Thriving in Sports as a Student-athlete: A Guide to Success

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Article written by Teodora Ghiur

Introduction

If you are a parent, coach, or student-athlete, you know the challenges of being a student-athlete better than anyone. Juggling athletics, college, personal life, and all the ups and downs of youth is no walk in the park. While many rewards come with athletics, this journey requires special attention to lifestyle, time and stress management, and self-care. In this article, we are going to explore five main pillars that help student-athletes thrive: time management, goals, healthy habits, lifestyle, and good mental health. They are key to balancing the commitments of a busy student-athlete, so let’s dive right in and see how you can incorporate them into your life.

Student athlete time management

You probably heard about this one so many times before, right? If you are not a natural planner, managing your time wisely can be very frustrating. Yet, as challenging as this can seem, it is one of the key factors that will make ALL the difference between a stressed and a thriving student-athlete. A well-managed schedule will make you feel empowered, organized, and in control of your life. Otherwise, you will resort to chaos and feeling overwhelmed. With classes, practices, games, and homework, it's crucial to create a realistic schedule. Here are some questions for student-athlete time management that you can reflect on before creating that realistic schedule:

  • For how long can I perform in a day without feeling depleted afterward?
  • What are my peak performance hours during the day?
  • What would a balanced day look like for me?
  • How do I know I’ve been efficient and productive?
  • What is one non-negotiable thing I want to achieve each day?

Once you answer these questions, you can go ahead and start planning your days and weeks. Take your time to think about the most important things you want to include in your schedule: training sessions, games, and college classes. Once you have prioritized those, look at the remaining spare time you have left. What additional goals and activities can you include in your daily schedule?

 If you never used a proper time management strategy before, here are some tools that could help you familiarise yourself with this practice.

  • A planner (either digital or a simple notebook)
  • A time management app
  • Google Calendar
  • To-do lists

Remember to prioritize tasks based on deadlines and importance, and be prepared to make adjustments as needed. Knowing your schedule in advance will help you achieve that essential student-athlete balance.

Setting and achieving goals

Keeping one’s eyes on the goal can lead to student-athlete empowerment. That’s why knowing where you’re heading and what you’re working on can bring a lot of clarity and focus to a student athlete’s life. Otherwise, without clear goals, your life can feel like a ship going in all directions. You just wander and waste time saying yes to the wrong activities.

Here comes the critical practice of goal setting: it will serve as your north star. Your goals should motivate, inspire, and challenge you. They should be ambitious enough to make you move through the struggles, but not intimidating to leave you paralyzed with fear. Setting goals is sometimes an art in itself – you have to choose just the right challenges without making them too easy (and therefore not motivating enough) and too difficult (intimidating).

A prospective athlete or an established one will choose their goals based on the stage they are at. They will pursue things that are relevant and important to them and careers and — most importantly — things they enjoy doing, both in the present and the future.

There is a lot of science behind goal setting, so feel free to research the topic in more depth outside this article. But to keep things simple for the sake of this article, there’s just one thing to remember about goal setting: that they always have to be SMART (which is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound).

So go ahead and choose some big dreams you want to pursue in the upcoming month. When you do ask yourself the following questions?
1. Is this goal specific enough? Do I know what I am pursuing?
2. Can the progress on this goal be measured? If so, how will I know I am progressing towards it?
3. Is this goal achievable, or is it mission impossible?
4. Is the goal relevant to my life, my career, to who I am?
5. Is the time frame I am giving myself to achieve this goal appropriate?
If you can answer these questions with positive answers, you’re on the right track!

Habits

Habits can make or break the student-athlete experience. If you develop bad habits such as frequent drinking, late nights, and unhealthy eating, you will find that both your physical and mental health will suffer. Besides, your productivity will decline and you will get behind on your ambitious goals. Student athlete development includes working on good habits that will help you stay focused, mentally sharp, physically strong, and highly organized.

One of the most important habits you can develop during this time as a student-athlete is related to how you study. Many students will procrastinate on their revisions and assignments until the last minute, which creates unnecessary stress. To make this practice highly effective, try to break down your study material into manageable chunks and revise daily. Set aside a daily interval when you cut out all distractions and focus on revising. This is one of the most valuable habits you could develop as a student-athlete, which will ensure that you are successful in college and always feel prepared and in charge of your tasks.

Some other good habits you can develop around your studies include seeking peer support groups, tutoring, and student-athlete support services. For example, joining a study group once a week is a great habit to develop in the very early stages of being a student athlete. God's habits, once fully implemented, stay with you for a long time!

Lifestyle

The term “lifestyle” is a bit vague, so let’s clarify from the start what this means. It refers to the habits, practices, and activities that make up your life. It can encompass anything from diet, sleep and rest habits, hobbies, social life, and leisure.

A student-athlete who has a balanced lifestyle will look after their physical and mental health, while also prioritizing their studies, sports career, relationships, and personal life. While there’s no perfect lifestyle everyone should aim for, you should generally make time for all domains in your life. You will know that your lifestyle works fine for you when you feel a sense of fulfillment, excitement, and challenge. A balanced lifestyle should allow you to rest, have fun, travel, and grow professionally without compromising on your health and well-being. It will also allow you to take care of your student-athlete responsibilities and bounce back from more stressful times.

Mental health

If you’re curious about what percent of student-athletes struggle with mental health, 35% of elite athletes suffer from a mental health crisis that may manifest as stress, eating disorders, burnout, or depression and anxiety. With this number in mind, it makes sense that student-athletes prioritize their mental well-being. Mental illnesses don’t discriminate, even among top elite and successful athletes.

 While there is a lot of advice on mental health, very few people actually know how to look after themselves in the right way. Mental health self-care begins with meeting your sleep, nutritional, and exercise needs. This ensures that your body is in an optimal state of health. Once you have the foundation of your health ensured, take a step further and examine your life.

Where does your stress come from? What type of thoughts are you usually struggling with?

If you have a mental health professional to talk to, that’s great. You should also ensure that you have a strong support network of family and friends to rely on.