Technical Time-Out: The Art of Balance

• This edition of ‘Technical Time-Out’ comes from University of Toronto grad Jordan Figueira, who played for the Varsity Blues from 2016-2021 and graduated from the Rotman Commerce program.

Oh, what a journey it has been. Five years of balancing one of the toughest business undergraduate degrees in the country and high-performance sport. To say it’s been easy would be a lie. Thinking back to Grade 12, it would have been tough for me to imagine the career I had both academically and athletically.

I vividly remember the weeks prior to starting at the University of Toronto – anytime I would tell someone that I was entering Rotman Commerce as a Varsity athlete, they would tell me right away just how difficult they perceived it to be. I even had a friend of mine tell me that there was no chance I would get through it. I cannot say that I did not believe them; after all, I was on the cusp of not being accepted into Rotman Commerce, and the program is known for having a high drop-out rate after the first year. How could I seriously think I would be one of the lucky individuals to get through it?

Yet here I am, five years down, and I am officially a Rotman Commerce graduate. There were many highs, and many, many lows. To help you avoid some of the mistakes I made along the way, I want to take you through my journey of balancing school and sport and provide some advice in dealing with the daily pressures that come with being a Varsity athlete.

First year

My first year of school was one I wish I could forget. I struggled academically due to a lack of attention and care, because to me, volleyball was my primary focus. From an athletic perspective, yes, I had a personally successful year, but our team struggled, and we failed to make the play-offs. To add to all of that, I had various personal struggles throughout the year that made it a less-than-enjoyable first-year experience.

I am not alone in experiences like these. First year is tough for all students. Add to that a commitment that takes precious hours out of your schedule, adding consistent pressure to perform – it can be difficult to manage. But at the end of the day, it all stems down to time management and setting your priorities.

For me, my main focus was volleyball. I spent most of my time in the team room, watching film, practicing, and playing. This was a recipe for failure, and it showed. I was not able to separate myself from my sport and ultimately, I suffered. Being able to effectively set your priorities, understand the main reason you are in school, and managing your schedule is crucial to success. I was more focused on having fun and excelling on the court, and my grades dropped as a result.

Second year

Enter second year – to be honest, this year was pretty similar to my first, but I was beginning to understand my study habits and put a greater importance on schooling than I had in the past. Of course, volleyball was still my ultimate priority, but I realized just how bad my academic performance made me feel the year prior and did not want to feel that again.

I experienced both successes and failures through experimenting with different studying techniques. This is a crucial process when trying to balance two demanding priorities. Some people can study a few days before an exam and achieve success, whereas others need to study a little bit every day to succeed. One approach is not necessarily better than the other – it really just depends on you.

I was still spending many hours in the gym focusing on excelling in sport but used my free time in a more effective manner by looking into ways to retain information and study. This brought a mixed bag of results, but ultimately an understanding of what worked best for me.

As the year came to a close, I saw similar success on the court all while improving my grades ever so slightly. Still below the coveted Academic All-Canadian mark, but I was beginning to see a shift in my mentality that would propel me in the coming years.

third year

As third year came around, I was mentally prepared to excel both in school and on the court. The biggest shift was in my mentality around preparation. The very first week of school I had set my schedule for the entire semester – gaining a better understanding of when all my exams and deliverables were due and when my games and practices were.

I spent less time worrying about volleyball and more time studying and networking. I realized that I work best doing a little bit of studying every day rather than spending the weekends studying all day. This tied in well to my newfound ‘hobby’ of setting schedules, allowing me to prepare for exams weeks in advance, rather than studying the night before.

You might think that these new priorities would lead to a less-than-stellar year athletically, but in fact, this was our team’s best year since well before my time. I still achieved just as much success athletically, but the difference was a drastic improvement in my grades and overall happiness.

The key difference in my success this year was that I was more focused on performing on all levels. In my first couple of years, I cared so deeply about excelling on the court that I remained unconsciously content with my less-than-adequate performance in the classroom. But this year I had a deep belief in myself to perform both academically and athletically. Balance is important; focusing too much on one area of your life causes the other areas to suffer, leading to reduced happiness and success overall.

fourth year

Coming into fourth year, everything began to click. The balance between school and sport was effortless. I was studying daily, getting my hours in on the court, and still had time to have plenty of fun outside of my key priorities – everything I had learned in my first three years of school came together.

By the end of the year, our team had our most successful year in the past 16 years, I earned Academic All-Canadian honours, and overall, I just had a lot more fun. It really goes to show how important balance is in your life to achieve your biggest goals.

fifth year

The end of my career was quite an eventful one – just not in the way I would have hoped. My final season was canceled due to COVID-19 and my volleyball career was cut short. I would have loved the opportunity to compete in my final year and bring this chapter of my life to a successful close, but sometimes things do not always go as planned.

Learning to adapt to the unexpected circumstances of life was just another steppingstone in my development. I had to accept the reality we were all living in and take it upon myself to keep busy during these times. I was lucky enough to get a full-time job in my final semester of full-time school, allowing me to gain experience that otherwise would not have been possible while playing volleyball. I am grateful for that opportunity and excited to see what is next!

take-aways

As I look back and reflect on my time spent at the University of Toronto, there are three key takeaways that I feel could help student athletes achieve their biggest goals both athletically and academically.

The first is to be proactive in your planning. Take a couple hours during your first week of school to plan out all of your deliverables and games for the year. Identify times when you want to start studying and mark those down too. This will help limit feeling overwhelmed come midterm season and will allow you to succeed both academically and athletically.

The second takeaway is to figure out what works best for you. Everyone works differently – and there is definitely no right way to study. I have had teammates read their textbooks and notes every single day (and seemingly every single hour of the day), but I have also had teammates study the night before exams – both finding success. It really just depends on how you are able to retain knowledge and balance different facets of your schedules.

The final takeaway that I want to leave you with is to enjoy the process. Your undergrad career will have its ups and downs – that is a given. Understand that each experience is just a building block to where you are going – whether it be the next exam or generally in life – so try not to take yourself too seriously and enjoy the process. I am definitely someone who tends to fall into the trap of taking life too seriously, but I have learned that it leads to constant stress and pressure. Feelings of worry and anxiety are not bad to feel from time to time, but try to enjoy the ride a little bit, and I promise you will get much more out of it all.