I was really excited for Coach Silviu Tanasoiu of the men’s tennis team to join us for the Rose Café since I have been playing tennis myself for over ten years. Although I only played in high school and did not continue in college, I still had trouble balancing tennis practice, games and weekend tournaments while being in school. Trying to complete everything to the best of your ability can get overwhelming and tiring. Coach Tanasoiu described some of his players as going through military training, preparing for medical school and playing on the team. I can barely get through pre-med classes myself so I cannot imagine how those students manage to do it! It was really great to hear how Coach Tanasoiu recognizes that student athletes have so much to deal with and it seems that he really cares about his athletes. One example of this was demonstrated when he reached out to a player’s mother who only spoke Russian trying to involve her in the process. He also really focuses on his players working effectively to balance school, athletics and a social life. I think a lot of students including myself can really learn a lot from the discussion of student athletes, even if we are not athletes ourselves. We should all strive to work effectively so that we have time to do things that we love and spend time with friends. I think this makes school a little less stressful and more enjoyable. When you look back on your college experiences years after, you don’t want to reflect on the times you spent staying up late because of procrastinating but rather the good times.