Daily Grind articles are posted every Wednesday to provide a look into a day in the life of a college athlete and give an example of time management skills.

Melissa Taggert is a DI Women's Lacrosse Player at Fairfield University who plays defense and wears number 13. Taggert is currently a senior at Fairfield and is expected to graduate in 2023. Although Melissa is injured right now she still attends all team activities. Here's an inside look into her daily grind. 

Classes

Who doesn't love to start their morning with class? Every day Melissa is up bright and early to go to class at either 8:00 or 9:30 a.m. The latest she can schedule classes is 1:45 p.m. because the next part of her day will begin. Depending on the day she'll have more time in between class and her athletics or it will be a very quick turnaround.

Related: Rate Fairfield University

Film

If Melissa doesn't have class, the team will watch film before practice. Film can consist of old game film to fix mistakes from previous games or film of their next opponent to build a strategy before they play. If you have class and miss film, you do have to make it up later in the day.

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Practice

Every day Melissa has practice from 2-4 p.m. Each day is a different combination between drills and gameplays depending on who their next opponent is. Having every practice be different keeps the game fresh and not repetitive for the athletes.

Lift

Every other day from 4-5 p.m. there is a team lift after practice. Some days it will be more of a stretching day while others are a full-on weight lifting session. After game days it is usually a stretch and recovery lift since you don't want to overwork yourself. After the lift Melissa stops at the fuel station where they have an assortment of protein shakes and yogurt to refuel after the workout.

Related: 5 Ways to Gain Attention from College Lacrosse Recruiters

Food and Bed

Melissa will eat throughout the day, but after their lift the team will always eat dinner together. Melissa is always with her teammates throughout the day which is why they've been some of her biggest supporters while she's recovering from her injury. After dinner is her free time to relax or do homework. She usually goes to bed pretty early since it'll be another early morning the next day.

What's your Daily Grind like? Email us at [email protected]

* Originally published on June 21, 2022, by Grant Osborne