I want to describe what an average day in my life was as a college wrestler. It will give you an idea of whether or not you want to make that gigantic commitment. However, the title of this appendix is a bit misleading. While many days are similar, rarely are they the same. A matchday is different than the day before, as a day in October is different from a day in March.
The most fundamental aspect for college athletes is time management. Sports, specifically wrestling, take up vast amounts of time. You could easily get lost in the web that is wrestling and have no time for anything else. Living on your own for the first time can turn into a disaster without a plan to succeed. I recommend keeping a detailed calendar or planner, in which you list everything that you have to do each day. That way, you can balance academics, athletics, and your social life.
Many athletes and students succumb to the temptations of constant partying in their first year of college. Nothing proactive can get accomplished in that scenario with respect to grades and particularly athletics. Most institutions require first-year student-athletes to attend an organized study hall for a few hours each week. At RIC, if their grade point average was over 2.5 in the first semester, they were no longer required to attend. It was a sound system that forced me to put time into the most important part of a college career, which is academics. While I hated the idea at the time, it turned out to be very beneficial for my grades and wrestling. Remember, you are a student-athlete, not an athlete-student. Setting aside six hours a week for school work is a plan you should put in place for yourself, even if your institution does not.
Here is how I typically divided up the time spent in various activities.
Arguably, the most vital part of the day is the eight hours of sleep an athlete needs. Practice ran about two and a half hours daily and was usually preceded or followed by one to two hours of workout time on my own, totaling four hours of training per day. During our school’s winter break, we had double sessions and trained five to six hours a day. The typical student-athlete has three hours of class time each day. Combined with sleep and training, that accounts for fifteen of the twenty-four hours. As a senior in my house, I spent at least an hour preparing my food and then another eating it. When you are a freshman, chances are you will have a meal plan through your college, but the time spent in the cafeteria will be comparable to living on your own. During winter break, when I remained on campus to train, I would also take a nap, watch a movie, or read for two to three hours. When classes were conducted, I would spend those hours doing homework and studying. This leaves four or five hours spent on the phone (with my girlfriend mostly), on the computer, and relaxing with friends.
My days during wrestling season were not exactly fun in the sense that I was not doing what many other college students do, such as getting drunk, high, and partying. I chose a different path; in my opinion, a better one. Those typical fun college times are usually forgotten in the blur of the college experience. My time in college was not littered with alcohol and drugs but with hard work, dedication, determination, and sacrifice. I am very grateful for that.
During my first season at Rhode Island, I made the mistake of getting drunk on two occasions. I cannot remember one thing about either of those nights now. Yet I know I will never forget the feelings of anguish after my season ended. Had I let getting drunk become a habit, I would not have been able to continue to train properly, compete consistently, and succeed in wrestling.