Being a first-year athlete

Written by: Kara Poirier
First-year, Eau Claire, Wis.
Women's Basketball, Softball

Being a first-year athlete in college was just about the best experience I could have asked for. Sure there were times when I felt like I had no free time; sleep, eat, class, and practice was basically my whole schedule, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I’ve met some great people because of my involvement and we’ve had some even better times.

At first I was always nervous for practice, not really knowing what to expect from day-to-day, and wondering how I was going to be able to move at all since I was so sore from Hartman workouts. I spent a lot of time cluelessly following the actions of the upperclassmen, really having no idea what was going on, and then getting yelled at for not doing the little things right in a drill (even though the drill was never really explained to me in the first place). But pretty soon I began to pick up on exactly how things were done, and before I knew it I wasn’t nervous for practice anymore, I was completely excited. Practice became my break from everything else.

The transition from high school to college is a big one, but for the most part, it’s a positive change. I went from riding a rickety old school bus to away games to nice coach buses (though no one cares to use the on-board toilet facility, which I didn’t realize until I noticed I was the only one to use it…the whole season), from buying my own food to team meals on game day that were paid for, from a team consisting of some people who didn’t really want to be there to a team full of dedicated athletes that share my passion. It’s exhilarating to be challenged to step up to the next level, even if you don’t succeed every time. I’ve definitely had my ups and downs this year, but the best part about being a first year is that I’m a sophomore next year.