Playing Varsity Sports

Students who are into their sports and who play competitively no doubt have a cutting edge over others in terms of physical health which likely translates into better mental health, but they also have the added pressure of additional commitments. This at a time when they are likely run off their feet anyway with juggling exams, essays, term papers, research papers and so forth. To make matters worse these athletes are often on a scholarship which requires them to maintain certain rankings or performance ratings in order to be considered for funding again the following year. Talk about pressure!

According the Online Journal of Sports Psychology many athletes report an inability to sleep, tension, fatigue, headaches and digestive problems. These are all indicators of the additional stress that athletes have to cope with day to day. Many students also reported that their stress is directly related to academic pressure. According to the journal, 95% of male athletes and 86% of female athletes worried about exams and preparing for class papers. This is normal for most students but for athletes there is the added burden of having to make up missed assignments and catch up on class work due to sporting commitments.

For varsity athletes to excel academically they must find ways to alleviate the stress without jeopardizing their time, sporting commitments or grades. For these people it is doubly important to schedule and plan assignments weeks ahead of time. Finding other people on the same team and in the same classes can be useful for catching up together and organizing assignments in advance. This can be achieved by breaking the work into parts, so that each person is responsible for studying and providing different aspects of a project. While there are alternatives for easing the stress of academic papers, there isn’t really any way around exams but to find the time to study.

Related Links and Resources

• Academics and Athletics – Balancing your athletic and academic responsibilities
• College athletes studies guided toward ‘major in eligibility’ – usatoday.com

Recommended Books

• The College Athlete’s Guide to Academic Success: Tips from Peers and Profs
• Student-Athlete Success: Meeting the Challenges of College Life
• Get Paid to Play: Every Student Athlete’s Guide to Over $1 Million in College Scholarships…