Since I'm not a huge sports fan, and the only regular exercise I do is yoga, I did not even know that there's such thing called spring training or fall training until talking to the Purdue Volleyball team.
After listening to what student athletes do in spring training and how they handle the pressure and how they manage to keep a balance of school and the sports team, I really admire them in the aspect of using their times wisely. It's actually not my first time realizing I'm one of the luckiest who do not have to squeeze their time out for a dinner. I don't have to work to pay my tuition, and I"m not in any sports team. All I have to do is to make sure I do well in school and attend the meetings of Asian American Association and the Asian Student Union Board every week. However, it's far from the normal life for many of my white friends. In addition to going to classes, they have to work during weekends when I can have the whole weekend to study. Using their time wisely is not something they do to win compliments from friends, but something that they have to do in order to cope with their busy lives.
While listening to our podcast, I couldn't help but keep thinking what those student athletes gain asides from their volleyball skills, a sense of belonging, and the friendships they develop with their teammates. The skills they learn might be forgotten if they stop practicing, and the friendships may fade away when they graduate and no longer see their teammates, but the skills they have to deal with the pressure and the time-managing skills will always be with them no matter where they go after Purdue and what they do in the future. Perhaps that's one of the most valuable things that Purdue sports team teach them.
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