Published on January 25th, 2018 | by Sunit Nandi

5 Tips for Becoming a Successful Student Athlete

The life of a student is a busy one and sometimes, not an easy one. School can become even more challenging for student athletes. Aside from schoolwork taking up considerable amount of time in a student’s life, training and practices also require a lot of time.

The key to being a student athlete is to learn to balance both aspects. Easier said than done, right? If you are struggling to succeed as a student athlete, here are some tips to help you:

Keep up with schoolwork. Be on top of your schoolwork at all times. Do any schoolwork as soon as you can. Do not put away any work that needs to be done – procrastination will be your biggest enemy. Stay organized and do your schoolwork to the best of your ability. Do not hesitate to seek help with specific schoolwork requirements such as with professional essay writing, project making, and the likes. Do not hesitate to seek help when you need it. Most schools have student groups or after-school programs that help those who are struggling with school work – sign up for it and see how it goes! It just might help you stay on top of things.
Take care of your body. Whether in school or in sports, performing your best requires your body to be healthy. Make sure you get adequate sleep and you maintain a healthy, balanced diet. Stay away from junk food and limit any partying. If you can avoid alcohol, you would be better for it too. Keeping your body physically and mentally fit will greatly help you in performing your best – both in school and in the sport you are in. Remember to avoid fad diets; instead, stick to a healthy, well-balanced diet. If your school sports department has a nutritionist, grab the opportunity to work with him or her on a diet that is appropriate for your body and your level of activity.
Find study buddies. If you can find someone in your team to be your study buddy, that is well and good. But do not limit it to your teammates. For some student athletes, it works best if their study buddy is outside of their sport because the person provides the perspective of someone who thinks that their studies are more important than sports. Set a regular schedule with your study buddy to ensure that you get the focus that you need for school work and someone can hold you accountable to the schedule that you set.
Maintain a good relationship with your teachers. Some student athletes tend to think of their teachers as ‘villains’ who make their life harder. Drop this thinking immediately! Your teachers are also like your coaches, except they are there to guide you through school. Establish a good relationship with them by showing your diligence when it comes to schoolwork and by communicating with them often. If they know your struggles and see you working hard to do your best as a student athlete, you will find strong support from them. You might even be surprised to learn that some of them are rooting you on as an athlete in your sport as well.
Use your time well. Finding the right balance between schoolwork and sports can be difficult enough – adding something else to the mix will only make your life harder. Hence, be aware of times that do not fall under these two categories and manage those times well. Let go of some things that may be taking up a lot of your time unnecessarily. This does not mean that you should limit all your time to schoolwork and sports. It only means that you should learn to optimize the way that you use your time. There is also no reason not to mix sports and schoolwork. Grab that textbook you need to read and keep it close by during practice – you might be able to read a few pages when you are taking a short break from practice.

Although sports and studies can be a challenging balancing act for many student athletes, many have gone through the same hurdles and have become successful in both their athlete and student life. With the right strategy and people who will support you, becoming a successful student athlete is not so impossible at all.

Tags: athlete, becoming, student, tips

About the Author

Sunit Nandi I'm the leader of Techno FAQ. Also an engineering college student with immense interest in science and technology. Other interests include literature, coin collecting, gardening and photography. Always wish to live life like there's no tomorrow.