I am a senior on the Colorado Mesa men’s lacrosse team and after four years of collegiate athletics, I want to explain some of the lesser known sacrifices a student-athlete is forced to make.

Student-athletes are usually easy to point out on your walk to class. Whether it’s the CMU sweatsuit or the team backpacks, it is pretty obvious who plays a sport at CMU. But, to fully understand the student-athlete struggles can be harder than you think. The sacrifices made are not as straightforward as one might assume.

Everyone has their own idea of what it takes to be a student-athlete. Some stereotypes are true, while others are completely inaccurate. People often think athletes get special privileges in the classroom or they are on a full-ride scholarship, but these are simply not realistic.

Scholarships are minimal at this level and a number of kids on my team are walk-ons, so they get nothing. For three years, my scholarship couldn’t cover the cost of one class at CMU.

Being an athlete is hard, but I’ll be the first to admit, it is a choice. We choose to do what we do and I’m not here to ask for sympathy. However, we all know that CMU has horrible student attendance at sporting events. Our most popular sports, football, baseball and volleyball have low attendance for a school with around 11,000 students. A little more school spirit, athletic support and attendance would be fun for everyone.

[media-credit id=113 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]

From the early mornings to the long hours every week, college life is a little different. Free time is hard to come by. I don’t have time to explore or socialize. I don’t have time to go camping or join clubs on campus. Going out to “party” is nearly impossible. Most sports are almost year-round.

In the offseason, I will have practice Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday with three weight sessions sprinkled in between. During the actual season I will only get one day off every seven days. It all adds up to about 20 – 22 hours a week, if you include team meetings. Not to mention that I am exhausted all day. The schedule is rough but somewhat expected at the college level, so us athletes deal.

It’s the other sacrifices that are not so blatant. First, injuries and the training room. We learn to deal with small injuries and being sore all the time, but staying healthy is a job. The average week, I’ll spend about 2-3 hours in the training room. But if I’m injured, I can spend 6-8 hours a week in the training room. Plus, walking to class with two sprained ankles isn’t ideal.

Another sacrifice that is overlooked is nutrition. I don’t get a free meal plan. I will end up spending at least $50 extra on groceries and food each week just to not go hungry. I notice a difference between the summertime when I am not practicing every day and the school year. I am hungry all the time; every hour it seems like. Finding the time to feed myself is tough too. Between weight sessions, class, training room, practice, meeting and homework there is no time to prepare a decent meal.

The classroom isn’t easy on us either. Some teachers will work with athletes, but this is rare. When traveling, I will have to take tests days in advance which means less time to study. Our bus rides can be as long as 16 hours with no wifi, so doing homework on the road is a battle. There have been times when the hotel wifi is broken too, so doing homework and turning in assignments is impossible. During the season, most athletes find it hard to take a full 15 credit hours, which can postpone graduation dates. I will miss days of classes which can be hard to recover from.

[media-credit id=113 align=”alignleft” width=”300″][/media-credit]

There are benefits to being a student-athlete that I did not mention, but I wanted to disclose some of the hidden hardship we endure. I have asked myself a number of times, “why am I doing this?” Wouldn’t it be nice to have a normal college experience? I do it because I love my sport and my team. I know this is a once in a lifetime experience and I am privileged to get this opportunity. I love my team, my coaches and my athletic life, but it doesn’t come easy.