Self-discipline is essential to being a student athlete on and off the field. The commitment required to balance school, work, practices, and games can be very challenging. That is why staying disciplined is so important for student-athletes around the world.
What exactly does self discipline look like in the daily life of a student athlete? It is much more than just showing up to games and completing assignments. Nobody sees the unseen work behind scoring the winning goal and getting an A on the test. Self discipline is the ability to control emotions, and behaviors to achieve long-term goals despite stress or challenges faced. For student athletes this means staying focused in the classroom while being dedicated to their sports.
Student athletes need to manage complicated and demanding schedules. They are expected to keep up with homework, do well on tests, attend practices, compete in games, and sometimes work part time jobs. This requires strong time management, prioritization, and self discipline to meet classroom expectations and athletic goals. Without these skills, it would be very difficult to achieve goals.
To help better understand this dedication, athletes at Sartell High School shared their thoughts about self discipline. The first interview was with Jenna Jansky, who does track, soccer, and dance.
When asked what a typical daily routine looks like, many student athletes described waking up early in the morning to go to lifting before school. After lifting, depending on the time, which varies by coach and sport, sometimes there is not enough time to go home and get ready. Instead, some students stay at school to complete homework they couldn’t finish the night before, because they got home at 11pm from an away game. They then attend classes throughout the day, and go to practice right after school. After practice, some student athletes head to work with little time to eat dinner, while others go home to eat and begin to do more homework and studying. A lot of the times during the season their energy is drained, making them not even want to do schoolwork as they would rather relax.
Student athletes are also at risk for burnout. Lilly Breitkreutz, a soccer and track star, explained more about burnout risk.
People often see an athlete’s grades, performance, and appearance and they judge them based on those visible results. What they do not see is the late nights, the early mornings, the time sacrificed to get to the level they are at.
They also do not notice the social events that athletes miss, or the mental and physical exhaustion that comes with constantly balancing multiple responsibilities.
As a student athlete myself, I have experienced first hand how demanding the season can be. During soccer season, we had games twice a week. I would get home from school at 3:30pm, have about an hour to myself and then be back at the school by 5:30. We would watch junior varsity till 6, begin warming up, and play at 7. By the time I got home, it would usually be about 9 p.m. Exhausted, I still had to finish reading for English to prepare for the next day’s discussion, while also completing a few remaining questions on my math homework. It was not easy, but what pushed me through those long nights was self discipline and the understanding that both my academics and athletics mattered, and I was responsible for them.
There were also moments when being a student athlete brought unexpected feelings of guilt. Being that I had barely any time for myself, it felt strange on the rare occasions when I did not have homework or work. I would sit on the couch trying to relax, completely drained, and I wouldn’t even want to talk to anyone.
My mom said one night “I feel like we haven’t talked in forever,” which we hadn’t, because I was either at school, soccer, or doing homework, and when I was home, I was too tired to engage.
In those moments all I wanted was a few moments of rest and scroll on my phone. These experiences show that self-discipline is not only about pushing through practices and assignments, but also about managing exhaustion, guilt, and the constant pressure to keep going.
Despite the pressure and emotions that come with balancing sports and academics, there is always a deeper motivation behind the effort. For many student-athletes, it is the love of the game, the friendships built with teammates, the sense of accomplishment after hard work, or even long-term goals for the future. Whatever the reason may be, it becomes the self-discipline or the driving force that pushes them to keep going, even on the most exhausting days.
