Have you ever wondered what being a D-1 athlete, full time fourth year student with a job can be like? Senior loose forward Albert (Alby) O’Shannessey, a rugby player for CWU, was able to go through what a day for him looks like.

Being a student athlete at any division level can be difficult, and according to O’Shannessey it’s too much at times. 

“With a combination of having all the rugby stuff going on and class, especially my senior year … I feel overloaded.” O’Shannessey said. 

O’Shannessy’s morning looks very similar to an average student’s with getting up and having breakfast before getting ready for class.

 “I have an 8 a.m. class so I wake up around 7 a.m. and eat breakfast. I usually have a pretty big breakfast … then I head to my class,” O’ Shannessey said. “After that I have a two-hour gap between my next class so I usually hang around on campus and just study … then have another class at noon.”

His noon class overlaps with his rugby practice which starts at noon and runs until 1:30 p.m. So O’Shannessy is there for the second half of practice, after walking from his class to the field. 

“I get there around 1:03-1:04 p.m. and start training for about 25 minutes and then I typically hang around and do some [practice] outside of training, to make up for what I missed,” O’Shannessy said.

From 2-3 p.m. the rugby team has weights together and then are encouraged to go to the training room for recovery or physical training when needed.

 “I then will come home [around 4] and eat … then usually do a bit of ‘studies’ for a couple hours … dinner around 7 p.m. and that’s pretty much Monday,” O’ Shannessy said. 

Tuesdays and Thursdays look a little different because in the mornings they have 6 a.m. weights instead of 2-3 p.m., but classes for O’Shannessey are the same. Wednesday they don’t have practices and Fridays are a bit like Mondays.  

With the season around the corner, O’ Shannessey said he is excited for one last college year of “footie” and hopes to see his fans in the stands after all the team’s hard work.