by Jake Jones

Created on: May 18, 2008

A typical day in the life of a college baseball player varies by semester. The fall semester is considered the off season for college baseball. There is a short fall schedule that includes a handful of weekend games. The fall schedule is limited to about one or two months of games.

The fall semester for a college baseball player is a semester of physical conditioning and class. Since the spring is a very busy time for a college baseball player the fall serves as a time to focus more on school work. Taking 15 to 18 hours of coursework or 5 to 6 classes in the fall is very common for a college baseball player.

A typical fall day for a college baseball player would start around 7:15 a.m. with an aerobic workout. This usually consists of a long distance run and running drills to increase foot speed and sprinting ability. After an hour of aerobic exercise it would be off to breakfast with the rest of the team and then class at 9 a.m. The typical college baseball player will be in class until around 4 p.m. with the only break being for lunch. After classes it is straight to the weight room for weight training and position specific practice. After 2 to 3 hours of weight lifting and skills practice in it is time for team dinner. The evening hours consist of free time, which is usually consumed with homework.

As spring comes in so does the baseball season. The spring semester brings a hectic seven day a week schedule. Starting in early March a college baseball player spends every weekend playing a three game series consisting of one game on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. In addition, to the weekend series there is a game on either Tuesday or Wednesday of each week. A college baseball player plays around 60 games during a single school year. This is substantially more than the majority of other college sports. In addition, half of the games are away games and require a significant amount of travel time.

A typical Friday in the spring for a college baseball player would consist of meeting the bus at 6 a.m. to travel to the game. Breakfast would be supplied on the bus and many players either sleep or do homework on the bus. After a quick stop for lunch it would be straight to the field for pregame preparation and the game. After the game the team would check into the hotel and then have a team dinner followed by a team meeting to discuss tomorrow's schedule. Lights out is at or around 11 p.m. for most teams.

The demanding schedule that I have demonstrated for a college baseball player is familiar to all college student athletes. It takes good time management skills and strong motivation to meet the requirements of school and sport. However, the skills and work ethic that are developed from being a college student athlete are priceless.

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