Late night practice, midnight assignments, games, and exams, are just a few examples of a University athlete’s schedule during the semester.  

Many students in University need help to stay on track, complete assignments, and maintain good grades. Imagine having to juggle five classes while committing to University Athletics simultaneously. 

Curtis King, a student and baseball player for Humber College knows exactly how it feels, “Struggles I do face are going driving back and forth to our practices, games, team meetings, indoor training, team lifts, and all kinds of events that we had during our season while trying to complete assignments.”

Those hard-hitting mornings, 3 full hours of sleep, it’s -10 degrees you are at peak comfort, your head is molded into your pillow, and it’s 9 a.m. again. The ringing of your alarm spikes your body up and you have to repeat the day over again. 

King said, “Those mornings, especially living in Canada with the cold are extremely difficult to get up on little to no sleep the night before.”

Imagine trying to keep a perfect track record with class attendance but every day you wake up wanting just one more hour of sleep.

King said, “For me, I try my best to get up and attend all my classes, but sometimes it’s near impossible.”

The exhaustion and mental health strain University Athletics can cause on a student’s well-being can be extremely overwhelming. 

When it comes to trying to maintain good grades, King said “Professors are very generous in allowing me to get an extra day on completing assignments when I let them know I’m overwhelmed.”

Whether you play hockey, baseball, soccer, basketball, or any other competitive sport while enrolled in University, you will face an immense challenge of being able to handle your well-being, keeping up with your classes, physical health, and mental health. 

Sporting injuries can cause a University Athlete to spiral when you think you might have everything on track.

Ethan Polgar, a student at Georgian College and hockey player for the Innisfil Spartans said, “Getting a bad ankle injury mid-way through my semester completely set me back, I had no motivation to complete work and I was constantly struggling after my injury.”

Having everything under control, properly managing your time, and then a season-ending hockey injury occurs, and your motivation for your education goes down the drain. 

Polgar said “It was the hardest time in my life in 2023 after my injury. I almost dropped out of school after the countless surgeries to fix my ankle, I just couldn’t find the motivation to stay enrolled.”

Polgar had no other option but to reach out for help through student help programs to get his education back on track. Georgian College provided him with the necessary help to find his way back and get his mindset back to what was important.

Polgar said, “If it weren’t for the counselors that I reached out for help to, I wouldn’t be in my final year of school today.”

It’s so important for the proper programs and advisors to be in place to help students in need when they are in a spiral that feels suffocating.

Wendy Blank, a Professor at Georgian College, specializing in student counseling said “We have always made it a priority to help students when they reach out for help and it will continue to be that way.”

Many students use these resources to their advantage when in need, regardless of their situation.

Blank said, “Many students utilize the help the college provides, more than you would think.”

University Athletics is a dream for students, even when it comes with the long hours of studying on top of it. For many students this could be their future moving into professional levels as they grow, for others they do it for the love of their chosen sport. 

Regardless, It’s not easy to juggle all this stress on your own but students have the resources to reach out and say “I need help.” 

Reaching out to an advisor or counselor will always be beneficial to keep yourself on track when you feel overwhelmed.