Three tips to balance academics and athletics

Going to college is challenging already on its own, but going to college and playing a college sport can be twice as challenging. The most important thing to understand is that if you already did this in high school, the same principle still applies in college. 

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Here are three tips to balance academics and athletics: 

Dedicate time each day for academics 

Just as you have a specific time for training with your team, make a dedicated schedule for your academics, and strictly follow it. You can’t control your athletic training and your academic classes, but you can take control of every minute of your “free” time. Make the best of it. 

Join or form study groups with fellow student-athletes 

You don’t have as much free time as non-student-athletes to complete your academic work. The best way to cope with the pressure is to talk with other student-athletes and help each other out, especially if you are taking the same course. 

Schedule classes around your athletic schedule 

Team practice usually has a regular schedule. So, if you know you have training from 4-6pm, don’t take a class that meets around that time of day, unless you need to. Pick a class that is at least an hour before or after your practice schedule. 

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David Berkowitz here. I’m a North Carolinian who is filled with passion for the Chicago Cubs and the Duke Blue Devils. Visit this page for more sports content.

The Shot: Revisiting Laettner’s Dagger-through-the Heart Jumper Against the Wildcats

With a little above 2 seconds left on the game clock, and Duke behind by a point to Kentucky, a young Grant Hill would throw a pinpoint pass from the other end of the court. It landed squarely in the hands of Christian Laettner, who would fake his defender right then left, turn around, and take a 17-foot jumper at the buzzer.

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The result is now infamously called “The Shot,” giving Duke a 104-103 win and bringing Duke back to the Final Four for the fifth straight season. The year was 1992. ESPN ranks it as 17th in the top sports moments in the past 25 years. And, in 2004, Sports Illustrated called it the greatest college basketball game of all time.
It was the perfect offensive game for NBA-bound Laettner, who scored 31 points on a 10-for- 10 shooting, displayed flawless showing on the free-throw line, and backed everything up with a solid, seven- rebound performance. He would earn the regional Most Outstanding Player award.
The Blue Devils would go on to claim its second consecutive national championship a couple of days after. And in 2017, on the occasion of the game’s 25th, silver year, it is only fitting that the basketball world remembers one of its golden, historic moments.

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Hey there, David Berkowitz here. I am currently a college student at Duke. I love watching basketball, especially when The Blue Devils are playing. For more on my hobbies and interests, drop by my blog.