Texas Tech University Athletics
Student-Athletes Carry Quite a Load
February 20, 2006 | Softball
Feb. 20, 2006
By: Brandon Hughes
It doesn't take much to stress some college students out. Merely balancing school and a job is challenging enough at times. Throw in some extracurricular activities, a second job, or participation in a university sport and college can flat out seem overwhelming.
However, certain responsibilities must be attended to before a student can kick back and relax.
With that in mind, those students on campus that can be under the most stress at times are our student-athletes.
In a span of almost two months, which started on February 9th, the Tech softball team will not play one home game. Instead, they will be on the road playing various tournaments and meeting various teams throughout the nation.
During this time, the softball team will visit such places as Tucson, Ariz., Palm Springs, Calif., Wichita, KS., and Albuquerque, N.M.
Constantly changing venues and still trying to be a student can wear a student out if they are not careful. Sarah Losleben, a pitcher for the softball team, said that you have to remain focused while constantly being on the go.
"The one thing actually about being a student-athlete is that you really do learn how to manage your time," Losleben said. "If you don't, it's definitely going to catch up to you in the classroom."
Losleben and her teammates will not be just playing cupcake softball teams. They will play some of the NCAA's finest softball programs along the way. It's a schedule that Losleben said is a good starting point for the team and their season.
"We are facing a lot more ranked teams this season and I'm actually really psyched about it because it's just going to help us step up our game and prepare us for our season," Losleben said.
"I have a lot of respect for the teams we're going to play."
Erin Crawford, pitcher for the softball team, said that it is easy to lose your focus being on the road so much. That might be extra true in her case because Crawford is now attending graduate school.
"It's kind of different," Crawford said. "It's not the same kind of course load. It's a different kind of school."
Crawford said even though she is currently attending graduate school, she does not look at it the same. She said that she shares the same kind of study troubles as the others do.
In the part of the schedule where the team will not see Lubbock for one weekend, Crawford said she no longer gets homesick like she did when she was younger.
Crawford said as you get older, you get used to traveling, but sometimes it can be hard on the younger players on the team.
"Sometimes they get homesick, but they are all good girls and they can take care of themselves real well," Crawford said.
Crawford said that the one misleading thing about being a student athlete is that some regular students do not understand how doing what they do and being gone for long periods of time can make playing softball seem like a real job.
"We're gone all the time and when we are here, we get as much school in as we can, but we still have to practice," Crawford said. "Softball takes up a lot of time, but so does school."
"We're really trying to do two really time-consuming things at once."
The Tech softball team continues their road trip February 23rd when they travel to Palm Spring, Calif., to face Maryland and Stanford.
