With the start of the 2024/2025 academic year comes new student athletes who have never competed on the college level. The transition from high school sports is challenging. Most of our athletes have never lived on their own before, and some of them are even from different countries. Playing a Division II college sport can be strenuous for students, so I decided to ask some of our more seasoned athletes how they adapted to a brand new busy schedule on Holy Family’s campus. You can learn more about all of our student athletes as well as the athletic program as a whole here.

Brianna Coates is a track star in her junior year as a Bio Pre-Physical Therapy major. She grew up in Northeast Philadelphia and adroitly manages her very busy schedule. 

Renee Althoff is a talented lacrosse player in her sophomore year as a Nursing major. She grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and works diligently to keep up with her schedule.

Jelle Bing is an excellent baseball player in his senior year as a Biology/Pre-Physiotherapy major. He grew up in Heerhugowaard, Netherlands and strives to adhere to his well-timed schedule. 

1. What is your favorite part about being a student athlete at Holy Family?

Brianna: I love being a student athlete at Holy Family. It feels like being part of a big family where everyone, from coaches to staff, is rooting for you to succeed. It’s more than just about sports; the support you get here extends to every part of your life.

Renee: My favorite part about being a student athlete at Holy family is being able to build a family within the team that I play on. The bonds that I have been able to create from being a student athlete are unexplainable. 

Jelle: The freedom and supporting the other teams.

Family is a big part of the Holy Family community. It is a core value of our mission statement, teneor votis, or I am bound by my responsibilities. Since HFU is a small school, people know each other well and friend groups tend to overlap. Sports are a great way to find your own version of family here at HFU. The close-knit community always supports each other from every department down to the individual student.

2. What does a typical day look like as a student athlete?

Brianna: A typical day for me includes practice, lifting, and night classes. This semester I have a lot of afternoon and evening courses, so I work around that. I make time for what matters, like eating right and getting enough sleep, while trying to build healthy habits into my routine.

Renee: I wake up every day at 5:30, so I can get to practice at six. Practice will end around 7:30-8:00. If I don’t have an 8 AM, my lacrosse team will get breakfast at the cafe. Then go to my nursing classes. Study in the afternoon, then do it all over again the next day.

Jelle: Walking to school, lift in the morning followed by class, trainers/stretching in between classes, practice and finish any homework that I got left.

Student athletes at HFU get priority course selection in order to better fit their practice and game schedule. If you ever need help managing your schedule, talk to our academic success coaches or your advisor! They have an academic success coach specifically for student athletes who was a student athlete and understands the stress.

3. What is your advice to a new student athlete trying to manage their busy schedule?

Brianna: My best advice is to use Google Calendar! It’s been a game changer for me. Breaking your day into blocks helps you stay organized and find time for everything, including rest.

Renee: The first piece of advice I would give is having a calendar with classes, appointments, and practices on it. The next piece of advice I would give is to make a schedule of my general plan for the next day. (For example, study times, lunch classes). Another piece of advice I would give is having a list of all the assignments that are due so you don’t fall behind.

Jelle: Communicate, ask older athletes how they manage it and try to learn from them. They were in your shoes at one time too.

Student athlete schedules can be booked and planned down to the minute, keeping track of everything via a planner or an online calendar. A lot of students use Google Calendar as it comes free with the Google Suite associated with our student emails. Even as a non-athlete, I use Google Calendar to plan out every moment of my day. I would be constantly drowning in work without it. 

4. How does your team bond with each other?

Brianna: Our team has bonding days where we do fun activities together. Last year we had a scavenger hunt, which was a blast. It’s nice to connect outside of practice and just have fun plus it helps us work better as a team

Renee:  My team bonds with each other by doing breakfast after practice, going out to ice cream together or Rita’s. Having a big dinner at one of the coaches houses and going to events with each other (volunteering, games, etc.)

Jelle: By organizing outside activities like watching sports games or working out together.

Team bonding is an essential part of the athletic community. You get to know yourself, your teammates, and your coaches. Knowing and getting along with them can improve the way you play together. Trusting each other out on the playing field is vital to a good game. Anything from team dinners to chatting before practice can help! Just the other day, I heard the women’s volleyball team listening and singing along to some of their favorite songs in order to hype themselves up before working together as a team.

5. How do you handle team disputes?

Brianna: Communication is key. Talking things out before they become bigger problems helps keep the team connected and respectful.

Renee: My team handles disputes by first trying to work it out ourselves. Then we bring it to the captains if the captains can’t help us work it out then we bring it to the coaches

Jelle: Communication is key, talk about it and hear different opinions before you act upon anything

The overall consensus is to never sit on your anger. Always try to work it out first amongst yourselves and escalate if need be. Your coaches and team leadership is a good resource to use if you need to talk it out before confrontation. This is great advice for anyone, not just athletes. It is always better to try and work something out rather than just sitting there seething. Our counseling services office is also a great resource! Even if you do not want full therapy, they offer twenty minute problem-solving sessions where they can walk through these types of situations with you.

6. Was there ever a time that you felt disconnected from your sport, if so, how did you handle it?

Brianna: Yes, when school gets overwhelming, it’s hard to stay connected to track. I focus on school first and then find time to get back into track once I’m on top of things.

Renee: There was a time when I felt disconnected from the team, the way I dealt with this was by reaching out to the people that I was the closest with on the team.

Jelle:  Never have I felt disconnected from baseball, I love it every single day.

This is a great example of being able to rely on your teammates for support. Talking to them and working out any issues you have can help bring you back into loving the sport. Reach out for dinner/lunch or a workout with some teammates and talk out what is wrong.

7. Are you a part of any other extracurriculars? If so, what are they?

Brianna: Yes, I’m a community assistant (CA), and I’m involved in some clubs on campus like Campus Ministry, BSU, and Athletes Helping Athletes (AHA)- a club that I started in 2023! I like staying involved outside of sports too, it keeps me balanced.

Renee: While I am on the lacrosse team and in the nursing program, I am also the treasurer of AHA. I am a CA at the Independent Living Community. Additionally, I also work with the Undergrad Admissions department to give tours to incoming students. 

Jelle: I am a CA on campus and part of SAAC, the Student Athlete Advisory Committee.

Despite all of the athletes’ hectic schedules, they still have time to give back to the Holy Family community via these organizations. Every semester, Student Engagement hosts an involvement fair where students can see all of their options to join in our community. Follow their instagram to keep up with things to do on campus!

8. What is something you want faculty members to know about student athletes?

Brianna: Student athletes work hard, both in sports and in the classroom. We’re balancing a lot, and sometimes it’s tough, but we’re committed to giving our best in everything we do.

Renee: One thing that I would want faculty members to know is that sometimes students have a lot more going on than just academics and we are under a lot of pressure all the time, while it is important for us to have grace in some areas it is just as important to be strict.

Jelle: That maybe it doesn’t always look like we are trying but most of us try to give it our all every single day.

Communicate with your professors when you have games and practices. Always let them know you won’t be in class. They will prefer written notice rather than radio silence. It will also help you build rapport with professors and pave the way for more open communication between athletes and faculty.

Hopefully, with these tips and tricks, our new student athletes will be able to adjust and grow to our college community faster than ever!

Amanda Knipe is a senior English major with minors in Business Administration and Creative Writing. She is currently working with HFU’s literary magazine, Folio, as Editor in Chief.