The Mindful Athlete

It seems like March Madness always seems to bring up the debate on whether student athletes should be paid or not. I think that there could be a fair argument on both sides of the topic. Listed below are some reasons given from both sides. Yes, they should be paid because: The NCAA tournament requires students to miss class, it becomes more than an extracurricular activity. Athletes are used in advertising and promotions ore often than not. Schools use athletes as a major part of their advertising team.  They are on TV, especially teams in March Madness. They bring in more money to their college or university, especially during sport contests.  Football and men's basketball get as much attention as professional football and basketball.  Coaches get paid but the athletes are doing most of the work.  Collegiate sports take up the time they could be spending on a part time job.  No, they should not be paid because: They already receive scholarships...

Being a collegiate athlete, it seems as if you have no days off and it is important to recognize that when you do, you must take advantage of it. Days off of practice are made to give your body a rest. On these days it is important to keep up on your school work, catch up on sleep, and properly eat to keep your body healthy. Although one day off doesn't seem like a lot, it can save you from injury, athlete burnout, and even from getting sick. As important as it is to have time off, out of season it is important to not take too much time off. You should be working out everyday in off season and leave up to a 2 day break. Endurance can be brought down in just a matter of 2 days. As an athlete, don't feel bad about getting in a daze on your days off and relaxing, whether you believe it or not you deserve it. For more information on practice and playing rules you can visit:  http://www.ncaa.org/playing-rules/playing-and-practice-season-rules .

As a student athlete it seems like all of our time goes to school and sports. Although that seems normal, it's not. Having a social life in college is very important. Most student athletes can agree with me when I say that a majority of their college friends are people from their team. Here are a few tips to help that: As important it is to have a good relationship with your teammates, it is just as important to have friends outside of your team.  As an athlete you spend a lot of time with your team day in and day out. In order for you to keep your healthy relationship with them, it is understandable that sometimes you just need a break from them.  Go to campus events, parties, and other sporting events to make other friends.  Take a day off from studying and go hang out with your neighbors on your floor or your significant other.  To keep a balance between school, sports, and a social life you should try to branch out and find more people to hang out with. ...

LOSING STINKS! It's okay, we can all admit it, no one really likes to lose. However, it is how you cope with that loss which provides future sucess. Dealing with a loss is often tough, emotions are flared, tensions run high, and if you are traveling, the bus ride back is a nightmare. The best athletes face a loss head on, they move on and are ready for the next game. How do they go about doing this? They know their worth. If you know your worth and what you are capable of as an athlete, nothing can stop you. You view that loss as a set back, but you never give up. The athlete who knows what they are capable of and that trusts themselves is always ready for the next battle, allowing them to get over a loss. You MUST trust yourself! By trusting yourself you can move on from any loss. Losing stinks, but do not let it get you down, but instead remember the pain and trust yourself to never let it happen to you again. KEEP MOVING FORWARD! 

Personally, I think a big part of an athletes mental health is based off, who they are on the field for. When we are little we start a sport because we think it's fun. As we grow up we keep playing because our parents want us to, as well as we want to for ourselves. By the time we get to high school the love for the game begins to dwindle and we feel almost forced to keep playing.  As I grew up I learned that you can't let a coach ruin the game for you. An athlete's love for the game has to be dictated by themselves and cannot let uncontrollable factors ruin it. When I came to college I began to play for coach. I tried to change my game and do everything the exact way she wanted, lost confidence, and felt forced to be doing what I used to love. What I loved to do became what I had to do.  After freshman year I decided I wasn't going to let a coach dictate how my college lacrosse career went. I began to workout for myself, to make myself feel good, not because we had m...