Cici Frattasio: Field Hockey and Ice Hockey 2018

• “Stretching is really important. I feel like all of my injuries in college have been because I've been way too tight, so definitely making sure I take care of my body to prevent injuries is super important. I didn't know that in high school.

Sarah Swenson: Volleyball 2018

• “I wish I knew more about the rules and regulations for the NESCAC and also NCAA. I never realized how much of a disadvantage the NESCAC is in terms of not getting preseasons and with the NCAA rules about gambling etc. I didn't know how strict or easy to break they were.”

Julie MacDonald: Softball 2019

• “You're going to be way busier than your friends. Your priorities are going to be different, and you're going to have to figure that out on your own.”

Sophia Raia:  Softball — 2019

• “I thought it would be very nerve-wracking to jump right into school and have softball on top of that. But my team is a huge support system; they make the whole balancing act so much easier.”

Peter Delalio: Baseball 2019

• “I didn't anticipate how much time I'd actually be committing to my sport, but the hours spent working on a sport is made much easier when you have your teammates right there alongside you.”

Teddy Lyons: Men's Soccer 2019

• “D3 sports are almost as time-consuming as D1. I came into this thinking the off-season would be more relaxing, but we still have a ton of practices, lifts, and conditioning that I was not expecting.”

Mackenzie Mitchell: Women's Soccer 2020

• “I wish someone stressed how freshman year is supposed to be a building year for athletes and just because you don't play then, doesn't mean you never will. I think it was easy to get discouraged when a couple of the other freshmen were playing a lot but it really isn't supposed to be that way. The NESCAC is a tough league and it takes getting used to so it's all a learning curve!”

Kevin Le: Squash 2019

• “I wished there was a notice of how strenuous a whole season was. In high school, squash was not a common sport in my area so we'd only play three teams only a few times an entire year, wherein college, we would play a minimum of 20 matches against teams so it takes a physical and mental toll on me. It took a long time for me to maintain that consistency of focus for such a huge stretch of matches, so if I had a heads up about it I would've been more prepared for this intense transition”

Emma Robin: Volleyball & Squash 2019

• “I wish I knew how the offseason is only as good as we make and how much work that actually can be on your own time doing extra lifts and fitting in practices that we have to run and be productive”

Abby Horst: Women's Lacrosse 2019

• “Don't procrastinate.”

Shayne Gallagher: Men's Lacrosse 2021

• “One thing I wish I knew was the physical demand college sports requires compared to high school, meaning having something to do every day even in the offseason.”

Ronan Jacoby: Men's Lacrosse 2021

• “I'd say I wish I knew the number of things you have to do every day. From class to sports, to studying and everything else in between.”

Sam Lefante: Men's Lacrosse 2021

• “A lot of people see just getting into college and getting that official commitment as the end goal, but it's really just the beginning and a lot of people get burned out because they're not prepared for that.”

Zak Foster: Football 2019

• “I wish I knew how helpful alumni and older players can be as a resource and as mentors.”

Kendall Carr: Ice Hockey and Softball 2019

• “I've always been really conscious of what I eat and how much sleep I get and how it'll affect my play but that's a completely different animal when you play a college sport. You're playing at a much higher level and working out all the time so I've had to learn to eat more and at certain times and to plan my day closely to be sure that I'll get enough sleep.”

JR Bascom: Men's Basketball 2018

• “One thing I wish I knew before coming to college and playing a sport is how much time you are giving up that could be spent doing other extracurricular activities. Especially in college doing things off-campus or with people around campus can really teach you a lot about yourself and who you want to be. And while sports are great it's definitely a sacrifice not being able to do all of those extra things that normal college kids experience.”

Marty Rubin: Men's Ice Hockey 2018

• “Sometimes not playing or being sat isn't always your fault. Sometimes circumstances around playing time are out of your hands and the only way you can stay happy with yourself is to know that you had done everything you could to put yourself and your team in the best position possible”

* Originally published on April 3, 2018, by Madeleine Lundberg