Living a Balanced Life as a Student-Athete: Tips and Strategies

The topic I chose to teach was Living a Balanced Life as a Student-Athlete: Tips and Strategies. My presentation was based off my own personal experiences being both a student and a varsity athlete here at SUNY Cortland. According to a study done by J. Nathan Althouse, who is a doctor of philosophy at Pennsylvania State University, found that student-athletes, specifically first year student-athletes, face various obstacles, including adjusting to a new living environment, refining and developing their own identities, and learning how to deal with adversity (Althouse, 2007). While adjusting to college, student-athletes need to find balance in their academics, athletics, and their social life all at once. Rick Burton, a professor of sports management at Syracuse University, introduced strategies to help student-athletes with balance. Some strategies include focusing on the most challenging class first, study early and often, train in the off season, see or talk to family and friends often, and make time for self-care (Burton, 2021). Many first year students, whether a student-athlete or not, should learn and develop strategies to make them productive and successful as a college student. The goal of my lesson was to teach students strategies to live a balanced life in college that could possibly carry on into adulthood.https://digitalcommons.cortland.edu/cor101posters/1019/thumbnail.jp