• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

College Magazine

College Life, Dating, Career & Campus Advice

  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Social Change
      • Party
  • Majors
    • All Majors
    • Most Popular Majors
    • Choosing a Major
  • Intern
    • Internship Directory
    • How to Get an Internship
    • How to Write a Resume
    • How to Write a Cover Letter
    • How to Interview
    • How to Network
    • Career 101
    • Find Your Passion Career
  • Money
    • How to Make Money
    • How to Save Money
    • How to Get a Job
    • Credit Cards 101
    • FAFSA
    • Ramen Project
  • Travel
    • Study Abroad
    • College Spring Break
    • How to Travel Cheap
    • Things to Do
  • Shop
    • Writer Course
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
  • Find your college or university
  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Social Change
      • Party
  • Majors
    • All Majors
    • Most Popular Majors
    • Choosing a Major
  • Intern
    • Internship Directory
    • How to Get an Internship
    • How to Write a Resume
    • How to Write a Cover Letter
    • How to Interview
    • How to Network
    • Career 101
    • Find Your Passion Career
  • Money
    • How to Make Money
    • How to Save Money
    • How to Get a Job
    • Credit Cards 101
    • FAFSA
    • Ramen Project
  • Travel
    • Study Abroad
    • College Spring Break
    • How to Travel Cheap
    • Things to Do
  • Shop
    • Writer Course
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
  • Find your college or university
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise
  • My Account
  • Cart

You are here: Home / Life / Entertainment / Sports / Behind the Closed Doors of College Sports

Behind the Closed Doors of College Sports

October 8, 2019 //  by Maria Ross

Shares2FacebookTweet

The harsh blaring of my alarm at six-thirty in the morning jolts me awake and I desperately fumble with my phone in hopes that I shut it off before the noise wakes my sleeping roommate. I want to tell myself to rest for five more minutes, but I set my alarm to the latest time without the possibility that I could be late for my morning workout. I groan thinking about my grueling tennis schedule for the day. Lift workout followed by running and ending with an afternoon practice. Today will not be so bad though; the weather shows no rain, no snow and no sleet. I rush down to Conte Forum, Boston College’s athletic gym and sit down next to my teammates, all of us groggy and quiet. 

My left wrist still aches from the surgery I underwent a few months prior.

After tearing my ECU tendon during the ACC conference tournament, I took time off hoping that the tendon will naturally heal itself. A few months later and no progress, I decided to schedule the surgery and take the entire fall season off from tennis to recover. This meant no matches and limited practices. Taking time off also created immense tension between me and my teammates. I no longer practiced and I did not complete exercises in our workouts. My teammates thought I put in little effort and showed no interest, but really,  I felt deeply upset about awkward team tension and being scared of reinjuring my wrist. These issues came at the worst time, considering just the year prior, as a freshman, I severely underperformed. 

Coming into college as a top-ranked junior, I knew about the tough competition. However, I did not feel prepared for the demanding and strenuous schedule, nor did I expect to lose all confidence in my game. I always thought that players improve in college because they immerse themselves in stronger competition and athletes sense the support of their teammates.  Despite the partial truth behind those facts, I learned a lot more about my own tennis game, the role of teammates and college athletics than I anticipated. 

I remember during my first few matches I felt so nervous that I barely swung through a shot.

I knew my coaches judged the new recruits, determining where they could be placed on the lineup. I never experienced pressure like that before. I wished so badly I can time travel and go back to being twelve, fearless without any nerves or outside factors affecting my game. However, obviously this seemed impossible. I played for something much larger than myself now; I played for my coaches, teammates and a university. I felt that a tremendous pressure for me to win, not just to compete. I never faced this feeling before, and in return, I experienced damaging effects on my self-confidence. 

Unlike team sports, tennis is an individual sport and doesn’t require one to rely on others to win. This is one of my favorite aspects of tennis. However, my injuries and the pressure of playing on a team stripped that away. Instead, tennis became a team sport. A team sport where I relied on and played for others than just myself. I knew this going into college, and although I felt initially excited about it, the actual experience differed from what I anticipated. 

I went from loving challenging matches and tournaments to me feeling nervous to play a simple challenge match in practice.

The fear of losing a match will impact my chances of making the line-up and I felt like I needed to prove something. Especially after surgery, I wanted to show my coaches and teammates that I did not take my recovery lightly. Even though playing college tennis was an experience I didn’t expect, I learned to adapt and change my mentality. Sports rarely have negative connotations but for a hot moment, tennis was one of my bleakest memories. Despite that, even after my injury, I am growing to love competing in a different environment and sharing every moment with my teammates.

Shares2FacebookTweet

Filed Under: Boston College Sports

About Maria Ross

Maria is a junior at Boston College studying Communication and Marketing. She is a passionate about her school and plays for the women's tennis team at BC. Aside from writing, her hobbies include browsing Yelp for restaurants, baking brownies, (do we see a trend?) and basking in the warm sun of her hometown, Sarasota, Florida.

You May Also Like

ivy league

Which Ivy League School Has the Most Dominant Sports Teams? 

Manchester United

Soccer 101: CM’s Guide to the English Premier League

College Magazine’s Top 10 Colleges for Sports Law for 2020

hands on the uneven bars

Top 10 Collegiate Gymnastics Programs in the U.S.

College Magazine’s Top 10 Colleges for Snowboarders

Top 10 Colleges for Sports Management Majors 2020

lacrosse coaches

Top 10 Lacrosse Coaches: Who to Choose For Your Perfect Match

How to Become a General Manager for Your Favorite Sports Team

sports journalist

A Student Sports Journalist in a World Without Sports

UF Sports

10 Sports-Related Experiences for UF Students to Add to Their Resumes

How Student-Athletes Feel About Losing Their Senior Season

Softball

Behind the Scenes of Playing a Club Sport in College

quidditch game

Try Out a Niche Club Your Freshman Year, I Did

college sports

Behind the Closed Doors of College Sports

rowing

Night Owl, Converted: Joining the BC Rowing Team

student athlete

Living The Dream: My Life As a Student Athlete

UCLA Bruin

10 Signs You Went to UCLA That Make You a Real Bruin

female sports fan

A Call To All Mistreated Female Sports Fans

10 Things Every Florida Gator Does on Game Day

ben hill griffith stadium university of florida tailgating

10 Ways to be a Florida Tailgator

psu coaching

10 Drinking Games for PSU’s Blue-White Weekend

Is It Possible to Be a Marginalized Athlete on a College Campus?

penn state football stadium psu alumnus

Sacrilegious Terms: 10 Things Not to Say to PSU Alumni

Ohio State game day football tackle

10 Game Day Rituals at Ohio State University

Previous Post: «mental health Mental Health: When it’s Okay to Not be Okay
Next Post: How to Make Something of Rejection: Internship Edition »

Primary Sidebar



Trending Posts

70

Top 10 Weird Scholarships You Can’t Miss

60

24 Ways My 2020 Survival Guide Turned into 2021 Lifestyle Habits

55

The Ultimate Auburn University Bucket List: 21 Things to Do Before Graduating

best classes
24

10 Best Classes You Need to Take at Drake University

cover photo sju si
10

Top 10 Best Resources Offered at St. John’s University-Staten Island

Featured Chapter: St. John’s University

Footer

logo

College Magazine is the national daily guide to campus life. Our articles for college students feature university rankings of U.S. colleges, college guides, academic advice, college prep, career advice, student health and collegiate dating tips.

Written by students for students, by a team of journalists from universities nationwide, we’re on the pulse of the college experience.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Colleges

  • College Guides
  • College Rankings
  • Campus life
  • Academics
  • Dating
  • Freshmen Year
  • Health
  • Party

Majors

  • All College Majors
  • Most Popular Majors
  • Choosing a Major

Intern

  • Internships Directory
  • How to Write a Resume
  • How to Write a Cover Letter
  • How to Interview
  • How to Get an Internship
  • How to Network

Money

  • How to Make Money
  • How to Save Money
  • How to Get a Job
  • Credit Cards 101
  • College Loans

Travel

  • Study Abroad
  • College Spring Break
  • How to Travel Cheap
  • Things to Do

Shop

  • College Packing List
  • Gift Guides
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise
  • My Account
  • Cart

Copyright © 2021 College Magazine · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc.