If you overhear someone talking about NCAA athletics, you probably automatically think of the football and basketball games you see on TV during March Madness and hear about on the news. You may think of swanky warm-ups, the Big 10 teams who win every year, and spoiled brats who don’t work very hard at anything.  But that is not a very accurate representation of the NCAA.  There is more to the NCAA then those two big name sports. There are over 20 different sports, spread over 5 divisions. There are more then 380,000 student-athletes that participate in an NCAA sport each year, including almost 100,000 females.

And I happen to be one.

Many people only see us on TV, or goofing around together in the cafeteria, or maybe see us playing a pick-up game when driving by our field, but we work extremely hard almost every day during the year: pre-season, fall season, off-season, and spring season. We miss class, and have to teach ourselves full lessons. We ride buses for hours and hours, missing out on typical college activities. We go through more laundry soap in a week than most people do in a month and our rooms smells like sweat, feet and Febreeze. But I love it. I love my team. I love my sport, and I love what my college experience has been like because of it.

For the past two years, I’ve played soccer at my university. I started playing when I was 6, and had always dreamed of playing in college. By time I was 16, I had picked out my university, and started my training. Yes, that’s right. While you were picking out your junior prom dresses and worrying about graduation and the cute senior boys, I was already focused on my life as a college student-athlete. It has to be done that early, or you’ll miss so much, and won’t get through all the requirements that make you eligible to play. (The one thing the NCAA loves more then massive championship rings is paperwork.)

Because of where soccer falls in the school year (August-October), I have to arrive at my university about a month before classes start. While you’re on the beach sun tanning on August 1st, I’ll be moving back, unpacking my stuff, and already into the school mode. By August 2nd, I’ll be up at 6 AM to start my training. Every university sport has a two-week “pre-season” and it is the hardest part of the season. We run, lift, pass, kick, run more, press, run a little more, and basically kill ourselves at 6 AM, 11 AM, and 4:30 PM every day, for two weeks. It is not a fun two weeks. It is hard, grueling work. We do have a little fun as a team after workouts, as it’s usually only us and the football team there that early, but there is no partying in pre-season. By the time 7 PM rolls around, we’re all so tired that we just crash in our beds and sleep until the alarm goes off again. Then repeat.

And it only gets harder once school starts. We have practice at 6, classes from 8 until 2, practice at 4 and then a mandatory study hall at 7 from Monday to Saturday. If it weren’t for the Internet, we’d never even get to watch TV!

Part of being a college athlete is, of course, being a student. If you ask any administrator about the athletes at your school, he/she will call them “Student-Athletes,” because that’s what we are. Not only do we have to play our sport twice a day, we also have to stay on top of all of our school work. This gets hard during season, when, thanks to away games, we frequently miss class. You’ve probably seen the athletes going up to professors, telling them that they’ll be away, and been jealous of the amount of excused absences we get. But honestly, missing class is the worst part of being an athlete. First, our GPAs have to remain high or we could lose our spot on the team. Second, there is a maximum number of hours we can take, and usually it is not much higher than the university minimum. That means we really can’t afford to drop too many classes. I basically taught myself Business Calculus my freshmen year, because I missed so many classes due to away games and had to be able to understand what was going on when I got back. You can trust me on this: trying to read, write, calculate, or draw on a moving bus with 30 other girls and all their stinky equipment at 10:30 at night is not the best way to get an A. And because of all those absences, when I get sick (which is easy when you’re on the road so much) I still have to go to class. By time November comes, I can’t afford to take an off day, or not get up for my 8 AM lab.

Having said all that though, I love it. It’s hard work to try and balance school, soccer and attempt to have a social life. I love playing soccer, and I love my team. It is 30 girls who all want the same thing: To win it all. We work together both off and on the field; we run together, we cheer and push each other, we help each other with History, we complain about the cafeteria food, we go out dancing together, we creep cute boys on Facebook, and redecorate our rooms. My team is my lifeline, my best friends. My defense partners will probably be the bridesmaids at my wedding. I chose this life, and I don’t regret it. It has put me on the path to being the best I can – academically, athletically and personally. I strive to be the best I can in everything, because I’m used to having 30 others counting on me. I look to have friends who I can trust to work hard, who have good time management skills and can be friendly and persuasive without being bossy, and I’ve found them all as a student athlete.

[This post is a favorite of CollegeCandy fan, Chelsea....perhaps because she wrote it? Either way, thanks for reading, girl!]

While every college girl shares many of the same college experiences (selling books, sexiled, one shot too many), she also carves her own path and has her own unique adventure. Have you ever wondered what it’s like for other girls? What it’s like to go to an all-girls school? To go to fashion school? To double major? To be an engineer? To get married?! Well wonder no more. Our one-of-a-kind CollegeCandy writers (and readers!) are sharing their unique experiences and opening our eyes to different college worlds.

Are you doing something spectacular/different/interesting that you want to share? Send your ideas over and perhaps you could be telling your story right here.

If you over hear someone talking about NCAA athletics, you probably automatically think of the football and basketball games you see on TV during March Madness and hear about on the news. You may think of swanky warm-ups, the Big 10 teams who win every year, and spoiled brats who don’t work very hard at anything.  But that is not a very accurate representation of the NCAA.  There is more to the NCAA then those two big name sports. There are over 20 different sports, spread over 5 divisions. There are more then 380,000 student-athletes that participate in an NCAA sport each year, including almost 100,000 females.

And I happen to be one.

Many people only see us on TV, or goofing around together in the cafeteria, or maybe see us playing a pick-up game when driving by our field, but we work extremely hard almost every day during the year: pre-season, fall season, off-season, and spring season. We miss class, and have to teach ourselves full lessons. We ride buses for hours and hours, missing out on typical college activities. We go through more laundry soap in a week than most people do in a month and our rooms smells like sweat, feet and Febreeze. But I love it. I love my team. I love my sport, and I love what my college experience has been like because of it. Read More »

I must admit, I did get swept up in this year’s World Cup. What’s so wrong about cheering for the U.S. as if I actually understand what’s going on? So what if I hesitated each time before saying “score!” because I wasn’t sure if it was the correct terminology in soccer.

One thing’s for sure: even for someone who doesn’t quite understand sports (ahem, myself), it sure is fun watching those sexy men run up and down a field (court? stadium?). So here are my top reasons why athletes are a particular breed of mouth-watering man candy.

They sweat
Something about a guy getting all hot and steamy is just irresistible. Sure wouldn’t mind hitting the showers with them after the game… Okay, I’m getting carried away here, but seriously, it must be some kind of primal attraction that draws us to perspiration.

They show their badass side
When opposing team members get all up in each others’ space, penalties are called, yellow cards tossed out, a whole bunch of other sports jargon I don’t know, it is just plain exciting. Who doesn’t have just a little bit of a weakness for guys opposing authority and getting into trouble? Read More »

Once every four years, an event comes along that is so globally significant, so life altering, that it brings old men to tears.  No, I’m not talking about the presidential election or Olympic figure skating.  Ladies and gentlemen, dust off your vuvuzelas (no, that’s not something you need the gyno to find) and tune in to the World Cup.

Here are just a few reasons why you should pick a country to root for and watch:

1. “Going to bed now so I can head over to the pub at 6:30 tomorrow morning to watch the game.  Cheers!  Go USA!” The aforementioned away message greeted me when I IMed my currently-abroad best friend the other day.  I scratched my head for a moment, questioning the life choice at hand, but ultimately decided to shrug it off because a) do as the Romans New Zealanders do, b) I sure as hell wouldn’t want to be sober watching the World Cup, and c) AM drinking is totally acceptable and encouraged during the all-day, all-week, all-month World Cup Tournament. Win! Read More »

Clearly the fact that there have been six Harry Potter movies released, (two more in the making) seven books out in stores, and an upcoming theme park in Orlando, doesn’t quite express the extent of society’s obsession with the magic wizardly world. Because college Quidditch (yes, the broomstick-riding sport) is on the rise.

With over 200 colleges expressing their interest in the sport, including Princeton, U-Mass-Amherst and Vassar College, Quidditch is spreading like wildfire. It even has its own site, (for all you nerds out there) where you can have access to the latest Quidditch news and history of the sport.

Similar to soccer, the players try and get the ball, or Quaffle that is, into the opposing goal, except they try and do so while riding around on a broomstick…on the ground. Read More »

Even if we’ve blocked out selective memories of our childhood (the dentist…I shudder at the thought), we all remember elementary school recess. Now that I’m through with my public school education, I’ve been taking the time to reminisce about my favorite memories from those days. Man, did I love that half hour of pegging younger kids in the head with kickballs (which they totally deserved, by the way, just for being there).

At the risk of sounding like a creeper with a window-less van parked 100 yards from a playground, here are some of my favorite games from recess that I wish were appropriate for eighteen year-olds to play. Note: I like the games…not the kids. Read More »

We’re back with another edition of G.W.W.E. (Guys We Wanna Eff)! Heating up CC this week is the owner of those effable baby blues, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers.

Let’s go waaay back (to 2002) to the release of  Bend it Like Beckham, when JRM got his first big acting break.  He starred as Joe, the Irish soccer (okay, football) coach who quickly fell for his culturally-conflicted student, Jess.

I loved this movie for two reasons: first, because it showcased Keira Knightley during her awkward stage before she was really famous, and second, because JRM totally stole the show.

His impeccable brogue and pursed pout had my teenage tongue a-waggin’.  Plus, due to the English colloquialisms peppered throughout the film, the characters kept referring to Joe as “fit” (translation: effable), which inspired me to dream of my own physical condition after a long night with JRM.

But that was just the beginning. Read More »

We’re back with another weekly installment of G.W.W.E. (Guys We Wanna Eff), so let us take a moment to praise the infinitely talented and infinitely effable Clive Owen !

I could not be more excited for today’s release of spy-thriller Duplicity, not only because it marks the return of my girl crush Julia Roberts , but for the always-delicious Clive Owen. Yum, yum, yum!

First of all, our boy has two automatically-effable traits: green eyes and a British accent. Green-eyed men are so hard to come by, and that polished Queen’s English he speaks could enchant me even if he was talking about lint filters. Stick the man in a suit, like the one he wears in the Duplicity trailer, and he is outrageously delectable. Some even say he’s the next Cary Grant.

Furthermore, Clive is a versatile actor whose every role appeals to a different type of effability. His rugged portrayal of Dwight in Sin City showcased Clive as a brutal, aggressive gangster. In Children of Men, he is the heroic everyman entrusted with saving the life of the last pregnant woman on earth in the midst of a sociological apocalypse. In Closer (my personal favorite), he plays the animalistic dermatologist Larry, whose pornographic imagination gets him into all sorts of trouble. I can’t even watch Closer with my friends, because Clive’s lust-driven character is too hot to handle. Read More »

AskMen.com just released their list of the Top 49 Influential Men of 2008. The list includes celebrities, athletes, businessmen and other world-changers. Kudos to all these outstanding gentlemen for all their accomplishments, and extra kudos to the dudes who made this list and also happen to be really smoking hot. All 12 of them, to be exact.

We sifted through the list of influencers to find the best of the bunch. Influential and hot…this is a list of pure perfection. What more could a girl ask for?

12. Michael Phelps- With 8 Olympic gold medals under his Speedo, Mr. Phelps can stroke my breast breast stroke me any day!

Read More »

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