By Sasha Blake
Director of Houston Leadership Academy
University of Houston
Sleep. Eat. Shower. Class. Study. Homework. Meetings. Tutoring. Practice. Competition. Travel. The life of a student-athlete: how do you achieve success on the field, in the classroom, and at home? To be an elite student-athlete, it takes balance and sacrifice.
Time management – a commonly over-used phrase that doesn’t get nearly as much credit as it deserves. As a student-athlete, you are constantly juggling all the demands of your life! And, because you’re competitive, you want to do them well. You want to leave a legacy of greatness and be known as someone who excels at everything. Mastering the day, and in turn all your demands, is the only way to get that done. So, how do you do that? How do you balance school, sports, AND (as some adults forget) being a young adult? As Sean Covey says, you have to put first things first.
Now, let’s be honest…you can’t do everything. To be good at sports and school, you are going to have to make sacrifices. You cannot, however, sacrifice sleep! All too often, student-athletes “pull an all-nighter.” They have mischievously fooled themselves into believing that they work better “under pressure” or at “the last minute.” What these procrastination artists don’t realize is that the body needs 7-9 hours of sleep (mayoclinic.com). This artist’s belief that a week worth of school work can be condensed into eight hours of fast and furious paper pushing is not only going to affect the grade, but will also rear its ugly head during practice (or, heaven forbid, a game). In order to give your body what it needs, you must prioritize. Don’t be fooled, though. All-nighters are not solely limited to last-minute school work, as gamers are also a type of night owl; staying up until the wee hours of the morning to race a digital car with someone four states away, be Johnny Football and throw a Cotton Bowl winning pass, or even be Kobe Bryant as he fakes a Clipper out of his shoes (pre Achilles tear, of course). “Researchers speculate that deep sleep helps improve athletic performance because this is the time when growth hormone is released. Growth hormone stimulates muscle growth and repair, bone building and fat burning, and helps athletes recover” (sportsmedicine.about.com). A 2011 study of the Stanford Men’s Basketball team found a direct correlation between extended sleep hours and peak athletic performance. When players received a minimum of 10 hours of sleep at night for an extended period of time, they were found to run faster and have better shooting percentages than previously recorded (Mah et. al., 2011).
That means you need to be your own offensive coordinator – see the big picture and plan your attack. In order to have time for what matters most, you may have to say no to unimportant things. You may have to forgo a trip to the mall, a community service event, or even a party (yes, I realize that might be difficult to read). This may sound a bit scary; you could face peer pressure, anxiety, or fear. It takes courage to push past your comfort level and actively work towards your goals. However, that does not mean you have to never do these things again. On the contrary – in order to have balance, you will need to make time for everything.
“The common denominator of success --- the secret of success of every man who has ever been successful --- lies in the fact that he formed the habit of doing things that failures don't like to do.” - Albert E.N. Gray
How do you become a master at time manipulation? Invest in a planner (or download one from the internet). Write down your major priorities for the week – what are your “big items”? Then write down your list to tackle (also known as your TO-DO list) for each day. This will help to not let laziness or anxiety be a decision maker. Then, as Nike advocates – JUST DO IT. Be strong enough each day to complete your list. This is an exciting time – don’t miss an opportunity to reach your potential! So, the question is: how bad do you want to be elite?