As the end of the school year is quickly approaching, the time has come to wrap up my blog project. For my final post, I wanted to change things up again and provide you guys with a more fun and personal blog. As many of you know from my past entries, I am a student-athlete at UNI and have one season remaining. Being a panther volleyball player has taught me a lot of lessons, many of which will stick with me forever.
12 Things I've learned as #12 for the UNI Panther Volleyball Team:
1. Sacrifices will be made
Whether it's having to stay in while your non-athlete friends go out on a Thursday because you have a workout the next morning, or if its missing an extra credit opportunity because you have to study before practice. Being a college student athlete has taught me that there will be a lot of things you will have to skip or miss out on, but the opportunities you do get make it all worth while.
2. Nothing compares to the soreness of off-season training
Before I came to college, I had a few instances every now and again where I thought I was "sore". After the first day of my freshman spring conditioning, I felt muscles I didn't even know I HAD sore. Things like walking up the stairs or even sneezing were a struggle. I found myself getting legitimately mad hearing girls in my class complain about how hard their 20 minute ab class was.
3. You will fail.
While many people are afraid of failure, you learn how to deal with it as an athlete. There will be games you lose, exercises you just can't perfect, times you just can't beat. Being an athlete has helped me learn from these failures, and accept them. Everyone will be faced with failure throughout their life and growing from these failures isn't an easy concept for most.
4. Teamwork really does make the dream work
As much as your family, friends, or coaches motivate you, you really can't do it without your teammates. Having your teammates there through the tough times, whether it be a hard workout or by your side in the game, helps you push yourself to new limits. You're around your teammates everyday and they will probably know more about you than you know yourself.
5. Waking up "at the crack of dawn" is normal
Waking up before 6:00 am three times a week was something that took awhile to adjust to. Over the years its definitely gotten easier and I've learned to make the most of it. Having one of our workouts done before most of my classmates are even up for the day is definitely a rewarding feeling when I get to class.
6. A bus seat will become your biggest enemy (especially if you're tall)
During season, it almost feels as if a charter bus is your second home. While we do get to fly to some games, most of our conference matches are within driving distance. Even after all these years of traveling in buses, I still haven't figured out how to sleep comfortably in those seats.
7. Group projects during season will never be a good mix
Going from lifting, to class, to lunch, to practice, to showering, to dinner, you usually have about a 3 hour block each day for any sort of plans with classmates. And that's if you're even in town that day. The day you pick groups in a class at the beginning of the semester, you have one goal in mind: look for the most a) flexible or b) the person that won't get mad if you have to contribute through email.
8. What happens in the locker room, stays in the locker room..
Pretty self explanatory. Some of the most random and funny things I've ever had conversations about have happened behind closed doors in our locker room. Not to mention, our sound system sets the stage for a pretty good dancing environment.
9. Days will get long but the months will fly by
The NCAA limits in-season sports to 4 hours of practice a day, with a maximum of 20 hours a week. You are guaranteed one day off during the week but these days are usually devoted to traveling or homework. Getting up early and studying late at night makes some days seem long, but before you know it months have passed.
10. The years will also fly
I can honestly say these past four years have been the fastest four years of my life. I thankfully get one more season because I red shirt as a freshman but I still can't wrap my mind around being the oldest on the team yet.
11. Family becomes even more important than before
One of the best feelings is being down on the court in the middle of a match, hearing the crowd cheering, and being able to look up in the stands and see your family cheering you on
12. The memories will last forever
I will always remember putting on my #12 panther jersey for the first time, how it felt running out of the tunnel for the first time hearing the crowd cheering, and how it felt getting in my first game, to name a few. Being a college athlete can be a lot of hard work and stress, but the opportunities and memories that come along with it really make it all worth it in the end.
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