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College is hard enough as a NARP, but being a college athlete is like being God on campus. Not only do you have to stress about your season but you have to worry about getting your fifteen-page paper done. It may seem simple for some of you but have you looked at college athletes regular season schedule? And it’s not just the stress of a regular season schedule you also have to add in the offseason schedule. Gym sessions, morning practices, night practices, scrimmages, games, then you add in the school work of a regular student. And if that isn’t worse enough, add in some teams having a dry season. That’s almost four months without a drop of alcohol. Welcome to the struggles of a college athlete.
No Off Season
That’s right, there are no rest days when you are a college athlete. Your regular season ends, and offseason starts. Seven days a week you are in the gym, running sprints, lifting weights, in the cage, passing the ball, working on your weakness to make them a strength, you are always working. There are no vacations when you are a college athlete.
The Constant Need Of A Nap
Napping will become your greatest strength as a college athlete. No matter where you are, you will be able to catch a five-minute nap session. You could be on the bus to a game, on the floor of the locker room, sometimes even standing up. You will start dreaming of taking naps. If you don’t find your soul mate, meet naps, they will never leave you or break your heart.
Tired & Sore All The Time
If you’re a NARP and you see someone limping, waddling, or shuffling, they are obviously an athlete. Athletes will never take the stairs; they are every athlete’s worst nightmare. Elevators and escalators are pure saviors. The pain of sore muscles, bruises, and occasional turf burns will never go away unless you are asleep.
The Bottom-Less Stomach
As an athlete the calories do not add up, they basically don’t count. No athlete is ever full. Their rooms are filled with snacks. They will keep eating even after a regular meal. A college athlete, on average, will have six to seven meals a day. But, who cares? At least they had practice.
Staying At School During Break
There are no vacations as a college student. The school is your new home for the next four years. You won’t be going back home, you are stuck at school, practicing every single day, but at least you are with your team. Sometimes that’s great, but your own bed starts to become a long lost dream.
Bored On Days Off
It’s rare to get a day off, but when you do, it’s like you are in another world. You have no idea what to do. You could get all your homework done for the week, or catch up on some sleep. But, we all know with this much freedom, nothing will get done. The most productive you will be is binge-watching the new popular original Netflix series.
Mixing Sports With Class Schedule
What do you do when you have morning sprints, afternoon gym session, and night practice and still have to finish your five classes and homework? See this is a trick question, there is no answer to this question. You must panic and never sleep.
The Sweats Debate
The morning debate on if you should wear regular clothing or your team gear. You talk to yourself in front of the mirror for a good five minutes and then come to the conclusion that sweatpants are always the go too.
No Standard Sleep Schedule
Because of your class schedule and practice schedule, you end up having five hours of sleep on Monday night while on Thursday you get a good eight hours of sleep. There is never a regular sleep schedule when you are a college athlete. There are some days where you pull all-nighters to get your work done and still make it to your morning training session.
The Student Professor Relationship
There is sometimes a good thing about being a college athlete, most of your professors give you leeway for missing class or missing homework. Sometimes they will even turn your crappy paper into an A because they know you have a bad schedule. But, be careful, sometimes professors will hurt you because you are a college athlete.