My name is Antonio Porter Jr., and I am a member of the track and field team at William Jewell College. I chose Willam Jewell because it has a good balance between sports and education. It is also closer to my daughter’s family. Have you ever wondered what the life of a college athlete is like? Let me explain…
I wake up at 7:30 a.m. to do some ab work and two hundred pushups, then head to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I turn on my morning tunes – which consist of RodWave, Lil Baby, and sometimes 90s classics – and proceed to hop in the shower. After getting out of the shower, I get dressed and, by 8:20 a.m., I am filling up my water bottle and grabbing a yogurt, granola bar and two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. By 8:50 a.m. I am parking my car and heading to my first class of the day: identity and society. It’s a great class. By 10:05 a.m. class is over, and I head to my car to eat my two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and knock out some homework.
My next class is not until 12:30 p.m. The time arrives, and we have French class. Comment allez vous? Bien, merci. Au revoir, Madame! Class is over at 1:35 p.m., and I head to math for the liberal arts from there. I learn about proportions and how to apply math in our everyday lives. Class ends at 2:50 p.m. From class I drive over to the Mabee Center. I change into my clothes for practice, heat up my legs, roll out with a foam roller and then apply IcyHot from my thighs to my ankles.
3:30 p.m. hits, and it’s time for practice. Two warm up laps, warm up stretches (A skip, B skip, etc.) followed by 50-meter strides. Then onto hill runs: 40, 30, 20 and 10 second runs up a hill. Repeat that three times for a total of 12 runs. I barely survive practice, but somehow we all have the energy to jog a lap, cool down and stretch out. We then proceed to tell each other kind things and words of encouragement before concluding practice. GO CARDS!!!
I get home around 6:00 p.m. to rest and have a light snack. Then, I spend time with my daughter and talk about her day before heading back to the gym at 7:00 p.m. At the gym I focus on legs and shoulders. I leave the gym around 9:00 p.m. when it closes. I get home and get in the shower. Once out of the shower I drink a protein shake and eat some pasta. I then proceed to clean my room from the mess I made in the morning before beginning homework. I spend more time with my daughter before bed time at around 12 a.m. I wake up at 4:50 a.m. for weights at 5:30 a.m. on campus, and another day begins…