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ACHIEVING
By Daniel Reyes dreyes@kansan.com
A look at how student athletes juggle games
1923
MAY 25
ABBURY 2 SIMPSON
HOLL ROBERT
(1 - W20)
(2 - L20)
About 500 students at the University of Kansas are here not only to earn a degree, but to do a crimson and blue uniform and compete as student athletes. It might seem daunting to maintain good grades while also maintaining a spot on the team, but many of the lessons players learn in their sports transcend the playing field.
"We try to tell our guys throughout the entire process, it's a lot easier to play with the lead than it is to play from behind," says Belf Self, head coach for men's basketball. "You get off to a good start in your classes, and school is a lot easier than if you get behind and you're playing catch-up the whole semester."
Despite the difficulty, many student athletes welcome the challenging lifestyle in order to pursue their love of a game.
"There are so many invaluable life lessons you wouldn't learn if you were just a student," says Janiece Richard, a former track and field athlete whose skills earned her a scholarship to the University. "You have to have your priorities straight, you have to be responsible and accountable. You have to be loyal to the sport and the school."
Balancing Act Richard, now a University of Kansas athletics graduate assistant, says the most difficult thing to do is find the right balance between school, athletics and a social life. Richard says
it's important for student athletes to have enough time to rest the mind and body, though trying to do so often proves frustrating in itself.
"I know there were times I complained to my coach that I need to come to practice early or late," Richard says. "Coach Stanley Redwine was flexible enough so I could study and take care of the student part when I needed to."
Richard says that, when it came to studying for exams or preparing for a track meet, there was never a question as to which aspect of her life would require more time.
"I can study for an exam in a couple of hours," Richard says. "An exam is over in one to three hours, and a track meet can be all day or a two-day meet. A test is much easier than competing."
Jeremy Case, McAlester, Okla., senior basketball guard, says an important part of success in the classroom is letting the instructor know who you are.
Self says that although student athletes have very different time constraints than the average student, success in the classroom and on the court can co-exist. "You have to find time to do both," Self says. "And certainly there is time to do that, if you prioritize correctly. The magic formula is, work on it daily and stay on top of it as opposed to falling behind, where you feel like you can't catch up."
"Always introduce yourself to the teacher." Case advises. "I would always sit in the front and make sure I introduced myself. That way my instructors knew if I was going to miss class for games. The harder you work in class, the harder the teacher will work for you."
Dave Yukelson, coordinator of sport psychology services at Penn State University, says peer advice is very helpful in helping student athletes. Yukelson says that by teaming up freshmen with upperclassmen, freshmen can learn time-management techniques that successfully carried the upperclassmen through their first year of college.
Yukelson also stresses the importance of a social life. "Most athletes don't have a lot of
06 01.31.2008 VOL.5 ISS.18
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