It’s 6am on a summer morning and most high school kids are sound asleep in their beds. A select few are out at their off-season conditioning programs, whether it be at Good Harbor Beach or Stage Fort Park. The life of a student-athlete is a 365 day a year commitment.

Athletes love sports, but at the same time, sports do not always love them back.  They live for the long bus rides, countless practices, and the thrill of a victory after a big game. To them it’s not all about the numbers on the scoreboard after their game.

To an athlete there is more to it. Sports will knock them down, but sports will always find a way to pick them back up. When on the field, every other part of life is invisible to an athlete and their teammates. Playing sports is a way for athletes to escape the real world.

The bonds made within a team last a lifetime. All athletes endure the rigorous everyday schedule with one another…school, then practice, then homework, dinner, and oh it’s time to go to bed and they haven’t got everything done, so they’ll be up til about 11pm.

The life of a committed student-athlete is different from the everyday student. Ask a student-athlete what free-time is and they say “What’s free time?”

There are a lot of stereotypes out there. For instance, if a kid is smart and doesn’t play sports, then he’s a geek or if a kid plays football then he must be a jock. These are not true. Most student athletes are committed in the classroom and on the field.

The life of a student-athlete is tough, but if you ask most of them about it, they would say that the would not change a thing.