SPORTS

Adjusting to new college schedules takes time for some

College means big focus on time management, especially for athletes

BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

High-school-turned-college athletes have more than a few things to balance in their fi rst year away from home.

Aside from such day-to-day things as opening a checking account and fi nding time to eat, they have to be punctual for practices, fi lm sessions, weight training and college classes, all without any help. They might be some of the most ardent subscribers to the “Can We Add Another Hour or Two to the Day Club?”

It may not be as daunting as it sounds, though. That’s one of the topics - so is a general description of college athletics and college athletics in a time of a pandemic - that is up for discussion in the third part of our adjustment to college series.

Balancing college needs

Most of those surveyed said the effort to balance all the needs in their new life wasn’t too bad, including former Frederick football player Blake Duran.

“Class scheduling opens up to athletes fi rst so we can work our classes around our practices and lifting so we never miss a practice because of class,” said Duran, who played at Dakota State University in Madison, South Dakota. “Eating and laundry are very accessible. At most, you’ll have three classes a day and time in between, so you have plenty of time to eat or do laundry if you have to.”

That wasn’t always true. It was a diffi cult start for Brighton High School grad Ivan Scarpino.

“But once I started to write down what I’m doing at exactly what time then I got much more organized,” said Scarpino, who played football at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota. “And after a couple of weeks I was able to adjust into balancing school, sports and life.”

Scarpino’s classmate, Tori Haug, who played softball at Lakeland College in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, said it wasn’t “super-hard” for her to fi nd that balancing act.

“Everyone is willing to help everyone, which makes it so much easier to get everything done on time,” she said. “When it comes to the basic needs, we do a lot of things as a team. But it can be super diffi cult at times.”

She said college is “very much based on you.”

“There are times that you have to make time for yourself to get your stuff done,” she said. “You choose to procrastinate and push things off until they absolutely need to be done it, makes it a lot harder to fi nd a good period of time that you can get all of your stuff done. For me, when it needs to get done, I just do it then. It has seemed to make things easier for me and has allowed me to have more free time.”

For Fort Lupton alum Antonio Marquez, balancing his schedule was “a challenge” at fi rst.

“But I took time out of my day to fi gure out a schedule that could balance all of them while still having fun,” said Marquez, who competes at Western Colorado University in Gunnison. “I have certain days where it could just be working hard on school. some days where I am focusing on my basic needs. My athletic needs are just every day at a certain time. Then my time to really enjoy life comes from the weekends where I can go on a hike, swim, or my favorite, camping. I camp almost every weekend.”

Prairie View alum Kyle Melvin had a leg up on the time management piece before he went to Providence Christian College in Pasadena, California.

“I have never been that bad at time management, but it is defi nitely an important skill to have,” he said. “What I do is after practice and classes, I work on my homework so by the late evening I can socialize a lot and relax. Sundays, I make sure to have that as my day of rest from everything.”

Frederick grad Davis Richard said balancing his needs wasn’t as hard as he thought it was going to be.

“You just need to be able to manage your time well,” said Richard, who went to Central Wyoming Community College.

Brighton graduate Abi Read, who wound up at Metropolitan State University in Denver, said the timebalancing piece wasn’t hard for her.

“The most important thing I have learned is to take care of things in order of priority,” she said. “It is also easier to take care of tasks before they become big issues. Laundry would be a good example. I also still live at home, so I didn’t have to overcome homesickness and other adjustments of that sort. However, I do have more responsibilities around the house now than I did in high school.”

Then there was Brighton’s Isaiah Madril who, along with his twin brother, Noah, went to the University of Dubuque in Dubuque, Iowa.

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He had to create a routine.

“At fi rst, it was a little tough,” he said. “Now I have a set routine time for homework, I know when I have football, and laundry and things of that sort are easy to do while I’m doing homework.”

Fort Lupton alum Jacob Duran, who competes at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, said it wasn’t hard to make the balancing act work, once he had a schedule.

“Routine turns normal, and I’ve learned to love the new normal,” he said. “I’m doing OK in school (he had a 3.5-grade point average for the fi rst semester). My goals are 3.8 hopefully soon 4.0.”

BHS alum Nate Griffeth, who wound up at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, said student-athlete life was a challenge.

“You’re on your own and have to hold yourself accountable to making sure you’re eating right, getting homework done and doing your laundry,” he said. “But you can always fi nd time either at the end of the day or between classes or weekends to get that stuff done. Your teammates are always there to make sure you’re doing the right thing when it comes to eating right and keeping up with academics.”

College, athletics and COVID

Most thought the adjustment to college and college sports in a time of a pandemic was different from planned.

“But we always fi nd ways to have fun and get together,” said Blake Duran. “The football team tends to stay together since we are with each other all the time. So, we tend to hang out a lot.”

“In terms of the amount of studying school-wise and time commitment/ work commitment sport-wise, it is how I expected it to be,” said Scarpino. But he also noted he wanted to see a normal year of school and a football season.

Haug said the experience wasn’t what she fi gured.

“But it’s been a good experience so far,” she said. “I’ve enjoyed meeting all my teammates and have enjoyed being able to play at the next level.”

“The experience has been what I thought and more,” Marquez said. “I didn’t picture getting this much into running and what it holds. I didn’t imagine meeting so many chill people that are on the same wave as me. I also didn’t think I would be so in love with Gunnison and all of nature in general.”

Melvin’s fi rst year of school and sports went according to plan.

“The only thing that caught me by surprise with the adjustment is the camaraderie that not only the team has with each other but the coaches as well,” Melvin said.

Read said her transition to college has been a mixed bag.

“Honestly, after spring 2020, my world changed overnight and all expectations I had for anything were gone. I have heard about the typical college experience and I did not expect that because I go to a commuter college and COVID,” she said.

“I also heard things about MSU Denver that haven’t happened yet, and there are things that I was expecting to happen and then did. Mostly, I’m just rolling with it and taking the whole experience one day at a time.”

Former Frederick placekicker Lucas Dunker, who’s kicking at Washington State University, said his experience has been “outstanding.”

“Everywhere you go on campus, people are always wearing their `Coug’ gear,” he said. “The coaches and staff treat me like I’m family.”

Madril said the fi rst year of his college experience worked out just fi ne.

“Coming from a football aspect? Yes, it’s been some of the hardest work I’ve put in throughout my whole life,” Madril said. “I’ve never been in this good of shape ever in my life, and I’m only a freshman so imagine what will happen in a few years.”

Jacob Duran said wrestling helped him grow as an individual “without any parent fi gure telling me what to do.”

“I’ve learned if you just get simple work done, on time, everyone is happy,” Duran said.

In closing

If you want regrets from these new college students and studentathletes, regardless of topic, you won’t fi nd them here. Blake Duran said being a college-level athlete is a dream come true.

“And now that my dream is a reality, I couldn’t be happier,” he said. “The college atmosphere is nothing like I’ve ever seen before. It’s such a different experience from class, to the mood of everyone at practice. There is never a dull moment out on the fi eld.”

Going into his fi rst year of college athletics, Griffeth said he knew it would be comparable to a business and that he’d have to put in a lot of work.

“So far it’s been a lot of fun being with the guys and working on improving as a team and as an individual,” he said. “Our season ended due to COVID and quarantine but it was a good year to get a feel for what college is like.

“I can’t wait for a full year of games and a normal season.”

“College has been a huge eye-opener for me. It has defi nitely forced me to adult way quicker and learn things I would have never learned if I was still in Brighton,” Haug said. “It has allowed me to teach myself and understand different things about living on my own, time management and many other things.”

“Keep in mind that this is all happening in the times of COVID, so we are all working in different ways at different times to do the best we can athletically and academically,” Melvin said.

“The experience has been great for me,” Richard said. “My teammates are great; my coaches are great. It’s just been a great experience.”

Read, who attends a commuter

campus and, thus, doesn’t get what most think of as a “full college experience,” said the only part of her college experience that feels real and like a movement forward in life” has been her cross country team and running. “My whole college experience refor homework, I know when I have volves around that team and if that football, and laundry and things of is the only part of the typical college that sort are easy to do while I’m do- experience that I get to experience, ing homework.” (which I hope it isn’t) I would not leave feeling cheated or disappointed,” she said. “I would know that I got to experience something very few students get to experience.” “It’s been a wonderful experience here, and it feels like such a relief after putting in so many years of hard work,” Dunker said. Madril said prospective college athletes should be ready to make the change. “Your parents no longer watch over you, so it’s all on you,” he said. “Compete every day like it’s your last and study your plays. Coaches would rather have the smartest than the strongest kid on the fi eld.” Jacob Duran said he’s been able to keep four main aspects of his life — God, family, business and wrestling — In the same order, which helped him get to his present point in life. “I’m here getting my butt kicked every single day. I go into practice with a mindset of, `Alright today I’m going to get one takedown. Tomorrow, maybe I get two or three,” Duran said. “I’ve learned to love wrestling. If wrestling is where I don’t have to quite grow up yet, I’m fi ne. That brings me joy not only to myself but also to my father and grandpa.” In addition to qualifying for four state cross country meets and a state track meet, Marquez played basketball. The Bluedevils made the Sweet 16 In the 2020 playoffs just before COVID-19 shut down the postseason. “I used to run probably 12 miles a week. Now I run upwards to 15 or 16 (miles) on my long runs — running upwards to 70 miles a week with having tempo runs, workouts and weightlifting every week,” Marquez said. “It’s a big change, but it has made me such a better runner and has given me a bright future for that All-American goal. “I am really just living my best life at the best place with some great people.”

Tori Haug

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TRIVIA

1. GEOGRAPHY: In which European city would you fi nd the Spanish Steps? 2. TELEVISION: What were the names of the parents on the animated TV show “The Jetsons”? 3. LITERATURE: Which 20thcentury novel begins with the line, “This is my favorite book in all the world, though I have never read it”? 4. U.S. STATES: What is the state capital of Nevada? 5. HISTORY: What was the pen name used to publish The Federalist Papers in 1787-88? 6. ADVERTISING: What product is advertised in commercials that feature The Most Interesting Man in the World? 7. MOVIES: Which movie features the often-quoted line, “Round up the usual suspects”? 8. FOOD & DRINK: What kind of fi sh produces caviar? 9. ENTERTAINERS: What were the names of the sock puppets used by ventriloquist Shari Lewis? 10. SCIENCE: How many elements are on the Periodic Table?

Answers

1. Rome, Italy 2. George and Jane Jetson 3. “The Princess Bride” 4. Carson City 5. Publius 6. Dos Equis beer 7. “Casablanca” 8. Sturgeon 9. Lamb Chop, Charlie Horse, Hush Puppy and Wing Ding 10. 118

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