Ingrilli: Being a student athlete has ‘taught me discipline’

By Emily Crosby | gargoyle@flagler.edu

Putting in the effort to achieve good grades is sometimes difficult. For student athletes, it only makes it harder.

“It definitely isn’t easy,” said Krista Ingrilli, a member of Flagler College’s women’s tennis team.

“I feel like I go into time management overdrive when we are in season, and I am more conscious of my grades,” Ingrill said.

With trying to fit their respective sport into the mix, Ingrill says students must use their time wisely.

“Since I am a junior, it has progressively gotten easier each year due to learning time management,” Ingrilli said. “But I have learned that even if I have just 30 minutes during the day, I have to use it wisely because I have practice and workouts in the evenings.”

Setting priorities seems to be the key in keeping track of a busy schedule. Jimmy Leo, catcher of the Flagler baseball team, says it is nearly impossible to give each element the attention it deserves all the time.

“Usually my social life will be the first thing that has to be sacrificed,” Leo said. “I put school ahead of everything, then baseball, and my social life comes last.

“I put great importance on doing well in school. There are definite differences involved in the transition from high school to college, the biggest of which is no longer living under direct control of parents. If something needs to get done, you have to do it yourself.”

But Leo confessed that his grades slightly decline during baseball season.

“I try to take less demanding classes in the spring, so there won’t be so much homework or studying to deal with after games or road trips,” said Leo in giving his tactic to solve grade issues.

Flagler has an attendance policy which does not allow students (including athletes) to miss more than 20 percent of scheduled class meetings, excused or unexcused. This becomes a problem for athletes who miss classes for games during the season.

“Because we are on the road so much, I really have to be on top of all of my assignments I have missed,” Ingrilli said.

But even in tough times, Ingrill says the positives outweigh the negatives.

“Being a student athlete has taught me discipline,” she said. “It is definitely an experience I will never take for granted. The mere fact that I get to do something I love every day and represent my school is amazing.”