As we head into the middle of the fall semester, Swarthmore’s sports schedules will become increasingly busy. While exams and paper deadlines approach quickly, varsity athletic teams plunge into the middle of conference play, when the significance of winning is the most crucial. On top of classes, athletes devote time to practices, lifts, and game review sessions.
For the women’s soccer team, the payoff of this hard work comes almost twice a week when they lace up against opponents in 90-minute games. Without enough recovery time to play both matches on the weekend, mid-week games, usually on Wednesdays, are a common part of the women’s soccer schedule. This past Wednesday, the Garnet traveled to Allentown, PA, to play conference opponent Muhlenberg College. To put you in my cleats, I’ll detail a day in my life on an away conference matchday, from wake up to sleep.
7:00 a.m.: I wake up to the sound of the alarm on my watch. As I check the time on my phone, I look through the window next to my bed: a misty fog blankets the sky and makes the drizzling rain hard to see. On weekdays, I look forward to a quiet breakfast so I quickly get dressed and head to Sharples to beat the morning rush before 8:30 a.m. class sessions. The walk to the dining center is cold and humid, but when accompanied by nicer weather, is a morning treat.
7:30 a.m.: Walking into Sharples, I sit down at the corner table the soccer team most often eats meals at. My breakfast always consists of four egg whites, two turkey sausages, a bagel, and lately, some kind of fruit. Today, a couple of teammates have beaten me to the table; I find them working on their schoolwork early. It’ll soon be a busy day, and the morning makes for a good time to study. After we talk and finish up breakfast, I get started on my own tasks for the day. The most urgent homework is the set of readings due before my afternoon class, so I quickly get to work with a cup of coffee in hand. With only one class in the afternoon, I decide to “Sharples sit,” or stay in the dining hall to study until I’m ready to leave. By 8:30 a.m., surrounding tables are quickly filled. The room echoes “good mornings” and the sound of scuffling chairs as a wave of students begin their day.
11:45 a.m.: As I finish up on work, students trickle back into the dining hall for lunch. It’s time to eat! This time, I enjoy the bustle and crowd. Lunch is a loud, active affair — one I enjoy much more than breakfast. The soccer team is quite large, and inevitably has to take two up two tables. Today’s lunch is grilled pita, veggies, and chicken breast. Sharples has a plethora of options, which makes it easy to find foods that prepare me for practices and games. This half hour is filled with big laughs, exactly the refresher I need to begin the afternoon.
12:30 p.m.: Before class, a friend invites me to a Swarthmore Pre-Law Society meeting. We learn about preparation into a potential career in law, and are given opportunities for advising help in the future.
1:15 p.m.: My only class for the day is a U.S. political science course in Trotter Hall. The class is filled with conversation and note-taking. Having a reading-based class is nice because it allows students to learn through discussion, which I learn best from.
2:30 p.m.: The team bus leaves at 3:45 p.m., and I have a chunk of time to grab a light pre-game snack from the Swarthmore CO-OP, the local grocery store and deli. After picking up food, I head to the Fieldhouse, the building where all of the varsity sports teams locker rooms and equipment or courts are.
3:15 p.m.: Teammates come in and out to prepare their own belongings. Many come from exams, classes, or meetings. I do my own mental note to make sure I have all the things I need. After, I grab my packed soccer bag and sit in the lobby to relax and finish schoolwork.
3:45 p.m.: We load the bus and leave promptly once everyone is ready with all their personal and team items. The drive to Allentown, PA, takes around 90 minutes, a decent amount of time to talk with my friends, do work, and nap. The last fifteen minutes of every away ride, the team will turn on the team speaker and get rowdy, listening to our pregame team mixes. This is the best part, aside from sleeping, of a bus ride.
5:15 p.m.: Arriving at the Muhlenberg locker room, we unpack and get dressed. Jewelry is put away, water bottles are filled, and last-minute electrolytes and carbs are taken. We start our pre-game ritual of dancing and singing, and after a team talk with the coaches we walk onto the field for our pregame warmups. The energy is high and there’s an air of excitement that surrounds the team.
7:00 p.m.: The game whistle blows, and the match has officially started. The first half ends in our 1-0 lead, and it’s clear we’re the better team. The next half proves that sentiment, during which we score our second goal in the opening thirty seconds. The game ends in a 2-0 win. This is our sixth consecutive win of the season, and we remain undefeated (5-0-0) in the conference. With our heads held high, we go back to the locker room, change, and board the bus back to campus.
9:45 p.m.: After every away game, the team gets dinner to-go — today is Chipotle. The bus gets quieter as the drive continues closer back to Swarthmore. In need of a good wind down, I watched the newest episode of “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.” I’ve recently been into talk shows, and Oliver does commentary like no other.
11:20 p.m.: We’re back at the fieldhouse and we drop off equipment and uniforms back into the lockers. This is where many of us part ways after a long day together — some walk to academic buildings and libraries but most go right to sleep. I say my goodbyes and leave up the hill to Parrish Hall, where I join the Phoenix Editorial Board for the rest of the working night. We’re publishing articles for the upcoming issue, a session that can take hours for the editorial staff. While the campus is asleep, editors work to perfect pieces that will go online and into print the next day.
2:00 a.m.: It’s time for bed! It’s been a busy day of soccer and work, and I easily fall into a deep sleep.
