For most students the day begins with a heavy-eyed walk to class, trying desperately to stay alert for a long day of lectures, hundred-page reading assignments and hours of essay writing. These burdens are compounded for the University of Dallas’ athletes, who have not only academic responsibilities but also an obligation to their team.
For Keller Shamburger, a baseball player at UD, it’s crucial to start the day with intention and purpose.
“My day usually starts around 7:30 or 8:00,” Shamburger said. “The first thing I do is make some coffee, head up to the Caf, eat breakfast and read my Bible.”
While this routine in itself is not impossible to uphold, his daily consistency with this morning ritual serves to ground him for the busy day to come.
An aspect of collegiate athletics that often goes unnoticed is the need for careful academic scheduling.
As Shamburger said “I try to schedule all of my classes for the morning since our practices are in the afternoon, but this semester I have a few afternoon classes, which means I get down to the field as soon as class ends.”
In order to be successful in collegiate athletics, this attention to detail while remaining able to pivot and adapt is absolutely necessary. With only so much time in a day, Shamburger has to take advantage of as much time as possible to meet academic and athletic obligations.
“I do a lot of my reading in the mornings before classes. Then on nights before exams or with more homework than normal, after practice and lifting, I’ll go study or do homework for a couple of hours or until I’m done. I just get work done whenever I can,” said Shamburger.
Unsurprisingly, a large part of a college athlete’s most important work is done via recovery.
Detailing his recovery routine, Shamburger said “After practice and lifts, I like to get as much protein in as I can, and try to make sure I get at least 7 hours of sleep a night, although that doesn’t always happen. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I’ll go to the training room and get treatment on whatever feels the most needed after the weekend games. I try to not get treatment within a day of games so I can fully recover.”
His gameday mindset is simple, and for high-pressure situations, it needs to be. Shamburger said, “Going into games I try to just think about what I can do to help the team win, and try to execute my job as well as possible.”
When facing a tough opponent, most people bog themselves down with anxieties and make the task at hand more complex than necessary. For Shamburger, he recognizes that the best thing he can do is the task immediately at hand.
This stillness of mind is amplified by his pre-game ritual. Nothing gets Shamburger ready for the game ahead of him quite like a moment with the Bible and listening to worship music. It’s the same way he approaches his mornings: he emphasizes being still and keeping his focus sharp.
Though the physicality of collegiate sports is the most obvious part of an athlete’s job, the circumstances surrounding this physicality are much more important.
Shamburger said, “As taxing as it can be physically, it’s way more of a mental game.”
This sentiment stands true for all UD students, regardless of whether they are involved in athletic life or not. Without a doubt, the daily grind of being a student can get to you. At this point in the semester, the increased need to study and prepare for the final requirements of the year can be enormously taxing. To echo Shamburger’s point, the path to success in academic life isn’t just about how hard you push yourself; it may in fact be a task of finding opportunities for stillness in the midst of struggle.