#1 What is a Student-athlete?
      What is a student-athlete? Student. Athlete. “Student” comes from its two Latin words of origin; the verb studere, or applying oneself, and the noun studium, a painstaking application. The word “student” was created in the English language to literally mean “a painstaking application of oneself”. In fact, the great philosopher Plato went as far as to say that “to learn is to suffer.” In many ways Plato was correct in that the byproduct of learning is most times a form of individual suffering. The practical meaning of student as defined in the English dictionary is “a person who is studying at a school or college”. The verb studying being heavily influenced by the verb studere. “Athlete”, on the other hand, comes from the Greek word athlon, or prize. Athlon is the root of the verb athlien, or to compete for a prize. These Greek phrases are most famously known in the context of the early Olympics held in Greece where sport was accepted and praised as a forefront of Greek culture; a culture obsessed with the Human body as well as physical excellence and inviting to an environment of incredible, athletic competition.

With that being said, what is a student-athlete?
     A student-athlete is a person who willingly endures the vigorous suffering and fierce competition of both academia and sport. To partake in a lifestyle where excellence is demanded both in the classroom and on the field is no light decision to make. Any person who decides to go forth with such a lifestyle is one who is fearless and willing to stare adversity in the face on a daily basis.

 What does the lifestyle of a student-athlete look like?
     A student-athlete in the collegiate setting will dedicate roughly 40 hours a week into school and 30 hours a week in sports. This statistic remains relatively similar for high school student-athletes as well. Notice that more time is dedicated to academics than to athletics. “Student” comes before “athlete” in “student-athlete” for a reason. The schoolwork must come first in all levels; from a 1st grader through a collegiate, 5th year, pro-draft pick. A student-athlete should be mentally, physically and just generally exhausted by the end of each day; otherwise they have not redeemed the full potential of that day. However, this may not occur in the manner most expected. School will not be the only mentally taxing task for the day, but merely the beginning of the daily mental exhaustion. The sport should consume the mind of a student-athlete as well. It is vital that a student-athlete engage their mind into their sport in desire to get better in all aspects. Knowledge is power and a smart athlete is ALWAYS a better athlete. A student-athlete’s day does not end with a class bell or a coach’s whistle, rather it ends the moment their head hits the pillow. Academics and Athletics should and will always follow a student-athlete home, whether that means homework and film or meal prep and stretching or simply preparing for the next day’s work. A student-athlete who puts their heart into their craft will inevitably be focused on getting better 24/7. Nights will be long; mornings will be early. Regardless of the time on the alarm clock when a student-athlete falls asleep or wakes up, the job is the same: do whatever needs to be done to get better.

 Why does the lifestyle of a student-athlete differ so much from that of a student outside of sports?
Remember the meaning behind “student-athlete”- the painstaking application of oneself, suffering, competition for a prize. The competition alone should describe the harsh lifestyle of a student-athlete; there is always someone working harder than you. The fear of failure alone should cause any student-athlete to do anything in their power to prevent them from coming up a yard short, losing by one, finishing a second slower, etc. Because a student-athlete who really cares will lie in bed, wide awake, thinking about every, last thing they could have done to have just been that much better.

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