Going Abroad as a Student-Athlete

I am a student-athlete playing lacrosse at Tufts University, and studying abroad has always been something I dreamed of doing. However, after finishing the spring season just before the fall I had planned on going abroad, my team competed in the National Championship and earned second place. With being so close to winning, I knew I wanted to come back harder and put in the work, but my dream of studying abroad didn’t seem compatible with how I felt, it became unrealistic. 

Although I was hesitant to have that conversation with my coaches, I am incredibly grateful that I did. I was fortunate to receive overwhelming support from my coaches, which ultimately made studying abroad possible, and realized that I could keep up my fitness while abroad to be able to return to my team in good shape. Even better, I had seven out of eight of my teammates in my grade and other athlete friends from different schools go abroad as well. While we were not all in the same location, knowing that others were navigating similar challenges gave me confidence. At the same time, it meant that my motivation to work out and stay in shape, plus figuring out how I was going to do so, was entirely up to me. 

When I got to the University of St. Andrews in Fife, Scotland, I was anxious and worried about what I was going to do. I brought my lacrosse stick and a couple balls with me, so at the very least, I could do wall-ball by myself, but knew I would need something more. So, I went to the athletic fair and I found the lacrosse table. After meeting them, I went to tryouts and made the team. By playing on their team, I was able to practice and play in games about three times a week, keep a stick in my hand, and play against other schools. I was also offered access to the gym, so I was able to still do my lift packet and if I wanted, St. Andrews had other workout classes I could do too. Other than lacrosse, I would run and had golf lessons every Tuesday for 10 weeks, where I made even more friends and left with a new life-long hobby. 

  Looking back, I realized that I was anxious or worried that I would not return in the same physical condition as the rest of my teammates who stayed on campus. While that concern may have been valid, I quickly realized that I could still control my effort towards working out and keeping up with my sport, but also that going abroad was to learn more about myself and experience things I otherwise would not have had the chance to. By playing lacrosse at St. Andrews, I learned to adapt to my new environment, find creative ways to train, and do the best I could with the resources available to me. Not to mention, the team provided me with really good friends that I’ll have for a long time.