Many college athletes have aspirations to one day coach the sport they love, and Nikolia Kanaris is living out that dream. Kanaris is a graduate student at New York University studying Public Health Policy while also serving as the Assistant Throws Coach for their Track & Field Team. She is a graduated student-athlete from Cornell University where she studied Biology and Society with minors in Plant Science & Exercise Science. Kanaris holds the Cornell freshman shot put record and 5th All-Time Indoor mark with a best throw of 48'3.25”.. She talks with us about the impact of a great support system, the strength in vulnerability, and the importance of student-athlete mentalities.
A Day in the Life of a Division III Track and Field Assistant Coach and Ivy League Thrower Alum in Her Own Words
Nikolia Kanaris: I lead a pretty busy schedule, from running across states, to managing my team and internship, to getting schoolwork done and sending emails. My routine has definitely changed from being a student-athlete at Cornell, but those skills help me manage my responsibilities now. My name is Nikolia Kanaris and this is a typical travel day for me and my athletes preparing for conferences.
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6 AM
I snooze my alarm because I get to have a later start to the day than my normal 5 AM start. I usually start my mornings pretty early as I live and work in New Jersey, coach at NYU, remotely intern. These responsibilities can definitely add up, so when I have the time to catch up on assignments, I take it. Today, our team has a big travel day, so my day is a little less hectic than usual but definitely a great look into what a travel day is like.
7:30 AM-10 AM
Wake up again, and get ready for the trip to the University Athletic Association (UAA) Conference Championships. Today our bus is leaving at 1 PM so I have some time to pack up my bag, shower, eat a healthy breakfast and get some other things done for my classes before I head out to campus.
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10:15 AM-11:30 AM
I take the bus and subway to campus. It takes me a while to get to campus, but I often get some rest on the way there. I make sure to take the right stops and once I get off, the priority is to stop for some coffee. This makes my day go by a lot easier and I am known to have more than one cup a day
11:30 PM-1 PM
As I am on campus with enough time to spare, I go to send out some work emails as NYU coach, intern, and classmate and make sure my event group is set and ready for travel! Among the men and women, my event group is fairly small, but the implements and equipment we bring to competitions are essential to our event so it is important to make sure they bring what they need.
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1 PM-9:30 PM
This is the chunk of time we spent on traveling to our conference meet. UAA Championships are held in Cleveland, Ohio at Case Western Reserve University. We traveled to the airport, flew to Ohio and made it to the hotel. During this time, just like my time taking public transportation, I decompress. I do this by listening to music, talking to staff and athletes on my team, crocheting, or catching up on my sleep.
10 PM-11 PM
After a long day traveling and looking forward to a long weekend competing, I use this time in the hotel to relax even more. We have events for the next two days so rest and relaxation is a huge component in not burning out, even as a coach. My team is ready and beyond excited to compete at UAA CHAMPIONSHIPS!!
Daily Grind articles are posted the 15th of every month to provide a look into a day in the life of a college athlete and to give an example of time management skills.
Follow Nikolia and her teams!
@nikoliaaa
@cornelltfxc
@newyorkuniversitytrack
Twitter:
@CornellTFXC
@NYUAthletics
What's your Daily Grind like? Email us at [email protected]
* Originally published on April 11, 2022, by Catherine Light
