Alex Sasloff, sophomore catcher for the SRJC baseball team, starts his busy week off with a jam-packed day. Sasloff wakes up at 8 a.m. eats breakfast, showers and is out the door around 8:30. His first class, Speech 3A, starts at 9 a.m. and after that he goes to Political Science until noon, and is off to Macroeconomics until 1:15 p.m., where he has to eat his lunch in class. Baseball begins with team workouts at 1:30 p.m. and practice immediately follows until around 5 or 6 p.m. After practice Sasloff keeps his body in shape, going for another workout at the gym. Finally, he comes back to his apartment where he cooks dinner, eats, does homework, finds little relaxation time and then goes to sleep. How can he be successful in the classroom and on the field with such a busy schedule?
“The keys to being a successful student-athlete are time management, determination and positive expectancy. Every minute counts,” Sasloff said. He uses these keys to maintain a very respectable 3.29 grade point average.
Time management is a major key for any student to be successful, but one that is vital for student-athletes. SRJC student-athletes are always busy, but the public connects to the more popular college sports we see on TV. According to a National Collegiate Athletic Association study earlier this year, football players in the Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly known as Division 1, spend 43.3 hours per week during the season in athletic time commitment, and men’s Division 1 basketball players spend 39 hours per week during the season in athletic time commitment. Combine these statistics with academic time commitment and a student-athlete has an overwhelming schedule.
John Daly, SRJC athletics academic counselor, works with every SRJC athlete. He has seen the good, the bad and the ugly when it come to studentathletes. Daly’s ultimate goal is to help studentathletes be successful on the field and in the classroom and to set them up to move on to a higher institution. His advice has led to an abundance of success for studentathletes.
“Student athletes need to be self motivated, both athletically and academically. They need to have excellent time management to achieve success in both,” Daly said.
A rarity at any level of college athletics is a two-sport athlete. Dalton Berncich, sophomore wrestler and diver, is one of those rare athletes at SRJC. Berncich wrestles in the fall and dives in the spring, but he trains for both sports year round. He has gone through the rigors of being a student athlete and notices the effects when he comes home after a long day.
“It is hard sometimes, because you are so exhausted after practice you just don’t have the energy to do your homework or study,” Berncich said. Luckily, he has found the time to focus on his studies during his busy schedule and is currently maintaining a 3.2 GPA.
The energy crisis Berncich talks about is one that many student-athletes deal with. A key factor to energy loss for student-athletes can be food consumption or lack thereof. With a schedule containing little to no free time, studentathletes often eat their food in class and don’t always have enough food to get through the day. An athlete needs a healthy diet that contains the right amount of calories, protein and carbohydrates to keep them working at their highest level. Sasloff also notices this food crisis after long days.
“I have on many occasions forgotten snacks for after classes or workouts, and have paid the price for it with a lack of energy at practice,” Sasloff said.
Student-athletes use mental skills learned on the field and transfer them to the classroom in order to be a successful student athlete. Goals can also be a key factor for an athlete in the classroom and on the field in order to work harder, but also be realistic.
“You have to be determined to compete at your highest level on the field and when you’re working on your school work,” Sasloff said.
Sean Sullivan, sophomore at SRJC, was the 2009 Sonoma County League football MVP and the rigors of being a student-athlete caught up to him. He dealt with the drawbacks fine, but ultimately felt the busy schedule and exhaustion would catch up to him and get in the way of his dream of being a doctor.
“I found it hard to manage my time as a student athlete at the collegiate level when almost all your attention has to be focused on your athletics, and I had higher academic goals that I ultimately wanted to achieve,” Sullivan said. He has been able to properly manage his time now and holds a current 3.6 GPA.
SRJC holds a very high commitment toward excellence in both athletics and academics. Each year SRJC is ranked at the top in athletic championships and academic prestige across the country for community colleges. For the 2010-11 year, SRJC had 20 athletic teams that totaled 451 athletes and together they had a total GPA of 2.816. That GPA ranks higher than non-athletic students attending the college. Sasloff’s key factors of time management, determination and positive expectancy are great indicators of student athletes being successful on the field and in the classroom.