Sports and studies: where's all
the free time?
By Megan Owens
Imagine
trying to graduate in four years while waking up at 6 a.m., attending
class and practicing a sport twice a day for 37 weeks a year.
Many student-athletes cannot take as many credit hours as they would
like to in order to graduate on time, let alone early.
"During our soccer season we can't take 18 hours because we are
gone too much and miss way too many classes," sophomore Golden Eagles
women's soccer defender Martha Owens said. "So I have to take summer
school. Especially with me being an education major, because it's
a five-year program."
Last spring, the women's soccer team started off each day at 6 a.m.
with an hour of fitness exercises at the AC, followed by going to
class all day, then making their journey back up to the AC for a
two-hour practice.
"All junior college transfers, new students, and students below
a certain GPA must attend study hall for eight hours a week," said
Ashlee Ornelas, Assistant Director of Athletic Academics.
"If the athlete doesn't get his or her hours in, I report it to
their coach. The coaches do the discipline, but if it becomes a
continuous problem either Scott Williams [Director of Compliance]
or I will handle the [situation]," Ornelas said.
"I've been in study hall going on two years now. I am taking 15
hours plus my eight-hour study hall, so it is like I am taking 23
hours. If I don't get my study hall hours in, I have to run five
at five (five miles at 5 a.m.)," Owens said.
As comes with the territory, when athletes travel to games, they
miss classes. Many often pack bags full of books onto the plane
to study. Sometimes that isn't enough, as they miss lectures and
the notes that are taken in class.
"We have to get our work done before we leave, and turn it in early
so it won't be late. Also, with one of my classes, we do a lot of
group projects, it's hard for me to make those up," Owens said.
Scheduling conflicts may arise due to times classes are offered
and the heavy load of weekly athletic events.
"Most of my major classes are offered only one night a week and
last for three hours, and on those nights I have practice. So I
don't really know when I am going to take them," sophomore goalkeeper
Christy Chapman said.
With athletes being so busy with practice and games, along with
a full load of classes, many of them don't find any time for a job.
If they have a little extra time, they are limited by the NCAA in
how much money they can make, depending on how much their scholarship
is for."
So while many students work a job to pay tuition, athletes maintain
scholarships through sports and academics.
"With all the work I put into soccer, it is my job," Owens said.
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