study a little before my class.
5:30 p.m.- 8:15 p.m. - Night class
8:30 p.m.- Back at home, I will make dinner and socialize with my roommates for awhile, update my social media for the day.
10:30 p.m.- I head to bed, as I have another early morning the next day
The days in the off season can get very long but they are rewarding. This time of year its fun to see your team grow together and accomplish things as a whole. Every day brings new challenges and every day is another opportunity to prepare for the upcoming season.
During the fall semester, our schedules are very different than during the off-season. This past fall, I had a busier class schedule and we did a lot of traveling. Below, I'll take you through a typical Friday when we have a home game.
In-season day - A Typical Game Day:
8:00 a.m.- Wake up and do morning routine, eat breakfast
9:00-9:50 a.m. - Marketing class
10:00-10:50 a.m. - Accounting class (You can guess how hard it is to focus in back to back classes on game days!)
11:00 a.m. - noon - Study table (organized time that we turn our phones into the coach's office and strictly study for the amount of time scheduled that day)
12:15 p.m.- Back at home I'll make lunch and just relax for a couple hours.
3:00 p.m.- Start getting ready for the game and pack my bags and head to the gym
4:00 p.m. - Get to the locker room and hang out with teammates, some of us have to get pregame therapy such as ankle taping or stretching exercising in the training room.
5:00 p.m.- Watch film and go over scouting report of the other team
5:30 p.m.- Head to the court for a pre-warm up practice. We some basic things like serving, ball control, and going through each rotation's offense.
6:00 p.m.- Get pumped up for our match in the locker room with music and other routines
6:15 p.m. - Head out to the court to start our official warm-ups as the stands begin to fill with fans.
7:00 p.m. - The first serve marks the start of the match and we play best 3 out of 5
9:00 p.m. - We discuss how the match went, and head back out to talk with fans and family. Our trainers also suggest that we go to the cold tub to recover for another match the following day and then shower
9:30 p.m. - Most of us go out to eat with our parents at a restaurant in town so that we can spend time with our family while they are still in town.
10:30 p.m.- Lights out to get enough rest for Saturday's match.
One of the ways I like to use social media during the season is to promote our games. I have followers on my Twitter and Instagram sites that are UNI Volleyball fans. From classmates, friends, and even younger kids who have attended our games or camps. Instagram and Twitter have helped us players raise awareness about our home matches as well as creating a way to share some of my favorite pictures from out games.
Fantastic article. I always knew u were busy but had i idea! Just think how your team is developing skills to use after College just by having that schedule Staying organized and focused. The dedication u all show to your team is amazing!
ReplyDelete