With the start of Spring semester comes the kickoff to Spring sports for the 2022 season. After a few weeks of balancing classes, extra-curriculars, and practice I've started to settle into a routine and embracing the student athlete experience as a freshman. My name is Jason Fridge ('25), I'm a Digital Communication and Social Media major from Seattle, WA, and here's a glimpse into a day in my life
8:00am - A busy schedule means getting started early, as my alarm sounds and I get ready to head over to Study Hall in the Dixon Center. As a freshman on the lacrosse team, we are required to attend 2 study hall sessions a week to give us a dedicated time to focus on classwork as we move through our first year. Transitioning to a college workload can be overwhelming, but I've found that morning study hall sessions have allowed me to get ahead in my classes and start my day off on the right foot!
9:30am - Study Hall wraps up, and I take the opportunity before my first class of the day to visit Cavs Corner Dining Hall and grab some breakfast. I'll usually run into a few teammates on my way across campus and enjoy the sights and sounds of Eastern PA.
9:40am - In the Communication Wing of Founders Hall is where I land for my one and only class of the day. As part of my pursuit of a Sports Communication Minor, I'm in Live Sports Production taught by Philadelphia Broadcasting legend Mr. Lou Tilley. A great part about being in college is you register for your own classes, allowing you to take courses you'll enjoy and build your own schedule. Since I was able to meet many of my general course requirements during first semester and high school, I could fit in this unique course and have been really enjoying it so far!
11:00am - Class is dismissed and I head back over to my dorm at East Residence Hall for some downtime before it's back to business. As a member of the Honors Program, I live on the 4th floor of East with all the other Honors students in what is called a Living and Learning Community. It's never a doubt on the way to my dorm that I'll run into one of my hall mates and chat about anything from classes to whatever sporting event was on the previous night.
12:30pm - After a nice little break, it's back to the Dixon Center for my team lift session. Lifting as a team is great to build chemistry and it is always much easier to push yourself with all the energy in the room. Once we finish up our workout for the day, we all come back together as a group and talk about setting the tone early for our practice later in the afternoon.
1:30pm - Before practice it's always important to fuel up, so I head over to the Widener Center and grab a quick lunch at The Grill. My go-to is usually the grilled chicken sandwich. Simple, fast, and with the right amount of hot sauce, makes for a nice meal before hitting the field.
3:00pm - I head back to Dixon and make my way into our team locker room to get prepared for our on-field practice. The locker room is one of my favorite spots on campus, especially before practice or games, as guys are always playing music and getting the energy up for when we finally hit the field. Being that it's winter, I throw on my cold weather gear and trot out to Edith Rob Dixon Field to get 1 day better.
5:30pm - Coaches final whistle blows, we gather up all our gear and its once again time to refuel in Cavs Corner. The best part about dinner after practice is everyone is hungry, so we get a big group of guys at a table and talk about anything that comes to mind. This has come to be one of the highlights of my day, as it's an opportunity to build team chemistry and you really get to know your teammates.
6:30pm - After dinner its finally time to head back to East and take a much-needed shower. I'll then settle down at my desk or in my bed to finish up any class work I have for the next day. If I'm really feeling motivated, I might do a load of laundry or hop on the Campus Shuttle to do some grocery shopping. On most nights though, my roommate and I may visit our hall mates or throw on a college basketball game and settle down for the night.
10:00pm - Class work is done, laundry may be clean, and another busy day is on the horizon. Being a student athlete in season can certainly be challenging, but once you get into a groove you remember exactly why you took on the challenge, you'll enjoy it every step of the way.