MICHELLE HALE
Sports Editor
Since enrolling at Fredonia in 2012, I have always been a student athlete. Soccer has been a part of my entire collegiate lifestyle. And now I have to learn how to just be a student.
My senior season — my last season as a Fredonia Blue Devil women’s soccer player — came to an end Oct. 27. The surreal feeling that you have when the final whistle blows of your last collegiate game is almost impossible to describe.
Looking back at the past four years as being a student athlete, there have been so many things I have learned that I wouldn’t have if I didn’t play. Some of the few that jump right out to almost every student athlete:
- Time management
Between classes, practices, games, traveling, having time to eat, sleep and relax, you barely have time to even breathe. Although your day is scheduled by an itinerary from the moment you wake up until the time you lay down to go to sleep, you realize that it makes you focus on getting things done right away.
- Responsibilities
Our coaches here depend on us to be mature enough to take care of ourselves. We are expected to go to class even though we have a game in an hour. We are expected to make up the work we missed in class from traveling for competitions. We are expected to deal with problems we have by ourselves, and if we can’t handle it we have our coach who is supportive to us.
- How to occupy yourself on the bus for away games
Some away trips require endless hours of sitting on a bus. What do you do during all those hours? Sleep. Movies. Homework. Listen to music. Make memories with your teammates. You may become delirious after counting five hours into a trip, but then you realize there’s only two hours left.
- Working hard leads to extreme success
I absolutely dreaded sprints at practice, the days where I couldn’t even move my legs because they were so sore. But when it came to game time, it made us prepared to play 90 minutes and not fade from exhaustion. When we worked hard in practice and in games, we were happy with our results.
- How to have 20 girls become your family
Being surrounded by your teammates from the first day of preseason may force you to become acquaintances, but the greatest achievement you can make throughout the season is to be able to call these girls your family. They have your back on and off the field, without any hesitation.
- Finally, regardless of what you may think, you will always have someone looking up to you
Ending my soccer career last week was one of the most eye-opening experiences I have had. The underclassmen on the team look at you as a prime example of how to act on and off the field and will learn from your actions. But there are others who look up to you too. Going to camps and helping younger children with their soccer skills was one of the most changing moments of my career. These kids look at you like superstars even though you think, “Oh, I’m only a Division III athlete.” They want to be like you and want to grow up to be a superstar just like you.
Playing college soccer has been one of the most life changing experiences I have had in my life. Although I’m sad and depressed that I am now a NARP (Non-Athletic Regular Person), I am thankful to have been able to play a sport that I love and have so much passion for the past four years. All good things come to an end, and I’m grateful I was able to spend them with a team that became my family.