The Transition from College Athletics to Law School
The transition to law school can be challenging, but I never expected my experience as a college athlete to play such a significant role in helping me navigate it. Whether you participated in athletics, campus activities or built experience in your career, you will likely enter law school with skills and habits that will serve you far better than you may realize. I want to focus on how recognizing and relying on those skills can make the transition to law school a little easier.

I was fortunate enough to play both golf and soccer at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas (Go Swedes!). My time as a college athlete gave me some of my favorite memories, relationships and experiences I will always cherish. What I didn’t realize at the time, however, was how much I would rely on the skills I built during those years once I began law school. Many of the qualities that helped me succeed as an athlete, including discipline, time management and resilience, have become my greatest assets at KU Law.

The Identity Shift
The transition away from college athletics is notoriously difficult. As a student-athlete, your days are carefully structured around practices, workouts, classes, team meetings and competitions. When that structure suddenly disappears, it can feel unsettling. Starting law school at the same time only amplifies that challenge because, unlike athletics, much of your schedule is self-directed.
 
The nature of the work also changes dramatically. In college athletics, much of your time is spent improving your physical skills and preparing your body to perform at a high level. In law school, that focus shifts to developing mental skills such as analytical reasoning, problem-solving and legal strategy. Although this transition can be challenging, former student-athletes are often better prepared than they realize, as many of the habits that contribute to success in athletics translate directly to success in law school.

The Skills that Carried Over
The skills I have relied on the most from college athletics include time management, discipline, resilience and the ability to perform under pressure. The benefit of being a college athlete is that you quickly learn that these skills are not optional. Whether it’s missing class or being late to practice, a team punishment was usually the result.

Looking back, the discipline and time-management skills that felt frustrating at times have prepared me better than anything for law school. Those habits become especially crucial during finals season. In college athletics, you spend an entire semester preparing and training for a conference tournament that may come down to a single performance. Law school follows a similar pattern. You spend months reading cases, attending class and expanding your knowledge and understanding of the law, all leading up to final exams. While progress in law school is often harder to measure than it is in athletics, accomplishment in both comes from relying on these foundational skills.

How Athletes Can Thrive in Law School
Aside from the skills that carried over from my athletics experience, I have found that the most crucial aspect of success in law school is making time for myself much like I did when I was an athlete. This includes being with friends and family, spending time outdoors and moving my body.

In college athletics, physical activity takes up most of your day. In law school, however, classes and studying command your schedule. I quickly realized that if I didn't intentionally make time to be active, an entire day could disappear between classes, reading assignments and studying. As a result, I had to become much more intentional about moving my body and taking time to recharge mentally, which is no easy feat.

What I have learned most from this challenge is the importance of carving out time in your schedule for any sort of physical or mental activity that makes you feel good. I truly cannot stress this enough! Whether you enjoy workout classes, solo training, yoga, meditating or going on “hot-girl walks” (technical term), it is crucial that you have an outlet to move your body or get your mind off school. Whatever that outlet looks like for you, make sure you prioritize it during law school and give yourself grace when the schedule doesn’t go according to plan.

Choosing to be a college athlete was truly one of the best choices I made. Looking back, I realize that the skills I developed through athletics have allowed me to thrive during law school while still making time for the people and activities that keep me grounded. Whatever experiences brought you here, trust that they have prepared you for more than you think. Rock Chalk!