2008 Woodie Awards
The Rigorous Life of the Student-Athlete
Ruben Leavitt
Issue date: 10/25/07 Section: Sports
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The academic rigors at our school are undoubtedly demanding and often inundating. The repercussions of school-induced stress can routinely be seen on the faces of students. Yet there is a segment of our student body that shoulders physical stresses on top of the mental ones -- student-athletes. Day in and day out, they must accommodate both their academic and athletic commitments. Student-athletes' time is extremely limited by their practice and game schedules, but they cope with the same workload as the rest of us. How do they do it when it is hard enough for the rest of us to just focus on our academic responsibilities? I interviewed some of the players on the women's hockey team to probe their thoughts on this matter. Although this article reflects the attitudes of one team, I believe there are wider applications and generalizations that one can take away from it about the lives of the rest of our student-athletes.
"It is a great endeavor to be a student at Colgate University," Head Coach Scott Wiley said. The team has enjoyed great success both on an off the ice. In his six years behind the bench, no one on the team has been academically suspended, and the team's GPA average is 3.0. For those of us who are pressed for time without devoting 15-18 hours devoted to hockey per week, we find it difficult to imagine how these girls can do it all."
Wiley attributed part of his team's collective success to the types of players Colgate recruits. "Most of the girls we look at can play at the Division I level," he said, "[But] what we [the coaching/scouting staff] look for in players is their off-ice habits."
Wiley went on to mention that the coaching staff's homework mostly consists of gauging these prospects' character, how they were brought up, assessing whether they can cope with Colgate's rigorous academic requirements and social atmosphere and whether a player would be a disruption to the team chemistry because of issues in either of those areas.
"It is a great endeavor to be a student at Colgate University," Head Coach Scott Wiley said. The team has enjoyed great success both on an off the ice. In his six years behind the bench, no one on the team has been academically suspended, and the team's GPA average is 3.0. For those of us who are pressed for time without devoting 15-18 hours devoted to hockey per week, we find it difficult to imagine how these girls can do it all."
Wiley attributed part of his team's collective success to the types of players Colgate recruits. "Most of the girls we look at can play at the Division I level," he said, "[But] what we [the coaching/scouting staff] look for in players is their off-ice habits."
Wiley went on to mention that the coaching staff's homework mostly consists of gauging these prospects' character, how they were brought up, assessing whether they can cope with Colgate's rigorous academic requirements and social atmosphere and whether a player would be a disruption to the team chemistry because of issues in either of those areas.
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