Being a student athlete at the collegiate level is no easy task. Athletics aside, taking on the workload of college and learning how to balance a busy schedule is difficult for any student to master. That being said, choosing to be a student-athlete comes with a great deal of sacrifice. Instead of going to a party, you’ll likely have to stay behind because you have practice or a game the next day, and even if that’s not the case, you’ll probably need to catch up on homework or sleep. And when you’re in season, as I am in the midst of both softball playoffs and finals week, the stress levels become a bit unbearable.

At times, you may find yourself wondering why you do what you do. Why do my teammates and I wake up at 5 a.m. on weekends to sprint outside in what feels like subzero temperatures? Why do we practice 20-plus hours a week (not including games, nor accounting for travel, or time spent taking extra reps)? Why do we choose to play a NCAA Division III sport, where we don’t receive athletic scholarships or any other athletic perks?

As I near the end of my junior year, I’m beginning to reflect upon these questions, and discovering that my answer remains the same: I do what I do because there’s still a little girl inside of me that gets excited over the sight of the diamond and the seventeen other girls on my team who give the game life. While collegiate softball allows me to fulfill my passion at a more competitive level, my experiences as a D-III athlete extend far beyond the game.

When you decide to join a collegiate sport, you learn that you’re becoming a part of something much bigger than yourself. The program and success of the team come first; before you and any personal desire for individual accomplishment. You’ll be put in situations where you’ll have to be selfless because it’s what the team needs. You’ll have to push your mind and body to extreme limits in conditioning because that extra set, or that extra sprint, will be the difference in you making an amazing game-ending play. And even if you aren’t in the game, you’re just as significant because it’s players like you that make the starters better and, in turn, make the team better.

Although these instances occur on the field, they translate to the person you become off the field. “Real life” will throw more curve balls at you than the game, and you will undoubtedly experience more failure in life compared to all of the strikeouts and errors you made while playing. At the core, being a NCAA Division III athlete is a matter of character, because at the end of the day, after you’ve had your last at-bat and made your last play, what remains are the lifelong bonds you share with teammates and the person you’ve become as a result of giving your all to the game.