For most college kids summer is a time to look forward to. You get a break off from classes and you are living back at home with your parents. Maybe you have a part time job or internship, but then you spend the rest of your time relaxing poolside and catching up with your home town buddies. Summer break is awesome for college students. No real responsibilities, no classes or studying, no set schedule, and your parents taking care of you.

It’s like this for everyone, right? Wrong.

If you are a student athlete or know someone who is, you know that their lifestyle and schedule is different from that of a normal college student. Being a student athlete is like having a full time job, plus school. Sometimes they have to wake up before the sun rises to get to training, then attend classes all day and possibly another evening practice. Sometimes they have to miss important classes or tests for away games and have to spend their free time making up assignments and keeping up with what the professor is expecting. They have to keep up a certain GPA in order to play, and attend study hall hours to fill the requirement based on your grades or coaches rules. Some students have to turn in signed progress reports from their professors so their coach can make sure they are keeping up with their expected GPA requirements. Most student athletes have to complete a number of required volunteer hours each year. It is no secret that student athletes have a full load on their plate and that is no different over the summer months when school is out.

Student athletes have a different agenda over summer break. They might also have a part time job or internship, they might spend a few hours a day relaxing, but the rest of their free time goes to training and preparing for the upcoming season when school starts back up. Their coaches and athletic trainers provide them with a strict summer workout schedule and they are expected to follow it daily. Most athletes are assigned a workout partner and they have to communicate with them throughout the summer and make sure each of them are keeping up with their training. Some athletes have the duty of communicating with the incoming freshman athletes and making sure they are adjusting comfortably and know what to expect once school starts back up. Others choose to stay on campus and work camps for their coach. They work as counselors to younger players looking to play their sport in college, and participate in all of the workouts along with training on thier own.There really isn’t an off-season.

In case you’re wondering what a typical workout/training session for a student athlete looks like, here’s an example of just one workout for a college soccer player:

Warm Up – Stretch

Timed 120 yard sprints – 20 seconds to sprint 120 yards and 40 seconds to jog 120 yards – start run at 60 seconds, repeat 10 times

Other sports include weight training and time in the gym, batting and hitting practice, and conditioning, some have a combination of training methods, all depending on level of contest and the sport. Some athletes are advised to hire a conditioning coach or skills coach to train with over the summer a few times a week.

Of course, the student athlete can choose to not train during summer break and risk the chance of not being in shape or not playing once season starts or worse, losing a scholarship. If you don’t train over summer and come into pre-season and season out of shape, it is not easy to hide.

Summer is not all work, however. Student athletes know how to have a good time and take advantage of any free time they have. After all, they are still in college and need a break just like any other student.

Check out this blog – College Sports You Didn’t Know Existed