The life of a student-athlete is chaotic and is heavily influenced by routines, and when careers end, it can be hard to take the athlete part out of their routines.
When a college athlete is no longer playing their sport, it’s not an easy adjustment. For the better part of their lives, student athletes don’t know anything other than their teammates, practices, weights and games. They know they have to take care of their grades to stay on the court or field for their sport, but how do they transition to being just a student for one of the first times in their life?
“This transition has taught me that intentionality is key,” CMU women’s soccer senior midfielder Ryanne Parker said. “I am thankful for the ability to still meet up with the girls outside of a competitive environment whether that is to have dinner, do homework together, or adventure up the Mesa. I look forward to continuing to strengthen those friendships that the sport has brought me.”
Parker’s CMU career, along with four other seniors from the women’s soccer team, was called to a halt after their senior season ended in the last couple of weeks.
The transition to being just a student can be difficult because they go from having to find time to do homework, to having more free time than they’ve ever had. Athletes make friendships with new people every season, but after the season, teammates find ways to stay connected with some of their best friends. The transition to being just a student doesn’t necessarily mean that playing the sport that one loves or being an athlete must stop all together.
“Sometimes a few players from the men’s and women’s teams will find the time and all meet up and kick the ball around, but it’s not as serious, its more shooting and fun-spirited,” CMU women’s soccer senior midfielder Alexis Allard said.
Sports are a way to relieve stress but in college, sports become a job and less of a way to relieve stress that is accumulated through school and life in general. When one’s collegiate career ends, sports can become a way out again, and once their final season ends, the pressures that were once placed on oneself disappear and school becomes the immediate priority again.
“Being a student-athlete can become very exhausting and doing it for 4 years has been a huge commitment that has helped me grow,” CMU men’s soccer senior forward Kevin Chavez said. “It feels good to be going back to just a student and having time to work and focus on the priority which is school.”
School is always the priority for an athlete because it is how they stay on the field, but after the season, athletes finally have the time that most students do. Athletes have the time to do their homework and after the exhausting four years of being a collegiate athlete, they are looking to focus back on school so they can graduate on time.
“The transition of going from a varsity athlete at the collegiate level to just being a student has had its ups and downs. It has only been a couple of weeks since our senior game, so I don’t have it all figured out by any means,” Parker said. “However, I have confidence that this is simply just a season of life that is temporary. Knowing this has allowed me to enjoy the days and moments more than I think I would if I solely focused on the fact that competing on a team is no longer taking up most of my time anymore.”
After their collegiate careers, some athletes attempt to pursue a professional career, we saw Jack Griffin from the men’s lacrosse team and Jaylyn Duran from the women’s basketball team attempted to have professional careers. Allard is going to try to make the leap to continue her athletic career in the pros.
“After college I plan on going to Graduate school for Health Performance/Kinesiology and pursue a career in athletics. If soccer is in the books for me, I would love to extend my athletic career as long as possible,” Allard said.
