Hi there. In this education piece I share my thoughts on student athletes. One of my past classmates was a student athlete. She maintained good grades (A range) while still being active on the university women's hockey team.
Two Things At Once
Getting good grades is one thing but adding sports commitments to the mix while you are young makes things tough. School is a big priority but the student also wants to play sports. Playing sports at a young age can potentially open a door to a sports career.
If the student athlete gets a good sports opportunity then sports could be the number one option. If a sports career does not work out for whatever reason, then there is school to fall back on.
Time Management Skills & Focus
At the university I was at, there were academic support services for student athletes. I don't know what exactly they do but I highly suspect that a large focus is giving advice on time management and focus. Sports do take a fair bit of a student's free time. Time is more limited so a student athlete really has to efficient with their time and make sure their learning strategies are effective.
I do think that focus is super important. A good degree of focus helps in learning more and limits time wasting distractions. In a modern world filled with tech distractions, focus is crucial.
In terms of learning strategies, I think the quiz and recall methods like flashcards, doing practice problems and mock tests are good. Making use of office hours for questions, clarifying complex topics is effective and time efficient.
Other Notes
I am not sure if a part-time student but still student athlete is an option. A lighter courseload does help a lot especially if you have sports commitments. It does take longer to graduate for the degree completion but there is definitely less stress in managing less courses plus sports.
Another thing that can help student athletes is to choose easier courses for their electives. Employers don't really look into courses taken from your degree. There is not much difference from hiring when a student chooses a STEM elective course versus an easy non-STEM course.
Since student athletes do not have that much free time available, I think they are picky with who they hang out with. Some of the free time could be used to relax after long rigorous days as a student and athlete.