Balancing Academics While Being a Student Athlete at the Club Level
Club hockey players talk about what it's like being a part of a club sport at Bradley University
Bradley has plenty of different clubs ranging from clubs related to academics to club sports that allow students to continue their athletic careers. Club sports are still time consuming and balancing school alongside that can be difficult.
Meeting Jacob Gousset
We meet up with junior Jacob Gousett and talk to him about his collegiate life while involved in club sports here at Bradley University, while also being a member of Bradley’s engineering program.
Jacob Korallus and David Conners report on his experience.
This is Jacob Korallus and David Conners, with Bradley Hockey player Jacob Gousset, who is a junior engineering major at Bradley. He has participated in Bradley’s club team all three years of his college career so far and is excited for the next season.
Club hockey here at Bradley university is the oldest club at Bradley that is still running. With the club still being a staple of Bradley’s clubs, it is an attractor to incoming freshmen looking into Bradley that want to play hockey.
Jacob Gousset, a 3-year member, remembers his choice to come to Bradley being influenced with the opportunity to join this team.
Gousset, being an engineering major, was at first concerned about the schoolwork/hockey balance that he was putting on his plate freshman year.
It was a concern at first, but it was very manageable. Only having to be on the ice 2 times during the week, and on the weekends provide me enough time to get my schoolwork done, along with being able to enjoy the time on the ice.
With Bradely hockey being a club sport, they are not upheld to the commitment standard that other Bradley athletes are expected to be at when competing on Bradley’s NCAA teams.
At this level of hockey, most players know they are not going professional, but still want to compete at a fast pace, fun level, while going through school.
He also mentions that being at school, it's important to put academics first, so being a club with no restraints like scholarships is nice because there's nothing that distracts you from putting academics first.
With being a club rather than a NCAA sport, there are also downsides that come along with it. Bradley’s Hockey team is not funded by the school, leaving all ice, bus, and equipment fees in the hands of the players.
I played hockey for a majority of his life, where paying to play is a normal practice. He mentions that it sucks having to still pay while seeing other sports not, but it is not a shock to his system.
Also, over the last few years, students that are involved in the hockey team's board have come up with many ways to raise money, like ticket sales to non-Bradley students, selling merchandise and jerseys, and much more, all in efforts to lower the costs.
This is the audio segment of Gousset:
Meeting Andrew Spence
Andrew is a junior computer science major at Bradley. He is also a 3 year player, his brother was a member of the team when Andrew was a freshman and that heavily influenced his reason to join.
He stated that being in a time-consuming major like computer science along with being on a sports team was a concern of his. The schedule of hockey takes up his nights twice a week and the weekends.
The practices are late, so I just do my homework before practice and after practice I just go to bed. If I need to miss a class for an away game, I get a form that excuses me from the class.
Here is an audio segment of Andrew speaking on his time on the team:
Meeting Grady Blessing
Grady is a sophomore Accounting Major who has taken a position on the executive board for the hockey team and a fraternity. He has been able to get on the Dean’s List for multiple semesters.
He states that balancing all three of his commitments during the season is a struggle but nothing he can’t handle.
The limited practices allow him to allocate his time for hockey, fraternity, and school commitments. Being involved on the executive board of the hockey team as treasurer benefits him for school by letting him get real world experience with money.
How The Team Helps
The team has a set GPA of 2.0 that all players must maintain to be allowed to play. This gives players the responsibility of putting school first. Not being able to play for a whole semester is a big deal for these guys so they tend to find a way to balance. After speaking with some of the players no one has been on an academic suspension in a few years which shows they are doing something right.
Moving Forward
Bradley’s hockey team's ACHA season starts in august, with the players arriving early to campus to start training camp. This year, they fell in the playoffs in late February to Maryville in the semi-finals, putting an end to their season.Â
Members of the team are already excited for next year, with a lot of hope for next season. They start their season August 30th, playing NIU on the road. The following weekend they play Nebraska in their home opener at the Owens Center Ice Arena, where they are excited to welcome back their loyal, rowdy crowd.