The Challenges of Being a Student Athlete

The student who is primarily focused on the “being an athlete” part of the college experience may experience difficulties. Scholarships R Us, which helps students find colleges that meet their academic and athletic needs, wants to make students aware of the most common problems student-athletes face.

1. Time (mis) management – student-athletes have a lot on their plate. Sure, we all have plenty to balance, but for an 18 to 22 year old, managing this “practice-class-life” balance can be more than a formidable challenge.

2. Motivation – Motivation can be an academic killer and sadly, some athletes look at academics as the necessary evil. While some manage to navigate through the fog of classes with enough focus to remain eligible for scholarships, others forget or entirely fail to realize the true purpose of their scholarship. The problem is not always a lack of care, but rather a lack of the background needed to understand the importance of their progress towards a degree.

3. Lack of organization – We often take organization for granted, as we understand its importance in doing things efficiently and effectively. Student-athletes, however, haven’t been exposed to the pressures they face at this level, nor have they experienced the relief that being organized can provide. This can be keeping notes in separate notebooks or simply knowing how many study hall hours they’ve completed this week. These small things pile up and become overwhelming for student-athletes who aren’t used to balancing the demands that come with the student-athlete title.

4. Communication – this is probably the most obvious and definitely the most common reason. It’s last on this list because it affects each area in which student-athletes struggle. There are several channels of communication and multiple parties with whom student-athletes must communicate. Communication alone is a struggle that can knock down even the most capable of student-athletes.

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