Student Athlete Spotlight: Claudio Romero
Hey everyone, I’m Claudio Romero, a rising fourth-year from the University of Virginia. Because of my great experience this season as a Cavalier, I have been given the opportunity to share my experiences with you guys via this amazing platform. Living the life as a student-athlete is not easy, but is definitely worth it. Unfortunately I do not have a lot of space to describe my detailed experience, but I will be giving a brief description of what being a D1 student athlete is and what it takes to make it to the very top of the NCAA.
The first thing that you have to know is that there are a bunch of small things people might not pay attention to that are actually the factors that separate being good from being great. Consistency is the first one. You will not wake up feeling the same every day, and it doesn’t matter who you are - there will be some days that you will ask yourself “is it really worth it?” Those are the days that really count, when you force yourself to get off your bed and go to class or to practice.
Being disciplined and moving forward day by day is the key to becoming the best version of yourself. That is the first key for success. The second is to listen to your body. Even though it is true that moving forward every day is going to make you a better athlete, there is no point in overstraining yourself and getting injured. An injury slows you down and you may get in your head which will affect you for far longer, even after the physical wound actually heals.
The third important thing is learning how to balance your life. You won’t succeed if you overstrain yourself. It is important to pay attention to your mental health the same way you do your physical health. How do you do that? Depends on what kind of person you are. Maybe you are quiet and prefer to spend time by yourself just chilling, or maybe you are like me who needs to spend time with my friends and talk about what is on my mind.
With these three things in mind, I’ve been able to go through college without losing sight of my goals and still performing and improving at the rate I want to.
Being completely honest, when I first got to Virginia as an international student there was more than one occasion in which I thought about dropping everything and going back home. Looking back at it, all the amazing experiences and people I’ve met dropping out of school would have been the worst mistake of my life. Getting out of my comfort zone has brought me closer to the person I’m trying to become.
Do not be afraid of new things. If you are consistent and dedicate a portion of every day to something, you will eventually become really good at it. And if you do become good at it, don’t be afraid to show the world how good you are. For me, the biggest step was leaving home and coming to a place where college sports are extremely important and extremely competitive. I had to make a name for myself from nothing… and don’t get me wrong, I’m far from being the athlete-person I aspire to be, but with my mind focused on the small things, I get better by the day.
If you are someone that is aspiring to become a great student-athlete or just a UVA fan that is randomly reading this blog, take it day by day and within a couple months you won’t even recognize yourself or remember how life was before making the change. There is no secret behind being good at something - just practice and more practice.