College athletes lead demanding double lives, working full time as both students and athletes. Samford student athletes, coming from a school that offers up such opportunity and demands such effort, are no stranger to this balancing act of a lifestyle.
The day starts early. Joshua Mathiasen, fifth-year football player, wakes up at 5 a.m. to begin his conditioning for the day. Senior softball player McKayla Cothran starts weight training shortly after at 6 a.m.
The athletes start classes immediately after morning workouts are complete. Mathiasen, a sports administration major, and Cothran, a journalism and mass communications major, both put as much intentional effort into their academics as they do their sports.
Their schedules are shaped by their sports, meaning they live their college experience differently than the average student. Mathiasen has an 8 a.m. every day – something most students try to avoid.
Throughout the day, athletes go out of their way to nourish their bodies and keep themselves sharp. In the times where most students might grab a coffee or chat with friends, these students never stop.
“I take time to get my body right by stretching and doing mobility work,” said Mathiasen.
Cothran maintains her social life by prioritizing spiritual health and friendship with her teammates.
“After practice, a lot of my teammates and I will make time to go to church or attend team bonding events,” said Cothran.
Social life does inevitably take a hit for these athletes.
“I definitely have had to give up my social life. Sometimes it’s difficult to attend non-sport related events on campus,” said Cothran. “I wish I had more time to participate in those.”
Mathiasen approaches this struggle with optimism.
“There is only a certain amount of time in a day,” said Mathiasen. “When you want to be elite as an athlete, you have to spend time on your body and [mind].”
After classes, it’s back to the locker room for more training, practice and meetings, which close out the day for these students.
“After a full day of classes and practice, we typically don’t come off campus until after 6:00 p.m.,” said Cothran.
Samford ensures that its student athletes get as much as they give by implementing on-demand therapists offered at any request made by a student athlete
“I struggled a lot with performance anxiety during my early years of playing college softball,” Cothran said. “Samford cares about me as a person before I’m an athlete.”
And as a transfer student, Mathiasen went from 0 to 100 quickly. The new division one schedule was demanding – but his coaching staff and trainers helped him in this struggle.
“The fact that they will go out of their way to make sure we’re good made me feel loved,” said Mathiasen.
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