A Day in the Life

This week's A Day in the Life is from Senior Co-Captain Kelly Schmeckpeper-Cook.  Kelly is a diver from Denver, Colorado majoring in Journalism and Mass Communications.  Most recently Kelly set a new school record on the 1Meter board against New Mexico on November 4th and also qualifying for NCAA Zones in March. 

A Day in the Life of Kelly Schmeckpeper-Cook

Finally after three years of feeling like a chicken with my head cut off I think I’ve finally have being a student-athlete down.  I’ve learned many lessons for both everyday life and at practice.  I’ll start with my everyday life lessons.

Lesson #1: On mornings with weights, it is very beneficial to sleep in the clothes you wish to wear to weights.  Then you can just roll out of bed throw on some shoes, brush your teeth and head to weights saving you a crucial fifteen minutes of ready time so you can sleep!  On the mornings with water practice- pack your outfit for the day and all school things the night before! This will let you sleep for about 20-30 minutes longer depending on how slow you are in the mornings.  Over the years I have learned that sleep is one of the most important things to succeed in school and sports so every second counts!  After getting a good workout in the weight room I head home to nap before my 9 am class, which brings me to Lesson #2: When napping after a work out SET MULTIPLE ALARMS! Because if you’re anything like me after workout naps are virtually impossible to wake-up from.  Then it’s off to class.  The greatest thing I've learned about doing well in your classes is sit in the front! I have a tendency to get distracted pretty easily but sitting in the front virtually eliminates any chances to be distracted. You have the professor staring at you the whole lecture, making it easy to stay on task.  After my 9 am class I usually head straight to study hall which brings me to Lesson #3: Get your study hall done as early as possible!!! There is nothing worse than realizing Thursday morning that you still have 5 hours left.  Breaking study hall up into small increments of 2hours each day makes staying on task much easier and then you aren't overwhelmed on Thursday with multiple hours to complete. Next I go to my Advertising Principles class and then one more hour of study hall before 3:00 practice.

Number one lesson of practice: Leave outside issues at the door! Practice is great not only because you’re getting better at your sport but it's an awesome stress release and gives you a two hour escape from the rest of the world.  Practice Lesson #2: Always go hard for everything! As a diver who is afraid of heights and many more things it is very easy for me to "wimp out" when learning a new dive... Result of wimping out: SMACK!!!  Going hard for every dive every time not only makes you a better diver but it saves your body from smacking! Practice #3: Have fun with practice and try not to get frustrated.  Easier said than done right? Well making a conscience effort to do these things will make practice more enjoyable for you as well as the people  around you.  After practice I head home for some dinner which usually consists of pasta and chicken.  I get the rest of my school work done and try to get to bed as early as possible.  Like I said every second counts when it comes to sleep!

    I have had an awesome 3.5 years on this team and have made awesome friendships with all of my teammates.  And while I’m ready to graduate and finish my career as a diver the bonds made with these girls and coaches will make that end very bittersweet!