Age and/or Calendar Years of College Attendance: I went to college at 16 in 2008 and I am graduating this May 2012. I played every year but my junior year because I broke my ankle right before season.
College(s) Attended: I attended Howard University in Washington, DC.
Sport(s): I played as the Goal Keeper on the Varsity Women's Soccer team all four years and did Shot put and Discus on the Varsity Indoor and Outdoor Women's Track team my freshman year (I won't discuss this one as much).
How did you "decide" to become a College Athlete?: I have been in athletics since I can remember, so it seemed natural that I would continue it through college. At first I joined the sports teams out of pure love of the sports. Then at the end of my freshman year, I was offered a scholarship to continue playing soccer. After that, I only stayed on the team because of the scholarship. I continued playing because it was my job and no longer the passion and love for the sport.
Accomplishments in Your Sport: My sophomore year I was chosen as the At-Large player for our conference, the Great West, first team. My senior year I was chosen as one of the co-captains of my team.
Accomplishments in the Classroom: All four years of college, I balanced being an athlete as well as an honor student. I have been on dean's list my first 2 years & the last one. I have received the scholar athlete award for keeping a yearly GPA above a 3.0.
Regrets, if Any: Rather than say my regrets of becoming an athlete, I will say my trials with being one. I didn't have the best of a coaching staff. Our head coach was stubborn and didn't have a great regard for academics as much as he should have. As a team, we struggled to make him understand the importance of our study time vs OFF season practice time. My assistant coach was very two faced and while he was cool to your face, he instantly changed behind your back or in the presence of our head coach. There were numerous times where he led us on and then when our head coach came into the picture he turned on us. We also struggled with respect from our coaching staff. There were frequent times where they brushed off our opinions and numerous team conversations about our actions (a girls parent had to call our AD before) there was name calling and cussing that came from them. I guess I just want people to know that things aren't always perfect on your team. You have to power through them to get to the end of the season/your athletic career. (Kind of off the records but I'm sure I can figure a way to put it in the book if you want, the first season with our new coaching staff and the team that didn't always get along, was extremely stressful; so stressful in fact me and my best friend on the team started drinking because of it. It may be the one thing I regret about my whole athletic career, that it literally drove me to drink.)
Favorite Memory (Memories): One of my favorite memories which isn't really about my soccer team, but one of my good friends from the team had this boyfriend who we had all grown to know and like. On the night of her senior game last year, after our game, he proposed to her in front of all of her family, friends and teammates by placing an engagement ring in the pocket of her Letterman's Jacket. Soccer related memory would probably be the bus rides. Before every away game on the bus we used to watch a Disney movie before the game. It was something small that really made away trips fun and it was a bit of good luck.
Favorite Memory (Memories): One of my favorite memories which isn't really about my soccer team, but one of my good friends from the team had this boyfriend who we had all grown to know and like. On the night of her senior game last year, after our game, he proposed to her in front of all of her family, friends and teammates by placing an engagement ring in the pocket of her Letterman's Jacket. Soccer related memory would probably be the bus rides. Before every away game on the bus we used to watch a Disney movie before the game. It was something small that really made away trips fun and it was a bit of good luck.
Funny Stories: My school isn't known for its athletics. The soccer team hasn't had a full roster in years. My coach was hired the spring semester of my sophomore year, so he didn't have much time to serious recruiting for our fall season. Well the next year during our season, the day before games we always have a "walk-through" practice which consists of light drills and a walk-through game. That season we had maybe 14 people on the team. So when it came to our walk-through game, we had to have both of our coaches, our team trainer and team manager get on the field so that we could run through game play. If you could image a tall lanky 5'11" trainer who never played soccer and a very quirky and awkward team manager who hadn't played in years. It was a very interesting sight to say the least. It is one of the funniest memories our team has from that season.
Regarding the Pressures/Expectations of Being a College Athlete: It is completely doable in terms of being a student as well. You are pressured to do the best and be the best because our school's scholarships are on a yearly basis so they could be taken away at anytime. SOme don't handle it well, but many take that as fuel. My team was full of pressures which would take ages for me to talk about, and many succumbed to the pressures and let their grades fall and become crazy partiers (my drinking was never extreme). But I think it's all worth it.
How Being A College Athlete/Coach/Parent/Fan has had an impact upon your life in the past, present, and future: It has taught me a lot of things. I have learned how to manage and deal with conflicting personalities and attitudes. It has definitely taught me patience, perseverance, and determination. I have made some life long friends from the team and will make sure my kids join one as well. It was an important part of my socialization that truly left a lasting mark/impression on me forever.
Regarding the Pressures/Expectations of Being a College Athlete: It is completely doable in terms of being a student as well. You are pressured to do the best and be the best because our school's scholarships are on a yearly basis so they could be taken away at anytime. SOme don't handle it well, but many take that as fuel. My team was full of pressures which would take ages for me to talk about, and many succumbed to the pressures and let their grades fall and become crazy partiers (my drinking was never extreme). But I think it's all worth it.
How Being A College Athlete/Coach/Parent/Fan has had an impact upon your life in the past, present, and future: It has taught me a lot of things. I have learned how to manage and deal with conflicting personalities and attitudes. It has definitely taught me patience, perseverance, and determination. I have made some life long friends from the team and will make sure my kids join one as well. It was an important part of my socialization that truly left a lasting mark/impression on me forever.
My story sounds bad... it wasn't the highlight of my college career. To be honest, if I could go back, I probably wouldn't have joined the team at all. But that's because sports were never as big a passion for me as they were for others. My word to future recruits and parents, if sports aren't your life, don't do it because they need to be. You excel most when you are able to put your whole heart into something.
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