Jacob Turner-
College is a lot like an emotional rollercoaster, students can go from having the time of their life to almost having a mental breakdown at 3 a.m. in the library because they forgot about their history test. If you think college is hard imagine being a Student athlete.
The recommended work load for an Appalachian State student is 15 to 18 credit hours a semester, so on average students spend that time each week in a class room. Imagine spending another 15 to 20 hours a week on top of school just to practice or participate in events just for your sport. Quickly I realized some of the struggles student athletes face just by trying to get in contact with them, I contacted Tripp Summerlin a sophomore golfer here at Appalachian State to ask if I could interview him. Tripp was grateful enough to say yes but the real struggle was for him finding time in his week just to meet up with me.
After playing cat and mouse via email for three days, I finally got the chance to catch up and ask Tripp about being a Golfer at Appalachian State. “It means a lot to me to be able to play golf at App State because its what is paying for my college” Summerlin replied after being asked what Appalachian State golf means to him. Even though Summerlin is grateful for the opportunity to play at Appalachian State he made it clear it wasn’t an easy task, “In season is tough because we are missing around 3 class days every week just about. This makes it very tough to keep up with school work and learn all the material. Even when we do not have tournaments, we have practice every day and that takes up about 4-5 hours per day. Then homework and class time included, and we do not have very much time to have fun.”
When asked about the expectations and pressures that come with collegiate golf, Summerlin answered without a bat of the eye “I do not feel any pressure even though I am sure that the university wants me to. I just try to be myself because it has gotten me this far, so I figure why change”. He says he has always approached playing in this manner because it helps me stay relaxed, “Coaches expect the highest possible outcomes in every situation whether it’s on or off the field. They want us to succeed in every way.”
Bailee Eurey, A senior from Cherryville N.C., has been apart of the dance team at Appalachian State since enrolling here as a freshman back in the fall of 2014. Even though dance team is a student ran organization at App State, Eurey stated “Dance team surprisingly is still a student ran organization. We hold ourselves to the same standard as every other athlete on campus in regard to being presentable, showing up on time, and being respectful to our teammates and others.
When asked about the typical day for Dance team members Eurey smirked then sighed “typically Dance team has both practice, workouts, and usually games during the week. We dance at football, basketball, and wrestling matches as well as random community events throughout the year.”
When people hear Appalachian State they often first think about our prestigious football team and all its accomplishments, but have they ever wonder the dedication football players put in year-round just to play on fall Saturdays? Aidan Nesvisky, a redshirt sophomore OL for Appalachian State knows all about the sacrifices and hard work it takes to suit up in the Black and Gold on Saturday’s. When asked to best summarize what its like to be a college football player in your own words he quickly responded with “It like working a full-time job while going to school but the reward is the greatest feeling in the world, and that’s being able to dress out on Saturday’s to play your heart out in an amazing environment like Kidd Brewer.”
The dedication and hard work they put in is not for everyone, it takes a special type of person to work their tail off all year long just to be able to play a game for 60 minutes ten to twelve times a year. “It's tough, there are days you just want to quit and be able to have the freedoms that normal college students have but the one thing that keeps me going other than my coaches and teammates is the feeling I get on gamedays, being apart of something much bigger than me."
Pictured: Tripp Summerlin, Bailey Eurey (front row, third to right), Aidan Nesvisky