{"id":1652,"date":"2017-11-27T06:00:25","date_gmt":"2017-11-27T11:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nacacadmitted.wpengine.com\/wordpress\/?p=1652"},"modified":"2017-11-27T06:00:25","modified_gmt":"2017-11-27T11:00:25","slug":"former-college-athletes-share-their-experiences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/2017\/11\/27\/former-college-athletes-share-their-experiences\/","title":{"rendered":"Former College Athletes Share their Experiences"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Hectic schedules, painful injuries, the rush of competition, and friendships that last a lifetime.<\/p>\n

Eleven former collegiate athletes recently shared their memories \u2014 the good and the bad \u2014 with The Huffington Post.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The resulting story? A compilation charting the range of experiences college-bound athletes may encounter once they arrive on campus. Interviewees talked about their schedules, the difference between varsity and club sports, and the lessons they learned along the way.<\/p>\n

Thousands of students compete in college sports each year, with many teens researching athletic programs as part of their college search and selection process. While some of those interviewed said athletics helped keep them on track in the classroom, others reported feeling overwhelmed by the physical and academic demands they faced in college.<\/p>\n

\u201c(T)he question must be asked: Are college sports worth it for student-athletes who have no hope of going pro,\u201d Huffington Post<\/em> editor Justin Block writes in his introduction. \u201cThe answer depends on the individual.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a sampling of some of the responses his query elicited:<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, playing reserve was the best of both worlds. I got to play soccer at a high level, but not being required to travel meant I could pursue a double major and work on the school newspaper.\u201d \u2014 Kim Bellware, soccer at Valparaiso University (IN)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cOnce I got out of school and started working and paying my own expenses, I realized how incredible it is to graduate debt-free.\u201d \u2014 Carly Ledbetter, volleyball at Elon University (NC)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it really eliminated the need to do any fraternities or rushing or go out and drink. I was so focused on basketball that I think it really helped me from an academic standpoint.\u201d \u2014 Jordan Schultz, basketball at Temple University (PA) and Occidental College (CA)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cTo be honest, the weight training shocked me a little. They not only had me lifting more than others to put some more muscle on me, but they also put me on the \u2018football meal plan,\u2019 giving me multiple meals a day. I gained 20 pounds in three months.\u201d \u2014 Julian McWilliams, baseball at Ohio Universit<\/em>y<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter I stopped playing, my grades got better, I threw myself into my studies, I did a lot of community service.\u201d \u2014 Sumorwuo Zaza, football at Harvard University (MA)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI never expected to go pro in squash (I was around No. 12 of 14 players on the team most years), but I had an awesome time playing and made a lot of friends through the team.\u201d \u2014 Hollis Miller, squash at Williams College (MA)<\/em><\/p>\n

Read the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Admitted writer\/editor Mary Stegmeir welcomes additional comments and story ideas at mstegmeir@nacacnet.org.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hectic schedules, painful injuries, the rush of competition, and friendships that last a lifetime. Eleven former collegiate athletes recently shared their memories \u2014 the good and the bad \u2014 with The Huffington Post.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[124],"class_list":["post-1652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-student-athletes"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Mary Stegmeir","author_link":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/author\/mstegmeir\/"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peWmJq-qE","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1652"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1652\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}