10 Things I Learned as a Student-Athlete

By Huon Fitzpatrick ’22
A senior reflects on lessons learned as a scholar and baseball player. 
10 Things I Learned as a Student-Athlete

  1. “Getting enough sleep can be just as important as working out.” —Ali Vincent
    Sleep is the most important part of being a successful student-athlete. If you aren’t getting the appropriate amount of sleep you need every night, your performance both on the field and in the classroom will diminish, and you will let yourself, your teachers, and your teammates down. Getting enough sleep is like hitting a game-winning home run, it’ll make your teammates happy, and you’ll gain a lot of confidence.
 
  1. “Education is the single most important job of the human race.” —George Lucas
    Make sure that you prioritize your schoolwork over anything else and use your free blocks wisely. If you have problems completing your schoolwork, it will keep you off the field, and you will be unable to compete, so use all the time you can at school and prioritize your homework early in order to be successful in the classroom and help your team win on the field.
 
  1. “​​Good communication is the bridge between confusion and clarity.” —Nat Turner
    Communicating with your teachers is so important both for you and them. If you have to leave class early or miss entirely in order to compete in an away game, make sure you tell your teachers at least a day in advance so that you know what to make up when you come back.
 
  1. “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” —Arthur Ashe
    If you struggle to balance your sport with your schoolwork, reach out to your teachers and work with them outside of class. They will be happy to help you, and it’s important to stay on top of your work in order to compete at your highest level on the field. Sometimes in life, you just have to take the out in the double play situation, so do not try and force anything in life or on the field.
 
  1. “Your diet is a bank account. Good food choices are good investments.” —Bethenny Frankel
    Eating healthy is such an important aspect of being successful in the classroom and on the field. When you put good food in your body, you are much healthier, meaning you don’t miss class or game time, and you feel good about yourself, meaning you can perform at your highest level.
 
  1. “Work hard, but make time for your love, family, and friends.” —Chetan Bhagat
    No matter how busy you are with your sport and your schoolwork, always make time to spend time with your family and friends because it will greatly improve your mental health and the stress you have from sports and school will relax. Family is everything, and you will be so much better off when you spend time with the people you love.
 
  1. “Eighty percent of success is showing up.” —Woody Allen
    Show up. Plain and simple. Make sure that you show up to every game and practice and go to class every day because if you do, your coaches, teammates and teachers will notice, and it will help you be successful on the field and in the classroom. Not showing up every day to perform to the best of your abilities is making a bad call and that’s what umpires do. Do not be an umpire.
 
  1. “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” —Anne Lamott
    If you start to feel overwhelmed, take a break. If you are at home doing homework and begin to get overwhelmed, get up and grab a glass of water and a snack and scroll through TikTok for 15 minutes to give yourself a break. Taking breaks keeps your mental health in a good place and allows you to perform at your best in the classroom and on the field.

  2. “Confidence is everything in this game, if you don’t think you can, you won’t.” —Jerry West
    As they say, confidence is key. If you believe that you can have a successful school and sports balance, you will. Having confidence in yourself will lead to great success in anything you do, and if you have confidence in yourself, your teachers and teammates will have confidence in you too.

  3. “Today is your opportunity to build the tomorrow you want.” —Ken Poirot
    If you motivate yourself every day to get up and accomplish the work that needs to be done both on the field and in the classroom, you will set yourself up to realize what you want to achieve after high school, and you will be motivated to accomplish those goals.

This article was written in AP English Language and Composition with Dr. Parish. In this unit, students examined the art of essays in a list format and were assigned to write a list that serves as an apology, advice or directions to something deeply meaningful or important to them. 


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