By Joseph Gonzales
Student athletes make up an astonishing 60% of the population at McPherson College. This statistic shows how important sports and activities are to student life at McPherson. Some students strictly go to college because they are able to play a sport. For some, sports are the only way students are able to afford to receive higher education. Sports and activities also bring in students from other countries. At McPherson College, 1% of college students are international students. While this number is low, almost the entire 1% of the foreign students are at McPherson College to play sports and participate in extracurriculars. In conclusion, more than half of the student body at McPherson is juggling sports and schooling.
A generalization made by many people is that playing sports in college is a privilege and that many people would love to be in a college athlete’s position. However, the reality of being a student-athlete is balancing academics, athletics, and a personal life which becomes stressful and overwhelming while also being a privilege. Despite all of this, student-athletes prove time and time again that they can be successful on the field or court while also being successful in the classroom.
To get a better idea of what it is like to be a student-athlete here at McPherson College, we interviewed some student-athletes. Colin Storr is part of the men’s basketball team, and he is from the Bahamas. When asked about his overall experience as a student-athlete here at McPherson, Storr talked about good and bad experiences about it. “I enjoy playing basketball here, but there have definitely been some ups and downs for me,” Storr said. He said he is very glad that he can play for the men’s basketball program, but that it is sometimes hard to get his work done during the season. He says that long car rides to basketball games and getting back late make it hard to find time to get schoolwork done and be well-rested for the next day as well. Student-athletes’ schedules throughout the week are packed with classes during the day with weights and practice mixed in and then practice and schoolwork in the evenings. Try to sprinkle in some personal time with friends and that makes for a packed day. However, many student-athletes are exhausted by the time they have free time and use that time to relax or sleep. This just goes to show that student-athletes have a packed schedule even during the off-season.
Playing a sport in college has its advantages but there are also disadvantages. Coming into college knowing nobody is hard, but when one has a team that they are immediately a part of, it makes the transition easier for students. Gabe Goodnight, who plays football at McPherson, agrees with this. “Having a group of guys that are going through the exact same thing I make it easier.” When one is part of a team at McPherson, one immediately gains a group of friends. These people are ones who can relate to you and give helpful advice, especially the upperclassmen who have already learned how to balance their schoolwork and sports practices. However, with sports comes sacrifices. Student-athletes may have to say no to hanging out with their friends so that they can get their schoolwork done to stay eligible. But ultimately, most student-athletes would tell you that the reward is worth the sacrifices and that playing sports in college comes with memories that will last a lifetime.
One of the major keys to success for many student-athletes at McPherson College seems to be time management. Both Storr and Goodnight mentioned that managing your time well ends in being less stressed. Making a list of tasks that you need to get done in a day and making sure you get them done before hanging out with friends, is a great way to manage time wisely. Goodnight said that, instead of taking the 30 minutes you have between classes to scroll on TikTok, you can use that time to get an assignment done so you have more free time in the evening. Without time management, student-athletes become too stressed and burned out and eventually wear themselves down to the point they cannot perform to their best abilities.
Despite all the hardships and challenges, student-athletes would say that it is all worth it. The reward is much greater than the cost. Being a student-athlete requires dedication and grit and McPherson College is full of student-athletes who choose to be a student and an athlete.
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