If you ask any college athlete what their favorite time of the year is, I promise you almost all of them will respond with the same answer, “when it is _______ season”. College athletes work all year for that period of time when they get to competitively play the game that they love. Being in season is what makes all the early morning lifts, conditioning practices, scrimmages, and countless drills all worth it. But, these athletes will also tell you that they have a love/hate relationship with this time of the year as well.

One of the hardest parts about being a student athlete is the student part. When you are in season, you are going to miss a large majority of your classes for games. Balancing missed school work and your sport is one of the largest challenges that all in season athletes face. Most people do not even realize all the extra class work student athletes have to complete to make up for all the classes they miss for their sport. You hope your teachers are going to be understanding, but there’s always “that one” teacher who punishes you. These are the worst kinds of teachers, and I guarantee you every in season athlete has dealt with at least one professor who gave them a hard time for the classes they've missed.

Another part about being in season is that any free time you have will be spent in the trainer’s office recovering. You can always tell what sport is in season by who is taking over the training room. Being in season means your body is being pushed every single day. You are constantly covered in bruises, scratches, and you probably cannot remember the last time you were not sore. Your trainer is your best friend and probably knows everything about your life. College trainers are basically a therapist for most kids, listening to problems each athlete has.

If you are in season, whatever time you are not spending at practice, doing homework, training, recovering or playing games you are traveling to games. Whether it is in a van or a bus, this is another part of season that players love/hate. Especially the long drives to the teams farthest away, because no one likes sitting in a van for four hours, playing a game, and then driving another four hours back. But these sacrifices are always worth it.

Even though being in-season has its downfalls, it is also always the best time of the year. Getting to spend everyday with your teammates and best friends, all with a common goal of making all your hard work worth, it is why we do it.