Football and school definitely can go hand in hand, however, it all comes down to how much you want both of them to happen. Some of you here who are aspiring footballers might still be in school or university, so it is important to stay on top of both. As a student-athlete, balancing football and school is not an easy task. It requires you to maintain your study, your chosen sport, social life, etc. In short, you don’t need to sacrifice football for your school.
When people say I have no time to train, I have schoolwork to do or I hate school because I cannot fully train. They are just telling you either this is not my priority or I have bad time management. In a sense, it is just another excuse. In life, everybody has 24 hours a day, what makes a difference is how you use your time on that day. 8 hours have been used for sleeping, then you have 16 hours to do something that can make you a better player and importantly better person.
Can you balance football and school?
People out there might think once an athlete or a player still at school by their late teens then it would be over for them to pursue a playing career. I’m telling you right now, it is a completely wrong set of mindset as certain players develop differently within the game.
There are dozens of football players who actually have gone to university yet it did not hinder them from achieving greatness in football. They know playing football as a career is not sustainably long, as it heavily requires the physical stuff. It’s even harder for them as they were balancing football, school, life, etc. at such a high level with the presence of fans and media.
If they can do it, then what is stopping you? It is still doable and achievable as long as you keep going and working on it. Here are some tips for you to manage both your football and study:
Plan and Prioritize
This might be simple but it will surely help you to stay on track and definitely going to help you to be more productive as well. Putting all the things that you need and want to do for that day or that particular week in a calendar. The key here is to put things that become your priority first, in this case, would be your football and study. For example, block 3 hours for your training session — could be team or individual — and be present during those moments. Once training is done, block 3 hours of your time to fully study.
Make sure you make time for your training as much time as possible while listening to your own body. You want to go 100% in every session you have, yet you also don’t want to deplete your energy because you have other things to do. Hence, recovery — nutrition and sleep — really comes into play here.
Related Read → How Many Hours Should I Train? Should I Train More?
After that schoolwork and assignment should not be neglected. Make sure you also stay ahead on your homework or any assignment you may have. So, you can have more time to train more or do something relaxing like socializing with friends, watching movies, reading books etc.
Limiting your Distractions
This is a crucial part. Because it would be pointless blocking your time in your calendar yet you are distracted with less important things. Distractions could be checking your phone every 15 minutes, girlfriend (if you have one), going out, etc. I’m not saying that those things are bad, surely they have their time and place. Remember that this is part of your sacrifice to achieve your bigger goal.
Everything that is not on your schedule could be categorized as distractions when you supposed to be doing something on your schedule. Except, something emergency situation happens then obviously you know you have to deal with them first. Try to allocate or batch your time. What it means is when you working out, focus on working out, don’t let your mind slip by checking your phone constantly. When you are studying, put your head down and study. Put your phone in a place where it is out of your reach. If you already get used to checking your phone every single minute, then it is hard not to. Your brain is already accustomed to that habit.
Obviously, it is hard especially in the days we are living in now. There is so much information to grasp out there, our mind is always racing for what is next. However, again, you have to remember you are a student-athlete who wants to progress higher not just a regular student.
Have Fun and Make the Most of It
Being a student-athlete is a one time experience unless you want to go back to education and do it again. So, while you stay on top of your football and study, make sure you enjoy the experience of being in school. The key is balancing everything — football, school, social life, etc. — accordingly, you have to know your limit. It might not be wise to stay up late and go on a night out Friday night when you know you going to play a match the next day.
Back to the first point, knowing your priority is important and it will keep you in your zone. It is better to sacrifice something in order for you to reach the long-term goal. But know that it is going to be hard, it might seem easy on paper until you experience it yourself. At any point, you feel that you can’t manage it anymore, remember why you doing it in the first place.
Conclusion
Balancing football and school is not easy, on top of that you have to deal with the real-life stuff too. But, good time management and prioritizing as well as being present with anything that you do will definitely help.
I hope these tips will help you guys as myself personally still studying at university. Plus, I still have the desire to make it higher to the next level. I believe we can go through this together and achieve our goals as long as we work for them. If you make it to this end, I appreciate it so much and would be awesome if you share this with one of your friends who is on the same path. Stay safe and keep ballin’!
