Not Your Typical 9:00-5:00

My Daily Grind: A Day in the Life of D1 Track Star, Danielle Steff

By Catherine Light|Updated on June 27, 2023 (originally published on April 6, 2022)

Danielle Steff is a masters student at Monmouth University, studying Criminal Justice, a three-time MAAC Champion, an All-East award winner and Honorable Mention All-American in the javelin. Danielle talks with us about the importance of team chemistry, mental toughness, and competing while injured. She is set to graduate in May 2022 after completing her final season of competition.

A Day in the Life of a Division I Track and Field Athlete, According to Danielle Steff:

There are multiple events in the sport of track and field that require different strengths. As a thrower who specializes in javelin, a lot of time and effort is put into strengthening the abilities of my body to be mobile, flexible, strong, and able to handle the high impact of repetitive motions. My name is Danielle Steff, and this is a typical day of mine as a thrower at Monmouth University.

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8:30 AM-11:00 AM

My day starts with an alarm going off at 8:30 AM which is snoozed to 8:45. I am up and ready for the day around 9:15, following the consumption of a hearty breakfast. My typical breakfast of choice is two eggs, granola, and an apple. After breakfast, I begin to work on homework for the week. As a criminal justice graduate student, my homework generally consists of reading articles surrounding criminal justice issues and writing papers.

11:00 AM-12:30 PM

After doing some homework in the morning, I drive to the school from my off-campus apartment. I lift at 11:30 AM where we focus on power and explosiveness. As a javelin thrower, it is important to be fast down the runway and strong on the release. With this in mind, my lifting plan typically focuses on cleans, snatches, squats, and bench press which all mimic the elements of a throw.

12:30 PM-1:00 PM

After an intense lift, I typically need to go to sports medicine to get rehab done on my shoulder. With a torn labrum, it is important to get the treatment I need to feel strong and stable enough to throw far. Treatment consists of exercises that strengthen the surrounding muscles in my shoulder, as well as cupping, Graston, stim, and heating or icing.

1:00 PM-2:30 PM

After receiving treatment, I head to the student center across the parking lot to grab a coffee from the Dunkin' Donuts and continue to work on homework. This is the only downtime I have between lift and practice, so if my homework for the day is complete, I might also engage in a hobby like reading or crocheting.

2:30 PM-4:30 PM

After doing homework in the student center, I walk back over to the Ocean First Bank Center for practice. I meet up with my teammates in the locker room before we head upstairs to the indoor track. Here, we do a combined warm up with all the throwing events, and then separate to do event-specific training. A typical javelin practice consists of sprints or a stair workout, mobility, dry throwing (which consists of the entire javelin approach without releasing), and medicine ball drills. These all emphasize the speed, explosiveness, and strength needed in a javelin throw, without the strain of the throw being put on the shoulder.

4:30 PM-5:30 PM

If practice put strain on my body, I head back to the training room for another round of treatment. Then, I shower in the locker room and get ready for class and eat t a Clif bar to hold me over until I can make myself dinner.

5:30 PM-9:00 PM

All of my classes are held in the evenings from 6:00-9:00 PM. As a graduate student, my classes are held in either the graduate center found off campus, or at the sheriff's office in Freehold. Because of this, I tend to leave campus at 5:30 to get to class on time. My classes focus on ethics in criminal justice, civil and criminal law, and criminal procedures.

9:00 PM-10:00 PM

After the three-hour lecture, I drive back to my apartment and make myself a quick dinner. These usually consist of chicken, rice, and vegetables, or a soup of some kind with rice. These are filling and don't require much effort to prepare, which makes it easier to have late in the evening.

10:00 PM-12:00 AM

After eating, I typically catch up on any of the shows I have been watching for about an hour, before getting ready for bed. To tire myself out a bit, I will either spend the last bit of my day reading, crocheting, or playing games on my phone. I do so until I feel tired enough to fall asleep before waking up to do it all over again.

Follow Danielle and her Team!

Instagram:

@dani.steff

@monmouthutfxc

@monmouth_throws_u

Twitter: @MUHawksXCTF

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