The ebbs and flows of collegiate athletics.
By Sam Vetto
Every summer, thousands of students put on their best clothes, toss on their gowns, and prepare to walk across the stage. This culmination of years of hard work, perseverance, and procrastination has paid off, for that piece of paper collected at the end of the stage. While the average college student has been working to get to this moment, for student athletes it can be a bit somber.
For some this is the end of their sporting careers, for others it is where the road just starts. Some seasons ended in triumph at the tournament, but many more ended in heartbreak along the way. Every athlete’s journeys to graduation are very different, but are driven by the same passion, the love of their sports.
Reaching the Goal Line:
Student athletes schedules balance a solid academic workload, while going to practices, traveling for games, doing media appearances, and the like. While this whirlwind of time seems to blow by, the end catches up faster than you think. Before you know it, it’s April, and you are getting ready to walk across the stage. The process of getting ready for the real world can be difficult for the average student, athletes have the added pressures of this potentially being the final ride.
“We have a big group of guys going through the same thing, you know you only have a few more chances, just kinda gotta leave it all out there.” said Johnny Knox, graduate student, and second baseman for the Quinnipiac baseball team. “It’s the only chance you got”.
“It definitely had its ups and downs,” Anna Van Dyk mentioned, the graduate rugby player has spent most of her college career at Quinnipiac, even being nominated for the 2025 MA Sorenson award for her performance on the Rugby team. “You are trying not to think of the end. We are primarily in the fall, just taking it day by day, but it’s full of emotions.”
“It’s definitely been sad towards the end, you try to focus on the day to day but it comes up quickly. We had the tournament so we knew going in, that if we lose, it’s done.” said Noah Altman, graduate student and goalie for the Quinnipiac hockey team. “Over the following weeks, the sadness kinda goes away, and you start to look back fondly instead.”
“I think it’s gonna be weird not having a set athletic schedule. For 5 years, I had team lifts, practice, hung out with the same guys” said Ryan O’Connell, relief pitcher for the Quinnipiac Baseball team, “Shifting all of that team focus to an individual job will be weird.”
Learning Experience:
College is a time for development, in every student’s life. You are honing your craft for work in your potential career, building social circles, and learning more about yourself everyday. The athletes are also developing, all of those, plus their skills as an athlete.
“How to take things less seriously.” said Altman, “I was always nervous to make mistakes, in class, at the rink. I just remembered, I’m here for a reason, I just have to keep working hard. You get to enjoy times like this only once.”
“Definitely having your priorities straight, because there is so much you have to balance, with school, athletics, social life. You learn to focus on what’s important.” O’Connell stated.
“To take advantage of every opportunity, because they can be taken away very easily.” said Knox, “If you don’t do it, someone else will.”
“How to be confident.” Van Dyk said, “as well as confidence about failure. When I came in as freshman, I was timid and shy, but through my time here, I have learned to be more confident and take the failures in stride.”
Sports Wisdom:
Over the years of competing, there are many harsh lessons that sports can teach us. Every athlete has gained some experience in their sport that has shaped the way they view the world. Whether it be through motivation, hard work, or consistency, sports brings people together, and teaches us about life, in ways we would never foresee.
“In a sport so full of failure, it’s important to focus on the positives, being with your teammates, playing hard. Don’t let the little things pile up” said O’Connell.
“Being resilient, I started at 13 to 14 which is late” Altman said, “I lived in 7 states to play hockey. I had to grow up quickly, moving out at 16, coming to school knowing I wouldn’t play much, but working hard all the way.”
“Failure is ok”, Knox stated, “you just need to learn and grow from it.”
“I was alway bigger and stronger than everyone else. As a woman you always receive comments about being ‘manly’, but rugby has taught me to embrace that. I kick ass at my sport, I can be confident. It helped a lot.”
Memories:
Across these years, students build up their resumes with experience, but more importantly they make memories that will last a lifetime. For athletes there are tournaments, championships, but even the little day to day moments that will stick with them. These moments spent in college seem fleeting, but truly last forever in the hearts and minds of those who experienced them.
“Winning championships, it’s something you work for all year, and finally achieving it?” said Knox, “Those are the moments you cherish.”
“Our coach threw an entire tray of cookies in the trash after a few of the guys were caught eating them on the bench. We got ripped for that one, but it was pretty funny.” stated O’Connell
“Last year playing Army, they have battled us my entire time here. They always beat us over the three years we played them.” Van Dyk mentioned, “It was a gritty, dirty game, I busted a lip, on top of everything it seemed like it wasn’t going to go our way. But you battle hard and we managed to come out on top.”
“Winning the National Championship, in Tampa, Florida, its like 86 degrees out there. We stepped outside and saw all the fans and families who had come through. Winning that and experiencing that, I got to go to the White House, went to Fenway and stood on the foul line, it was sick.” said Altman, who competed on the 2023 Quinnipiac Frozen Four Championship winning team.
Looking ahead:
The decision to continue your sport in some way when you are no longer competing in it, is something many athletes struggle with. Some sports are more difficult to continue participating in post graduation, others are very easy to find opportunities, but it is a choice athletes need to make nonetheless.
“I hope to one day work in hockey,” said Altman,”By studying Sports Journalism, I can still work in hockey without playing, but I don’t see myself coaching unless it’s for my kids. I love hockey but it isn’t my end all be all plan.”
“I see myself coaching at a lower level” O’Connell mentioned, “ Maybe Little League in my town or joining a men’s softball league, just something to get out there.”
“There are options on the table, but I’m kinda all over the place,” Knox said, “coaching is something I have opportunities for, I may look into it.”
“I do, I am planning on going back home to Colorado, and coaching my highschool,” said Van Dyk, “I am on the USA 15’s, so I will be competing in Brazil, and they are starting a rugby league in the US called the VER, where they have a team in Denver, I would like to play for them someday.”
What Won’t Be Missed:
In the ups and downs of college there are always positive memories of teammates and travel, but it isn’t always the easy coast to play-offs that we dream of. Every sport has drawbacks, especially college sports, sacrifices need to be made to compete at the highest level, and these athletes are no different. They feel the difficulties of these seasons more than anyone else, and there will always be parts that are ok being left in the past.
“I won’t miss taking a shot off my face” said Altman, “I have a love-hate relationship with travel, I love traveling with the guys but getting in at 4 AM is rough. Oh and the hockey smell is the worst.”
“I won’t miss having to rush from practice to class” mentioned O’Connell, “and the long travel days, being on the road, I’m not a fan of it.”
“Waking up at 4:30 AM for lifts. It was the only time available, I still dread those wake ups.” said Van Dyk.
“I will not miss conditioning, and early mornings,” said Knox.
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