WHY IS IT WORTH IT TO BE A COLLEGE-ATHLETE IN THE UNITED STATES?

Myself playing for the University of Tampa women's basketball team 

Hello everyone!

It is great to be back! As I said on my first post, being a college athlete is not easy. However, imagine what is to be an International student athlete. United States is one of the greatest countries when it comes to basketball. The university programs and the NCAA help the young generation to have an education and also represent their universities playing the sport they love. That is why, it is more and more common for international players to come to the states to get a degree while playing a sport.

One of the biggest examples of being college student-athlete in the U.S. trend is Spain. The exodus of Spanish players abroad is a tendency that started a few years ago and is becoming increasingly popular. The purpose of today's post is through my experience, help to solve doubts and questions these players or even outsiders may have when it is the time to make a decision. Very often, the fear of the unknown and the insecurities do not allow us to make decisions that are crucial for our future.

I still remember when the possibility of coming to the United States knocked on my door. It was like a hurricane of conflicting feelings that unexpectedly attacked my life. The decision was complicated because when you've never left home, the warmth of your family, friends and your city, is much stronger than we think. However, in life there are trains that only happen to ride once and this is one of them.

What did make me decide to cross the pond? Playing basketball at a college level is much more than that. The possibility to learn a new culture, create new relationships, have more facilities when studying and learning English, were some of the famous "pros" that helped on my decision-making. It was something I could not pass up, a dream coming true, and today I could say that I would not trade it for anything else.

I would like to talk about three things that are the most important to me: life style, food and some general advice on how to cope with the experience.

How is the student-athlete's life style?

Life here is completely different and obviously at each university varies. However, there are certain things that are a common factor for everyone.

Planning your day as a student-athelte is one of the most important dutties

In my case when I was in Toledo, division I, we practiced about 3 hours a day, sometimes a little more. Scheduling the workouts depended on the classes of each one of the players on the team. The first year we practiced from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., but the second half  of the year, we practiced from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. The in-season workouts are more focused on improving defensively and offensively.

It is noteworthy that one of the hardest things are the pre-season workouts, because they are focused more directly to the individual improvement of the players. We had lifting days, conditioning says and "individuals". The individual workouts consisted on 45 minutes with a maximum of 4 players per workout, with the assistant coach. The head coach is not allowed to be present in those workouts because of the NCAA rules. On Division II the rules are different, and you can workout with the entire team if you would like to.

Once finished the training depending, you had one, two or three classes per day. In some schools there are what they call "Study Hall hours" where the players must complete certain number of hours dedicated to study or do homework.

How is the food?

Having a healthy diet will help to your efficiency in practices and games

Food is one of the handicaps that is very common for international athletes when coming to the U.S. In every University the athletes have a card and they choose a meal plan, where the athlete can enter the cafeteria as many times as he/she wants with a limit each week or without a limit (depending on the plan). The problem is that with no limits, you do not realize and eat more than you should. You also have to be careful because the way the food is cooked is different. They use more butter than olive oil, which you may not be used to.
It is essential that we take care of that aspect, because one of the common problems on the first year is, weight gain.

How to face this new stage?

My first important tip is to not get overwhelmed before you go, or not to think about it too much. What must be clear is that the way to work and the discipline that is implemented is completely different than any other place. I would lie if I said it is easy to get used to, because it is not. It is very important to go with an open mind and willing to have a "tough skin" and never say 'I can't'.

You will experience new cultures and build lifetime relationships

My second tip is that you have to enjoy the moment. It is a 'once in a lifetime'. There will be ups and downs, sad moments, but also amazing ones. In my case, it seems like yesterday when I first came. My biggest advice is to not miss a second, and value every day even though there are going to be brought ones. Do not take things for granted, because, feeling guilty is one of the most painful things that could happen to any person.

My third tip is to never give up. It would be hypocritical if I said that I haven't thought about quitting at some point. At the end of the day, there are many changes in a short time like, meal times, training, culture, temperature, etc. However, over time you just get used to it, and you start to get comfortable with it. You will end up building lifetime relationships and learning life lessons, that will help you mature.

My fourth tip is to go slowly, enjoying the journey with your goal in mind. One of the hardest moments is what is called being "home sick". This is when you really miss your family and everything around them. Home sickness is a very common feeling that almost everybody has experienced at some point. The way to overcome that feeling is to use FaceTime or Skype to communicate with your beloved ones. However, above all, I think that you always have to keep in mind your ultimate goal: getting a degree and playing the sport you love. Being brave enough to cross the ocean to another country is something that not everybody is able to do. Making your family proud and being able to do what you love everyday is a blessing not reachable for everybody either.

Well, I hope this information was helpful and I hope to continue to solve doubts and by sharing my experiences you all can enjoy and learn from them!

Never forget that we are the only ones who can stop us from doing new things. It is us and our mind that controls what we can do or what we cannot do. So why set limits?