By Melissa Brennan
Beeeep. Beeeep. Beeeep.
The alarm goes off early every morning, before the crack of dawn. Trying to squeeze in a few more minutes of sleep, a lifeless hand reaches over to hit the snooze button. But only nine minutes later, the blare of the alarm sounds again.
Finally, Grant Hasselbach rolls out of bed. He rubs his eyes and he grabs his gear. He makes his way to swim practice.
Often he feels physically exhausted, yet somehow he finds the energy to slip on a Speedo and face the frigid water.
Playing a sport, being a student and maintaining a social life is all part of the balancing act that challenge intercollegiate swimmers.
Hasselbach, who swims for the BYU men''s swimming team, said being involved in a sport especially swimming takes a lot of discipline.
Participating in a college sport at the University level is demanding on athletes. Most days are jammed packed with classes and practices. And not to mention eating, studying, sleeping, and if time permits, socializing.
Each athlete must learn to organize his or her time in order to fit everything into each day. This requires constant hard work and discipline.
'Wake up. Eat. Go to practice. Go to class. Eat. Go to practice. Go home. Eat. Study. Go to bed. That is a swimmer''s life,' Hasselbach said.
A schedule a collegiate swimmer follows does not leave much time for a social life. Most people think athletes must drop a social life in order to be successful in their sport and to maintain good grades. But just because students play a sport, does not mean they are unable of having a social life.
BYU swimmer Amy Garrick said she learns how to manage her time and keep things organized, so she can enjoy being with friends.
'I make sure that I have time to relax and play, or else I''ll go crazy,' Garrick said.
Most people think that athletics becomes your social life, and for the most part this is true. The social life of an athlete is often among teammates.
Garrick said that since teammates are around each other so much, they become really good friends. As a result, teammates are the people that athletes hang out with.
Women''s assistant swim coach Shari Skabelund said, 'Your social life becomes swimming, because you have a special bond with other swimmers.'
To do extremely well in swimming, there is a huge time commitment, and also a physical demand on the body.
Even with the limits the NCAA has put on the amount of time an athlete can practice, which is 20 hours a week, student athletes are tired after practice. And being tired can cut into athletes spending time with friends.
Athletes and coaches understand it is a sacrifice to be involved with a sport at the university.
Skabelund said lots of times swimmers make great sacrifices. Each athlete has to make sure they get enough sleep, they have to eat right, and they have to make sure not to get sick or run down.
All athletes must make sacrifices to succeed in their sport. Swimmers never find much free time in their chaotic schedule, and they understand there is no time to slack around, which can cause stress.
'I love it, but it gets stressful. There is always something to do.' Garrick said.
Hasselbach said, 'Swimming is one of the most demanding sports, but also the most rewarding. It teaches you how to go for your dreams.'