For many students on the USC campus, days that were once filled with extensive practices, road trips, and club championship glory are now filled with school work and merely reminiscing times long ago.
Club sports are designed to provide students with a means of activity and team effort, and more importantly, a means of getting away from school and enjoying themselves.
According to the USC Recreational Sports webpage, there are
- 53 clubs sports teams at Southern California
- 2220 athletes on these teams.
However, with the pressure of school work, internships, and the thought of the real world become a reality every day, many athletes are being forced to quit the sport they love.
The Former Dragon Slayer
Brian Nguyen was a member of the dragon boat rowing team on campus at USC. In his junior year, he became the captain of the rowing team, but he had to quit junior year.
Nguyen is studying pre-med at USC, and along with his school work, also volunteers at a local hospital to help him get research for med school.
To view a slideshow of Nguyen with his rowing team, click here.
On top of all that, Nguyen was preparing all of junior year and summer for the all important Mcats, which he took this past summer.
With all of these commitments, Nguyen found it too difficult a task to balance to balance out Dragon Boat and school work, and he quit the team at the end of his Junior year.
It's been really tough to step away because they've become like family to me over the past few years.said Nguyen.
See the whole interview with Brian Nguyen here.
The Former Spiker
Alina Abarca has loved volleyball since she could remember, and still holds a desire for the game today, attending as many varsity game as she can.
There was once a time when she on the court herself, playing on the club team until the end of her Sophomore year.
However, her story ends like Nguyen's and sadly like many others. Abarca could not handle the three hour practices most nights, and road trips in the middle of midterm season.
What can they do
While at times it seems like an impossible task, there are those that believe that the job is manageable. Annenberg Professor Mary Murphy believes that as long as you are a boss to yourself, and keep a running check list of tasks that need to be done, then it is possible to balance everything out. Murphy knows from experience, as she has taught some of the biggest names to come through USC in recent years.
- OJ Mayo
- Mark Sanchez
- Kaluka Maiava
While it may seem like an impossible task, some athletes are able to find a balance in all of the hectic nature that is the life of a student athlete. For those who have the heart to continue with the sport that they love, club sports are the way to go to keep that competitive edge going, but just be warned that it may come with a price.
