The life of a student-athlete requires countless hours of dedication to excel both on the field and in the classroom. Many student-athletes spend nearly their entire day on campus every single day. City College Sophomore Quarterback Will Doherty describes what an average day looks like for him.
“Wake up, if I have a lift I wake up at 6:50. Go to school, go to my meetings and then practice. By the time that’s done it’s already 6:00 at night,” Doherty said. “Just really letting the night go away so I can get up the next morning and then get after it.”
Doherty’s day is out of the ordinary from an average student, as he spends practically every waking moment dedicating his life to school and football.
Typically, Doherty starts his day in the classroom, but on Mondays and Wednesdays, his day starts bright and early with a 7:30 a.m. workout. Doherty sometimes finds it tough but uses the challenge to start his day.
“It can be really tough, especially when you are sore.” Doherty said. “You wake up early Monday morning and you’re like, do I really want to get up, but at the end of the day, you gotta do what you gotta do, It definitely sucks getting up early but it’s nice because it gets your day started and your week on the right note.”
On other days, Doherty gets his sleep and gets his day started with schoolwork, which he describes as the most important part of his day.
“School is just about the most important part of my day because it allows me to play the sport that I love,” Doherty said. “Learning everyday is really important for my future.”
After class, Doherty’s day in football begins. It starts off with quarter back meetings every weekday at 1:00 p.m. This is followed by offensive meetings with the team at 2:30 p.m.. Then, heading to the locker room to get the pads on and head down to La Playa Stadium for practice from 3:45 p.m to 6:00 p.m.
Practice is the longest part of Doherty’s day and his last activity at campus, but to him, this is his favorite part of the day. Being around his teammates and being able to prepare for their game every week, makes him love the end of his day at City College.
“Being around the guys and the close tight knit group that we had really kept everyone motivated to get better everyday,” Doherty said. “ You learn to love practice because if you have a good week of practice and are able to understand the opponent, you are most likely going to have a good outcome on Saturday.”
Doherty’s long day at campus finishes here. All of the hours Doherty spends every day, he finds completely worthwhile and precisely what he signed up for.
“It can be taxing at times but this is what I signed up for. I love football and playing college football is a blessing in itself,” Doherty said. “ Being able to go through college and play football makes everything worthwhile.”
As the night rolls on, Doherty heads home and prepares to do it again the next day. No matter how challenging and time-consuming the day was, he expressed his excitement to do it again.
Between early morning workouts, long days of classes, team meetings, and intense practices, the life of a student-athlete is incredibly demanding and time-consuming. Despite the exhaustion and the constant juggling of responsibilities, many student-athletes wouldn’t have it any other way.
