Coastal Carolina University is located in Conway, South Carolina. This is not too far from Myrtle Beach, which every year have millions of tourists, and have a self-proclaimed slogan of “golf capital of the world”. Perfect place if you love the beach and golf.
Good to know:
First of all, what is a student-athlete?
A student-athlete is a person who is eligible to participate in any intercollegiate sport. Walking around most campuses you might be able to spot the student-athletes from them always wearing their sports gear, or some of them might jump around on crutches after getting an injury during practice or games. At Coastal Carolina University, if you ever need to find a student-athlete, go to the sports complex where most of the student-athletes spent a lot of time on any given day. In this area, you can both find the football field, baseball, and softball field, tennis course, and in the middle the builder where the coaches´ offices and the gym are located. On game days this place is packed and the excitement is amazing, and it is because of everybody who supports us.
There are many different views and stereotypes of a student-athlete. Some believe student-athletes are an integrated part of a university, and that they help promote the university everywhere they travel to compete. Others believe student-athletes receive too many benefits compared to what they actually do for the university. Student-athletes are sometimes categorized as the typical jock, which excels in sports but is way below average in school. However, there is so much more to student-athletes than this image. Student-athletes work hard to fulfill their dreams of maybe one day playing their sport professionally while working in the classroom. And if you ask many of the coaches they encourage their players to have at least a 3.0 GPA – after all, we are Students first, and athletes second. I have, personally, met both opinions, and yes I know it is a huge privilege to be a student-athlete. We do not only get to play in the universities uniform and have a few benefits such as being able to train in our “own” gym, we do also receive a huge amount of support from the community. However, there are two sides to every coin. And the darker not always as shown side is how hard the athletes work to be able to perform as well as they do every week.
Why did I choose to play for CCU?
I chose to be a student-athlete at CCU because the U.S gives athletes this amazing opportunity of following their dream and still be able to pursue a degree at the same time. I have a dream of becoming a professional golfer, however, I was not ready to turn professional after high school. In Denmark they don’t exactly offer the same chance of pursuing a degree and a sport career at the same time, so when I was recruited I accepted and flew to the U.S. I quickly found out I was a long way from home and it was different, but I learned to love it, and now after 3,5 years I am planning to start my career here after I graduate.
Playing for a university has so far given me so many experiences, and I have learned so much about other cultures, and about myself. Being a student-athlete has challenged me, and yes at times it is hard, but then you get to go onto your field and play for something more than just yourself and you forget the struggle. I have played for Coastal Carolina University (CCU) women´s golf team for 3,5 years now. The team has won tournaments and set school records, but we have also had difficulties and struggles from time to time. However, coming from an individual sport like golf, being a part of the CCU golf team meant we stood together through the good and the bad times. It is different suddenly being a part of a team when you are used to competing individually, but if you are lucky you get more than a team – you get a family.
Choosing a university:
It is a huge decision to choose a university; since you are looking for the place you can spend the next 4 years at. I chose CCU because I found the location marvelous, and since it has 100 golf courses within an hour drive it was perfect for me. With its “only” 10,000 students the smaller campus fitted me impeccable, and it was easy to find your way around. Because the university is smaller, you don’t feel like a number, you are a person and most professors will remember you long after you finish their classes. I still occasionally run into my English professor, who still remembers me, and asks how my golf is going. Last year I finished my capstone class, and as soon as my professor saw me this year she gave me a hug and asked how winter break had been. Every professor I have had at CCU has been incredibly enthusiastic about the class they teach, and most of the time they also enthusiastically follow you and your sport.
As I said, the culture here is different from what I was used to, and it can result in some glitches, however, my coach has been good at listening to me, and trying to understand what I was coming from. She has supported me through my college time and challenged me to become even better at the sport we both love. An advice when choosing a university you want to play for, don’t choose the coach that seem to make it easy, choose the coach who makes it difficult, and you will become better.
Even though they say every college experience is different, I believe you will be lucky and have great professors, coaches, and a great team – because most universities have great programs. However, if you want to be close to the beach, with hundreds of different courses to challenge you, I would encourage you to choose CCU.
Facts about CCU women´s golf team:
· Currently ranked 75th in the country (6th of February 2018)
· All 7 players earned above a 3.0 GPA last semester (Fall 2017)
