Take a walk in Oket's cleats

Busy schedules, time management. Between schoolwork, outside commitments, groups, leisure time and precious sleep, there are plenty of activities to devote time to. The life of a student athlete has all of these things with the added time commitment of their sport. This is what a typical day looks like for varsity soccer player Oketekyie Dakwa-Agyekum (‘13), known by his friends as Oket.

Noah Nelsen-Gross / Chips

8:00 a.m. The day starts early with a yoga class.

“I felt like it would help me stretch better,” Oket said when asked why he took the class.

9:30 a.m. After getting out of yoga, Oket has half an hour for breakfast before starting work in the Diversity Center.

10:00 a.m. Now, after a quick breakfast, it is time for work. Typically Oket works behind the scenes at the Diversity Center, but he can occasionally be found at the front desk.

12:00 p.m. Right after finishing in the Diversity Center, Oket gets lunch before continuing with his day.

12:45 p.m. The first academic-based class of the day is Auditing, a senior level accounting course. After an hour and a half of sitting in a stuffy Olin classroom, it is time to move on to the next class.

2:30 p.m. The end of the school day is in sight. But since all Luther students are required to take a lab course, Oket has his ninety-minute chemistry lab on Thursday afternoons.

4:00 p.m. Oket is done with class for the day. If time allows, Oket quickly grabs some food and heads down to practice.

4:30 p.m. Practice. For the next two to two-and-a-half hours Oket spends time honing skills, conditioning and preparing for upcoming games.

“You have to really love what you are doing. You really have to love the sport you are playing because there are days when everyone is going out, or going to a show, and you just can’t do it,” Oket said.

7:00 p.m. With practice finally finished, it is time for dinner. Despite living off campus this year, most days Oket goes to the Cafeteria out of convenience.

“The last thing you want to do after practice is cook,” he said.

8:00 p.m. With dinner done it is time for homework. Most of the time Oket stays on campus to get his work done, as it is easier to work in the peace and quiet of a library.

The time commitments of an in-season athlete go beyond the daily schedule. There are away games, travel time and extra workouts to factor into the schedule as well. It becomes a game of time management.

“Very early on you learn you have to manage your time very well, especially if you want to succeed at being both a student and an athlete,” Oket said.