Looking Back: A D-I Freshman Dishes On Her Initial College Experience

What a difference one semester can make. I’m notwriting this to bash anyone or talk badly about anything; I’m writing this as a “tell-all” of how my first semester of college went.

I’ve played volleyball my entire life. It has consumed every waking moment of my life from the time I was eight years old until now, when I’m 18 years old. I’m hoping it will continue to be the same for me in the future as well. My first semester didn’t exactly turn out the way I had planned, but what I went through has made me a stronger, more mature person, and I’m thankful to have been able to have met a lot of great people along the way. I hope that the people who read this will get some advice out of it, or at least read about what really happens when you’re a student athlete.

I arrived on campus in late July, exactly one month prior to the starting date of school. While I was later than a lot of my club teammates who had to attend the second session of summer school at their colleges, this was still pretty early. I can say that I was glad I went early. It made the transition much easier once school rolled around.

Let me be the first to say, no matter where you go, pre-season is going to be tough. I’d say that mine was average, but I’ve heard horror stories of coaches keeping trashcans next to the court for the girls to puke into after running their guts out, and coaches who made girls run five sets of stadiums (in a large D1 school stadium that holds upwards of 90,000 people) for each missed serve in a match.

Luckily, I found a coach who was able to share my philosophy that running is absolute torture, so it wasn’t so bad. But, I was sore. And you’re going to be sore, no matter where you go. Two to three weeks of 8 hours a day of volleyball will get to you physically and mentally, no matter how in shape or prepared you think you are. Supportive teammates are there to help you, and the upperclassmen who have already been through it will help you with the adjustment. Once you start school, you start going to tournaments, so volleyball can ease a little and your body is able to recover. Getting through preseason, in my mind, is the most important part of a season. If you don’t have the right mindset, you won’t get through it. But staying positive, persevering through pain, and being supportive of your teammates is absolutely necessary to succeed.

In my first semester of college life, I took seventeen credit hours. Out of all the girls from my club team, this was the most. Most schools only let you take 12-14 credit hours if you’re in season, but surprisingly I was able to manage the 17. It wasn’t easy, but it didn’t kill me. Using your study hall hours (which you will have, no matter where you go) to their fullest is so important. Half my team would sit on Facebook the whole time we were in there, making it absolutely pointless. But if you really devote time to read all your required stuff and actually take time to write out all the papers, your professors will notice.

And this may sound stupid, but sitting in the front row of a college class pays off so much. Every single one of my teachers knew my name, and every single one of my teachers cut me slack on one grade or another. Being a teacher’s pet in college is so crucial and can really help you bump up your grade, even if it’s just a little bit. Yes, I’m a nerd, but trust me, it works. Also, go to class! Your teachers will notice. If you’re like me and wear your volleyball shirt and sweats to class every day, they remember that you’re an athlete and take notice of your absence. It’s not fun if your coach finds out.

I know that I’m going to sound like a mom when I say this, but your alcohol control in college is so crucial. Especially when you’re in season, if you don’t have a dry season (which some girls from my club team had), following team rules is so important. We had a rule that there was no alcohol 48 hours before a match, even for the girls who were over 21. Let’s face it: it’s college and you’re probably going to drink. I’m not going to lie and say I never had a drink. But it’s about timing. For our conference matches, the only days we had off were Mondays. Some girls would go out Sunday nights and come back at 3AM when they had an 8AM class the next morning. It might sound like fun at the time, but it’s not worth it. Wait until your off-season or times when you don’t have school work to catch up on fun.  It’s worth it to make sacrifices like staying in on a Friday or Saturday night, or saying “no” when everyone else goes out to drink. Yes, you may be the “Debbie downer” of the night, as I was so kindly nicknamed many-a-time, but in the end you’ll be in so much better shape, school-wise and mind-wise. It’s also really helpful to find other girls who will be supportive of you and find ways to have fun without alcohol. I was lucky to have two girls who I was close to that always had a movie to watch or something to do whenever we were the only “losers” in the dorms on the weekends.

Going into college, you are a freshman, and you have to remember this. It’s not like high school. Seniors in college are seniors in college, and they deserve the respect of having survived three seasons. When you’re a freshman, you have to learn when it’s time to voice your opinion, and when it’s time to keep your mouth shut, nod, and smile. Let me say, learning to smile and nod will get you places. Talking back to seniors will get you evil death stares and talk about you behind your back. Not a good thing. Freshmen are also going to have duties. They have them everywhere, whether it’s getting the water before practice or carrying everything to the buses. Do not complain. You are a freshman. Once you’ve been through everything you’ll earn more respect, but you have to stay humble and realize that you’ll get through it, even though it might seem harsh at some times. That being said, you aren’t going to get along with all of your teammates. It doesn’t matter. They’re your teammates, and you have to give them respect and the dignity they deserve, even if they might not give it back.

Now this next part might be telling a bit too much, but I’d rather it be said that not, because I know a lot of people have been through the same thing. Sometimes there is a point where the respect issue goes a bit too far. When teammates call you out in front of coaches, when they call you asking for you to apologize to them for things you didn’t do, you can’t let it get to you.

And that’s the mistake I made. I let it get to me. I let volleyball so consume my life that I became completely stressed out. I physically became sick, getting migraines everyday from not sleeping, just because I was thinking about how stressful volleyball would be.

I’m not saying that the things that happened are going to happen. I was the only one to go through that out of my entire freshman class, but I wish I would have handled it better. Luckily I had resources at my school that helped me get through it. The sports psychologist was literally the best thing that happened to me. He talked me through everything that I went through, helped me calm down and center my thoughts, and taught me ways to deal with stress. On top of that I also saw a school counselor who helped me to deal with the emotions of being a student. It might seem embarrassing to go talk to them, but trust me, it was the best thing. Being able to talk to someone, just to get it off your chest or vent, can help so much. I also had a very understanding coach who was there for me when I was stressed. If it wasn’t for him I might have given up the sport all together, but he helped me regain my focus and stick with it.

So, after all I went through, which doesn’t seem like much in what I’m writing but was a lot more beyond that, I decided that I wouldn’t be staying at the university for another semester. It was the toughest decision I’ve ever had to make, even harder than picking the school in the first place. But in my heart, I knew it was what was best for me and the team. The school I had picked just wasn’t for me, even though it took me a while to figure it out. I had a supportive coach who helped me find a different school that I would fit into.

And even though this last season was tough, I’m kind of glad I went through it all. It’s made me a stronger person, and made me realize how passionate I am about the sport of volleyball. I am thankful to have met some great girls and great coaches, and thank them for being there for me. But now it’s time to move on and start fresh with a new school, on a new journey, to continue playing the sport I love.