They're the ones plastered on the posters in every first year's dorm room. They're No. 34, the quarterback, the recruit. They're the faces in the programs, the names on the poster board signs bobbing above the crowd in U-Hall. They're college athletes.
They're not in it for commercials, sports drink endorsements or million dollar salaries, though. These are athletes that study, party and cram for finals like any college student. Watching them sprint and dunk on ESPN, it often is easy to forget that these athletes are University students with more in common with the average student than one might suppose.
Fourth-year College student and varsity lacrosse player Billy Glading has lived the life of a college athlete for four years. Through successes, injuries, victories and pain, Glading has learned the art of balancing an intense athletic schedule with an equaling demanding academic career.
The Daily Grind
The sunrise is no stronger to Glading. "Early to bed, early to rise," he says. Up by 8 a.m. most days, Glading said he uses the morning to get homework done for classes he has that day, or just to knock things off his to-do list.
And although an 11 o'clock bedtime may be uncommon among college students, Glading said after practice, dinner and maybe a little TV in the evening, he's ready to hit the sack. Plus, knowing he gets more done in the a.m., he said he'd rather use evening time after practice to relax and rest.
With class from 11 to 1 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and Tuesday/Thursday classes at 11 and 2, Glading's days are occupied with fulfilling the requirements for his economics major.
Because practice starts at 3:30, he has to fit academics in his schedule before 3 p.m. Unlike some other University varsity athletes, the lacrosse team does not get scheduling priorities.
Glading says it can be a hassle to scramble around and get into the classes he needs. Professors, however, generally understand the time restraints athletes are dealing with.
"Usually, teachers are pretty lenient," Glading said. "If you tell them you have practice, they'll let you into an earlier section."
Practice starts at 3:30 every day, but many times Glading and the other lacrosse player need to arrive early to get ankles taped or sore muscles iced in the training room, he said. Practice lasts anywhere from 2 to 4 hours, depending on the day. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, the teams lifts weights after practice and stays until about 7 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday practices are lighter and the team can get out as early as 5 p.m.
Fueling Up
After class and before practice Glading grabs a quick lunch. Although he said he tries to eat healthily, there are no protein shakes or massive steaks on Glading's plate. He mainly focuses on the timing and size on his meals. "Timing is important," he said. "You can't eat a huge junk lunch before practice."
Although the lacrosse teams does have a nutritionist come in at the beginning of the season to speak to the players about proper eating habits, for the most part, Glading said he doesn't stick to a special diet. He does, hoever, make an effort to build up his carbohydrate stores before game days.
And fluids prove to be more crucial than diet, he said.
"It's more about what we drink," Glading said. "You have to drink a lot of fluids and begin to hydrate even a couple of days before a game."
Alcohol is another dietary concern for athletes. Glading said the lacrosse team has a drinking policy that is decided by the players themselves.
"The coaches put in their two cents, but it's the guys on the team that eventually decide on the drinking rules," Glading said.
This year, the team voted to allow drinking on Saturday nights only. Glading said this rule was decided for two reasons.
First, most of the team's games are on Saturday afternoon, so Saturday night is the furthest point from the next game.
Second, Sunday is the team's day off from practice, making it the ideal day to sleep in, or perhaps nurse a hangover, he said.
Glading said the team started voting on it's own drinking policy in 1999, and when Virginia won the NCAA Championship that season, the drinking rules stuck. The policy is different every year, he added.
Glading said he remembers a year when the rule restricted drinking to anytime 72 hours away from a game, but the Saturday night rule has been in effect for the last few years.
Glading added that, although he believes some struggle with the rule, he's never been a heavy drinker, so it's not too hard for him to limit consumption to Saturday nights.
"This year it was pretty unanimous to limit it to once a week," he said.
Brotherhood
Perhaps one of the best parts about being a college athlete is the instant feeling of camaraderie that a sports team provides.
Glading described joining the lacrosse team as "coming in as a freshman and having 45 brand new best friends that you spend the majority of your time with."
Spending countless hours on the field, in the locker room and traveling to away games, athletes develop tight bonds, he said.
This year, Glading is living with four other fourth-year lacrosse players and said he finds that most other lacrosse players also choose to room together.
"We spend so much time together, and everyone gets along pretty well," Glading said. "It makes sense that all of us would stay together."
Describing the team as a sort of "brotherhood" lends itself to comparing sports teams to fraternities or sororities.
Although Glading said he did join a fraternity when he was a first year, he eventually deactivated. He said he found it hard to balance his fraternity brothers with all his friends on the lacrosse team and not feel like he was letting someone down.
"Balancing 45 lacrosse friends with 45 fraternity brothers is hard," he said. "Then when you throw in practice, a girlfriend and schoolwork, it's hard to keep everyone happy."
Glading said he liked all his fraternity brothers, and the brotherhood was not the issue, but rather he felt like he wasn't giving it the time it deserved.
Not all lacrosse players followed that same path, though. In fact, Glading estimates that about half of the lacrosse players joined a fraternity. "They may not spend as much time at the house as your average fraternity member," Glading said, "but they make it work."
The Dating Game
With so many hours being devoted to training, it may seem like athletes would have a hard time having long-term relationships, but Glading is living proof that this is not always the case.
"I have been dating my girlfriend Sarah for three years now," he said. "She's great."
Glading estimates that about half of the guys on the team have girlfriends, and said those that are single don't seem to have a hard time meeting people or balancing relationships with friends.
Hitting the Books
Classes aren't the only thing college athletes study for. Getting ahead in the NCAA requires cramming of a different kind. Each week, pre-game practices include reviewing reports on the upcoming weekend's competition, Glading said.
The coaching staff for the lacrosse team compiles footage of Virginia's competition for the lacrosse players to study and use to prepare.
Glading said he tries to soak up as much from these player reports as he can, so he can better tackle any opponent on the team.
"It helps to know that No. 15 loves to go right, loves to shoot high," he said. Having this sort of information fresh in their heads before they step on the field allows the athletes to play smarter -- and gain whatever advantage they can against their opponents, he added.
Game day
Game day is the climax of every college athlete's week. For Glading, game day begins with a good night's sleep.
"I usually go to sleep early the night before and get up early," he said. Also, the lacrosse team makes it a habit to eat four hours before every game they play. This consistency helps to prepare them mentally and physically for the task at hand, Glading said. About two hours before the start whistle is blown, the players can be found in the training room. Glading said he and many others on the team use music to get pumped up for the game.
Moving On
As Glading's last season comes to a close, he said he's looking forward to a successful end of the season and looking back on four years of great experiences.
"After playing sports all my life, my career as a competitive athlete is winding down now, and I'm trying to make the most of it," Glading said. "I've loved every minute of playing sports."
Although he's not planning to make lacrosse his sole profession, Glading said he does know a few graduated lacrosse players who now play for an outdoor professional league. This is something he said he is considering -- but only as something he'd do along side of another career.
Life Lessons
When all is said and done, athletes do live a life that is different from the average college student's experience. Added on to the stresses of school are the expectations of coaches, time commitments and the pressure they put on themselves to perform. All these factors can weigh heavily, but lessons learned from the sports they compete in can make dealing with many stresses doable, Glading said.
"When school isn't going too well or lacrosse isn't going too well, it can be hard to stay up," Glading said. "But you just have to."
Experiences with tough losses or mistakes in games have taught Glading the art of putting things in perspective.
"With lacrosse you can't dwell on mistakes because tomorrow is another practice -- tomorrow is another game," he said.
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