CUMMINGS: Collegiate athletes lead hard lives

Over the weekend while most of us fixed our sports gaze onto the Red Sox/Yankees clash, I was busy noticing how many BU athletes either achieved some notable accomplishment or were honored for excellence in their individual sport.

Women’s hockey standouts Catherine Ward, Jenn Wakefield, Tara Watchorn and Marie-Phillip Poulin were all named to the Canadian National team, which will compete at the IIHF World Women’s Championship in Switzerland.

Lacrosse player Erica Baumgartner set an all-time BU record for career assists.

Shelby Walton, R.J. Page and Nikko Brady all broke personal records at their relays for a track and field competition.

April Setterlund broke the record for the number of career runs scored as the softball team beat UMBC.

All of these amazing achievements mostly made me wonder how I could possibly go an entire year without devoting a column to our amazing student athletes, but it also made me realize something crucial to college athletics: too often do we forget how valuable and dedicated student athletes are.

Want to know what my only extra-curricular activity consists of? Attempting to come up with 800 words a week about any sports topic of my choice, a.k.a. this exact column. Don’t get me wrong, I love every minute of it, but compare it to the hell student athletes are often put through, and writing my column is like a walk in the park.

I considered pursuing volleyball at the collegiate level following four years of playing the sport year-round, but after hearing from a college volleyball player about the time commitment, and then subsequently injuring my shoulder, I was completely burnt out on all levels.

In hindsight, that was probably a good decision. Scratch that, a great decision. I can barely drag myself out of bed for my class at 11 a.m. And don’t even get me started on the hour at which I decide to wake up on the weekends – let’s just call it “the afternoon” and leave it at that.

Combine that with the daily amounts of stress that I find myself dealing with because of school, and I’d probably be the worst college athlete ever.

I, like many other countless college students, look forward to the lazy days I can spend flipping between “SportsCenter” and reruns of “Seinfeld” while I indulge in chips and crackers and quietly wonder how many days in a row I can get away with it while not flunking out of school (totally kidding, Mom!).

How many hours do you think student athletes get to spend doing anything even remotely relaxing such as this? I’m going to say approximately 10 hours a semester, but don’t quote me on that. (Ten hours? I just did that yesterday! Um, I mean…)

Getting up at 6 a.m. to run up dozens upon dozens of flights of stairs? Drinking nasty protein shakes to build muscle on my weak body? Spending more time in the gym than hanging out with friends? Eating healthy? No, no, no and definitely no.

Some people quickly forget how difficult it is just to balance school and a social life, but throw playing a sport into the mix? That is a whirlwind of time commitments and busy schedules.

I’m amazed at how unwavering college athletes are in their commitment to their respective sports, and how, despite those long hours in the gym and the steady decrease of free time, they continue to devote their time and energy to something that may not pan out. I mostly say this about professional athletes, but I think it’s also true for certain college athletes as well – they must really love their sport.

I’m sure this isn’t news to anyone, but athletics are also extremely dangerous. Injuries are an inherent part of playing sports and no matter how advanced technology becomes in the medical field, I think it’s safe to say that blowing out your knee or suffering a concussion will always be a risk of both professional and college sports.

If professional athletes suffer from a torn ACL or a broken wrist, they’ve got the benefit of stacks upon stacks of paychecks to cushion their fall. They have dozens of trainers and endorsement deals and the respect of fans worldwide. College athletes have the sport they love and that’s it.

For a college student to devote that much time and energy into a career that could end at any second, especially if it’s at the expense of typical college activities like studying or meeting new people, that shows how extremely brave and loyal most student athletes are.

So to all the athletes who broke records or achieved some remarkable feat this year or just gave up your free time to further your athletic career, you have my sincerest admiration. The sports world wouldn’t be the same without you.