Last year, the Loyola Men’s Basketball team won the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics championship for the second time in the school’s history. On top of being full time students and on a championship team, the players have a lot to balance. 

Dominic Brown, a sophomore marketing major, plays point guard for the team. This is only his first year on the team after an accident caused him to take his freshman year off of the court. Having played the sport since he was two years old, Brown stays focused on the game, even when it takes up much of his time. 

“It takes up at least half of my day, even if it’s not just on the court. I try to spend time watching films, working out, training,” Brown said. 

Brown said that time management is important, but sometimes, it feels impossible.

“A lot of the time, it feels like I’m not doing as much or that I’m being as productive as I want to be, just because it feels like time is moving really fast,” he said. 

On top of the team, Brown is also a full time student at Loyola as well as an owner of his own clothing brand. 

“Some days I feel like I’m doing everything perfectly and the day is working out perfectly but some days, I feel like I’m barely making it through,” Brown said.

Dominic brown isn’t the only player feeling this way. Senior Mass Communication major, Andrew Stagni, is a shooting guard for the team. This is Stagni’s fourth year on the team, which has helped him in developing skills to balance school and playing. He said that realizing he is a student first was the key. 

“Ever since junior year of highschool, I realized that I’m obviously not going to go pro in basketball so I need to learn as much as I can in classes,” Stagni said. 

By realizing this, Stagni said it helps him in managing time between basketball, school, and personal relationships. 

“It’s really just about taking everything serious,” he said. “You just have to realize that the end result is going to be good if you put the work in and suffer now.”