There is a lot of work that goes into being an athlete. Between class, homework, practice and games they have a pretty busy schedule, but what about the non-athletes are they just swimming in free time or are they just as busy?
NARP stands for Non-Athletic-Regular-Person and it’s what some athletes use to refer to people who don’t play sports. NARPs don’t have to go to practice, they don’t have to go to games, they don’t have to do all the extra sports-related stuff that athletes do.
Some would say, then, that NARPs don’t work as hard as athletes do, but some NARPs would beg to differ.
“Even though my life doesn’t revolve around sports I have just as much to do in the time they spend playing sports,” Lydia Wegner, a sophomore social work major, said.
Students who don’t have to spend hours and hours everyday on the field take that time and they use it. They will join a club or an organization on campus. They will get a job or an internship. They might start something like a club or a movement on campus.
For most NARP’s just because they have more free time doesn’t mean that they’re using it frivolously.
Some people would also make the argument that by not playing sports people miss out on a lot. Maybe the relationships that could be formed or the experiences that could be had.
“I definitely do feel like I miss out on certain experiences that only come with being on a sports team,” Missy Matsanka, a junior education major, said. “When you play a sport, you build really close bonds with your teammates.”
Even though some people feel like they many be missing out on some experiences they make up for it by joining other groups and organization.
They are able to make those same connections and have those same relationships with people in the club or organization that they are a part of. They may not be spending a few hours a day, every day with them but they’re still able to make lasting friendships.
“Since I am so involved in campus, I do feel like I am as busy as athletes,” Matsanka said. “But I really do give credit to student athletes because they juggle school, clubs, their sport, and friends so well. I could never do what they do.”
In the end it’s not a competition, many people has a busy schedules and many people work hard. Athlete or not the important thing is that they are doing what they love.
