In previous articles, I have talked about how important it is to love the
sport that you want to play at the college level. No matter how much you think
you need a scholarship (There are student loans), if you don’t love the sport,
getting through four or five years of it will not be easy. It would be similar
to an extent to waking up to a job everyday that you hate.
In this
article, I will be looking at the time allotted by the NCAA for Division I
athletes. This includes the limit of practice time in and out season. If you are
a basketball player, trust me in saying that your off-season workouts will not
be you coming into the gym along and shooting some jumpers. It will be an
intense workout that is directed by an assistant coach.
This first rule
applies for all NCAA Division I sports. “A student-athlete’s participation in
countable athletically related activities shall be limited to a maximum of four
hours per day and 20 hours per week.” (There is an exception regarding golf but
unless there is interest, I don’t plan on going into it.) For those curious,
countable athletically related activities include any required activity by the
direction of one or more of the members of the coaching staff.
So just
for practice, you will be spending twenty hours each week. If you season lasts
four months (Which it very well could in Division I athletics), you could be
spending up to 320 hours in practice time. That does not include rehab if you
have a nagging injury, school, or study tables that you may have to go to. While
some may not realize it, that is a lot of time. It is half of a 40 hour a week
job and that does not even count the academic portion of your college career.
For sports other than football, there is a maximum eight hours per week with
no more than two hours per week spent on skill-related workouts. These can only
last during the school year and will not happen legally during the summer (Even
though I am willing to say that it does happen).
So the coaching staff of
whatever sport you will be playing will get a chance to bring you in eight hours
a week, or thirty two hours a month. With a four month season, a three month
summer, you could be practicing in the off-season for up to 160 hours while
being directed by a coach. And this does not include things like open gym for
basketball or 7-on-7 football (There cannot legally be any coaches in
attendance).
The rules for Division I football players do depend on if
you are playing Division I-A or I-AA (Also known as Championship Series or Bowl
Series). Following the end of the regular season and January 1st, players are
limited to required lifting, watching game film, and conditioning. After January
1st, there is still a limit of eight hours per week and that is limited to only
two hours per week of watching film.
While I am not questioning those
numbers, I spoke with a few current Division I football players that I knew and
they talked to me about how grueling it is. They have morning conditioning and
two hours a lifting a few days per week. With that in mind, they may be pushing
the legal limit of eight hours per week.
Again, this is just a quick look
at NCAA rules. It just shows that if you think you can slack through a sport you
don’t love, I advise you now not to waste your time.
