By: Ben Pollard and Younes Dayekh
The responsibilities of a Bradley baseball player extend well beyond the baseball diamond.
Like any student-athlete, the Braves players must maintain respectable grades, practice well, attend workouts, travel and play in games.
Together, these commitments resemble a full-time job.
In fact, third baseman Brendan Dougherty estimates the players only have a couple hours a day of free time.
Managing these responsibilities, while having little free time, is extremely difficult and creates many challenges, despite what the NCAA wants people to believe.
One of the many challenges that Bradley’s players face during a season is missing classes.
Since Bradley is in Central Illinois, the weather is typically snowy and cold when baseball season begins in February. As a result, the Braves are forced to travel for the first month and a half of each season.
Of the 53 scheduled games this year, 32 of them are away from home. For these contests, the team usually leaves on Friday and does not return until late Sunday night or early Monday morning.
This frequent travel interrupts the class schedules of many of the players.
“We will miss a couple classes. Typically, we will miss just Friday classes, but if we leave Wednesday or Thursday, we’ll miss the ones on those days, too,” said freshman infielder/outfielder Connor O’Brien.
Despite being on the road, the players are still expected to complete assignments on time. Finding time to finish those assignments, however, poses its own set of challenges.
“While we travel on the bus, we try to get as much done as we can,” said O’Brien. “Otherwise, you can try to catch up on work at the hotel at night, but most of it is done when you get back. You just have to do double the work.”
To limit the amount of work they have, some players take less credit hours during the season.
“We usually take about 16 to 17 hours in the fall, and we try to take about 14 or 15 in the spring,” said Dougherty.
Summer classes and courses over winter break are also popular options for members of the team.
On top of completing assignments on the road, the Braves practice on days they do not have games. The team is awarded only one day off per week.
“Practices last between two and a half to three hours during the season,” said Dougherty. “In the fall, it gets a little longer because we have scrimmages on the weekends, and we usually have practice right before that, too. Those practices can run between four and five hours.”
So far, the frequent practices have paid off for Bradley. The team has lost only one season series this year.
In addition to practice, the team also participates in training sessions during the offseason and season.
Depending on the time of year, the type of training varies.
In the offseason, the team focuses on gaining muscle, so heavy weights are frequently used.
The focus shifts to explosiveness during the season, so lighter weight and more repetitions become standard.
Regardless of the kind of training, staying fit for the season is a year-round endeavor.
“In September, we’ll start training. From September to October, we’ll play fall ball. Then, from October until around winter break, we just have lifting five days a week. After we get back from winter break, it’s basically time to get ready for the season,” said freshman catcher Adam Brian.
Once the season starts, the amount of training decreases because of practices and games, but players are still expected to lift weights.
“We lift on Tuesday and Thursday mornings during the season around 7 a.m. It can get a little tough when you’re on the road, and you get back at 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. Monday. It’s a quick turnaround to Tuesday morning,” said Dougherty.
Throughout this offseason and season, the Braves have managed to conquer the challenges that come with being a student-athlete, both on and off the field, and their record reflects that.
Bradley is currently 12-7 and is in third place in the Missouri Valley Conference.