Falling into Athletics: Obstacles and Advantages for Fall Athletes

Freshmen who are fall athletes arrive on campus, sometimes prior to the arrival of the rest of their class, and are immediately expected to begin coordinating schedules for practices, conditioning, and traveling with academic demands and expectations. Additionally, these students are navigating the same transitional feelings and insecurities as the other members of the freshman class. Andrew Schroeder, Academic Advisor for Athletes, recommends that students participating in fall sports focus on honing three important skills in order to adapt and succeed: organization, time management, and communication. Though many traditional freshmen have two semesters to develop mature planning and communication skills, fall athletes must learn quickly how to orchestrate their lives in a balanced way in order to survive their first sports season and fall semester of college. “Students are prompted right off the bat to communicate with faculty and staff,” says Schroeder, likening the demands of fall athletics to a “crash course in effective communication.” Schroeder describes the faculty at Bellarmine as supportive of student athletes; if students communicate their needs clearly and in advance, faculty are generally understanding and flexible in efforts to meet the students’ needs.

Students in fall sports are forced to learn time management and organizational skills more quickly, too. These students do not have nearly as much free time as others, and must learn to budget for academic needs accordingly. In order to do that, they become reliant on calendars, planners, schedules and other people and campus resources (like RAs, roommates, classmates, peers, upperclassmen teammates, and academic support provided by the Academic Resource Center).

Though at first it may be difficult for students to manage all this, especially away from home and while learning to make new friends, it creates an advantage for them in the long run. Professor Robert Pfaadt, of the History Department, claims that intercollegiate athletes as a group are the best time managers he has seen in his extensive career at Bellarmine. In addition, fall athletes have a history of having higher overall GPA than the rest of their class, and last year’s average fall athlete GPA was 3.13. So, encourage fall athletes to make the most of organizational methods, effective communication, and planning. Ask about how they’re managing their time. Most importantly, remind them that all the hard work—both physical and mental—will definitely pay off.