Athletic life after graduation
By Alison Fleck
Watching the colorful groups of witches, SpongeBob characters and devils stumble their way over to Sigma Pi's Halloween Havoc brought back memories of what it felt like to be a freshman: naïve, carefree and unconcerned about life after college.
Then I realized that in eight short months, my fellow seniors and I will be leaving behind our comfortable Santa Clara bubble. I will miss it so much, especially my experiences as a member of the crew team.
After four collegiate years of athletics (and 14 years prior), I will no longer be forced to work out or wake up at godforsaken hours. Some may find this appealing. But for those of us who love being part of a team, graduation may be a frightening wake-up call.
Branching away from a solidified unit that one has sacrificed so much for seems scary. After all, most of an athlete's friends are teammates. Almost everything in one's life revolves around practices and competitions. Even your diet is watched to ensure fitness. What do you do when all this is gone?
Some student athletes may be lucky enough to continue on in their sport after graduation. Santa Clara star basketball player Steve Nash was able to move on to the National Basketball Association. Soccer player Brandi Chastain continued her career playing for several Olympic teams and the Women's Professional Soccer League before it folded.
Other athletes will choose to continue to be involved in sports through other means.
Soccer captain Leslie Osborne hopes to get a graduate degree and then pursue a coaching career while hopefully playing for the national team.
Quinn Thomas, the only senior on the women's basketball team, however, will be relieved that it'll be ending. She will miss basketball but hopes to stay involved being a physical trainer and a nutritionist. But not having someone force her to work out is what gets her most excited about graduating.
Overall, since Santa Clara's focus is on academics first, all students, including athletes, should be able to land on their feet after graduation, even without playing on a team. Sports teach us important lessons for life including determination, cooperation and a good work ethic. I'm confident that all of our student athletes who are not continuing on their athletic journey will be successful in whatever their endeavors entail.
* Ã Ã Contact Alison Fleck at (408) 551-1918 or afleck@scu.edu