Being able to balance the demands of academics and athletics is a challenging task for any student-athlete. To successfully navigate this dual commitment, it is crucial to establish a structured routine that integrates both aspects of your life. Five current college golfers and coaches shared their thoughts on how to best manage their time, and delve deeper into what it takes to make it at the collegiate level.
Keep School The Main Priority
Lucky Cruz, a golfer from the University of Houston who is turning pro this fall, told us that school should always remain the top priority. He stated, “I have been homeschooled and worked through summers to graduate early. I have always believed you should get your education out of the way first to be totally committed to the game of golf.”
If you want to play at the highest level then this is especially true as you must achieve at least a 2.3 GPA in your core courses for Division 1 and a 2.2 GPA for Division 2 to fulfill the NCAA GPA requirements. Without doing this you risk not being able to play for your school and risk losing your spot on that team. Cruz claims that using a “syllabus since the age of 12” has helped a lot in managing his schoolwork and practice schedule.
Connect with Individuals Who Share Your Goals
Hiroshi Tai, the NCAA Individual Division I National Champion for Georgia Tech and former HJGT golfer claims that the importance of finding the right group of people can not be understated when it comes to playing at the highest level. He claims that “being surrounded by teammates, coaches and friends help me achieve my goals. Having that support system in place is super important as there are so many distractions in college.”
Tai has achieved great heights on the course, but also in the classroom as he was on the Dean’s List in Fall 2022 and the All-ACC Men’s Golf Academic Team 2022-2023. He went on to say that “All the guys on the team have really helped me a lot in my past two and a half years here now. They are the best friends in my life, and I am really grateful for the relationships I have been able to make because of coach (Bruce Heppler) and him having me here.” Tai understands the value of finding people who have a similar drive and ambition as himself as it pushes him harder both on the course and in the classroom.
Establish a Structured Routine
A college coach sees firsthand the many pitfalls that student-athletes can fall into as there is just so much change. University of Florida Men’s Head Coach, JC Deacon states that he saw, “a lot of freshmen over the years really struggle,” he continued. “Struggle with their golf, struggle with their GPA, struggle socially, struggle to manage their time. So, just through learning, we put a lot of structure in place.”
This structure is absolutely necessary to make it as a student athlete. Deacon went on to say, “Our guys’ lives are very structured now, but we only get to control 20 hours. So there’s a lot of other times that I’m not around that I don’t get to see. And essentially, I believe, those are the hours that are going to define who makes it and who doesn’t. Are you staying out late? Are you drinking? Are you spending too much time on video games? The players are too good these days to waste too much time.”
Deacon can clearly see that what student-athletes do away from training and schooling is what separates the best of the best apart from everyone else. This sort of mindset takes a lot of sacrifice, but it’s what is necessary to be able to unlock a player’s full potential. This leads to the next point that one way to help maintain this structure is by using a calendar.
Find Time To Enjoy College
Caroline Nemes, a rising senior at Carson-Newman University and former HJGT golfer, offers her advice on how important it is to still enjoy college. She notably tied the record for the lowest round in program history when she shot a 67 (-5) at the Jerry Surrate Memorial. Nemes went on to say, “My advice as an upcoming senior is to have a calendar or planner with all the times of classes written down, then all the team practices and workouts so that free time can be for socializing like hanging out with friends for a meal, day at the beach or lake, and or just finding a neutral place to hang out.”
It is clear that Nemes uses this calendar to keep her academics and athletics organized. Once she can accomplish what needs to get done in the day, the extra free time she has built in allows her to “enjoy college, which is another huge part of starting a new life at a higher level of schooling.” This is key to not getting burnt out, and finding those extra outlets outside of athletics and academics.
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