For many students, exchanges to foreign universities are complex. They are times of intense and pressing disorder as students ceaselessly juggle an endless list of activities, envisioned months previously, before the jolt of reality underlines just how little time each day truly offers.
Exchange students take on the wonderful yet exhausting challenge of balancing coursework, social integration, travel, sport and hobbies in new and demanding environments, all the while receiving regular social media reminders of the latest ball, trip or concert going on without them. While all leave with the best intentions, many of these opportunities can fall by the wayside, as each new requirement quietly nibbles at one’s spare moments.
For many of the students playing with Trinity’s top sides, however, sporting options are stripped away from the outset. “The level of competition was actually lower because it was quite an academic university”, Manuel Carro, former captain of Dublin University Basketball Club (DUBC), explains to The University Times. Carro has split his year between studying and working in Zurich and Munich.
“I’d been playing more and more every year since I was 14 but this year it’s been completely different”, he continues. Carro, like many students who travel, has found himself isolated from sport and the level of competition many athletes say they need.
It’s hard to comprehend the number and variety of barriers that student-athletes encounter when abroad and how difficult the experience can be compared to the one dreamed of when putting in those late April fourteen-hour library shifts to afford such an opportunity in the first place.
“I haven’t played at all other than a couple of trips to the driving range”, explains former varsity golfer Patrick Legros, who found such hurdles impossible to overcome. “Right from the get-go it was going to be difficult. Flying clubs across the Atlantic is a complicated process and without a car it’s nearly impossible to get to a course here”, he continues. For Legros, however, studying in Indiana University for the year, the biggest obstacle is money: “Financially it’s just infeasible between either paying a membership fee or frequent green fees yourself for the year.”
Despite his status with Dublin University Golf Club (DUGC), Legros quickly realised that the atmosphere in the cash-flushed US sports system presented an entirely different beast altogether. “I emailed the golf club here and they asked if I wanted to try out, but between the scholarships on offer and the elite players like Graeme McDowell and Paul Dunne who’ve come through the US system, I knew it was a level above me.”
Legros quickly realised that the atmosphere in the cash-flushed US sports system presented an entirely different beast altogether
“Playing on a US college varsity team would be impossible as an exchange student”, concludes former DUBC women’s captain Claire McGregor. Thankfully for McGregor, casual social basketball is offered across the US to an extent far beyond anything played in Ireland. “I did play for my residential dorm against the other dorms in an intramural league but the standard wasn’t as good as Irish college varsity”, McGregor, who has since returned to Trinity, says.
The difficulty in finding a competitive balance when travelling provides a common strand connecting so many stories. When even those playing popular international sports as golf and basketball are so affected, it becomes clear that complete sporting adaptations are rarely available. To shift from several training sessions a week and gym work to simple recreational or intramural play is a sudden transition that many cannot foresee.
For some, however, this provides the opportunity to experiment with other sports and a more relaxed and casual atmosphere. “Stepping back has allowed me to try out new things, from extracurriculars to travelling and meeting people who play other sports”, explains Carro, whose sentiments echo those of his fellow athletes.
For some, studying abroad provides the opportunity to experiment with other sports and a more relaxed and casual atmosphere
“It opened a new window to new activities”, agrees DUFC Women’s Alex Lynch, currently studying in Sweden. “I’ve joined in with volleyball and hikes on the weekends so it’s not too bad of a change.”
“I’ve been playing nine-a-side football, futsal and volleyball here which is an unbelievable opportunity”, adds Legros. “There’s a lot of pressure at home to play consistently and to maintain and improve your scores, and now I see more than ever that there’s more to sporting life than golf.”
However, the other side to such openings can prove difficult to admit. “Golf is a long sport and when I played on Saturdays out in Royal Dublin GC or Portmarnock GS, I’d be busy from half seven to half five. Now, I look back on so many Saturdays here and so many afternoons just became dead time”, he laments, the weight of inactivity now showing on his face. “It was so unfamiliar that I just wasn’t prepared to make good use of the time.”
He pauses, reflecting on the last six months before decisively concluding “if I had the option, I would still take the golf over it”. When stepping away from Trinity life, people often tell you to focus on new opportunities. However, people rarely appreciate the sacrifices students make and the opportunities they forego, sporting or otherwise.
Carro, reflects on his own barriers: remaining sharp and tested without the intensity of organised trainings. “You see yourself after two weeks even not training and you can’t help but think ‘wow, I’m…I’m really losing it’.” Many choose to curb their aspirations within their clubs and teams when they commit to exchanges.
While Carro and McGregor established themselves as senior leaders with their teams early on, other clubs require a longer wait. “I could see myself becoming a senior player and I loved helping the newer girls out when we played experienced sides”, comments Lynch, “so I could see myself on the committee but I don’t think there’ll be much readjustment or change in position when I return”.
Legros was left with a similar decision to make: “My Dad had been captain of the Trinity football team so growing up I always thought about being a senior player with the DUGC. It was hard to leave that go. I love the DUGC and not being able to be involved in events and to help organise events with the guys I came in with as a fresher has been the hardest thing to leave behind.”
“My first two years there were the highlight of my time in Trinity and connected me to the College in a way I never expected.”
The social aspects of these clubs are re-emphasised in each interview as stories of varsity meetings and group trips echo one another. “When it comes to golf, I can’t help but feel I really missed out this year”, concludes Legros. “I missed the Scotland trip and the chance to play at St Andrews, I missed the match with DUGS (DUGC’s alumni players), I missed the intervarsities.”
“When it comes to golf, I can’t help but feel I really missed out this year”, concludes Legros
The list is rapidly reeled off, evidently not for the first time.
College sport is intrinsically linked with shaping one’s social life. For many, stepping away from sport equally represents stepping away from their closest friends. The physical separation from the club is not lost on Carro, who comments that “sport is always great at tying people together and has helped me make new friends again this year, but there are a lot of graduating teammates that I won’t be able to play with again, which is frustrating considering the time you’ve spent with this group of players”.
“I didn’t appreciate it until I left, but we really are such a tight-knit team”, adds Lynch. “I hadn’t noticed how strong the society culture is within Trinity.”
The impact of such dramatic changes, however, is ultimately cushioned by the opportunity to play consistently, and for most, this satisfactorily fills their period away. Tucked away in the north of Europe, even Lynch was able to find a portal to home playing rugby. “It’s not as organised – it’s literally people who are interested in rugby who want to pass a ball around twice a week.”
“I didn’t go for ages but I really missed it. I feel playing keeps me sane”, she says with a laugh. For those with the option, complete severance from playing proves to be a road untravelled, and living abroad has proven to be a chaotically different period for most. It doesn’t take a sit down interview to notice that any opportunity to connect to “regular life” is gold dust to anyone removed from home.
For McGregor, sport even proved to be “a high point of the year abroad”.
“I was able to play regularly enough in a much more relaxed and casual environment. There was also lots of opportunities to play pick-up games anytime you walked into the gym on campus.” She finishes assuredly, stressing that “being in America was definitely a positive experience”.
Even Legros, despite all the barriers he faced, reiterates that while sport has proved a regret in his time away – the obstacles are just one aspect of a positive experience. “I’ve lived away from home for the first time, I’ve made friends throughout the world and I’ve created some fantastic memories”, he reflects, the balance of the year shifting with his tone.
The accounts of these students are a testament to the comradery within Trinity’s clubs and teams, and the huge role they play in the daily lives of their members. Sport is evidently an enormous pull factor for those who are away and can leave students contemplating life at home. However, it promises an equally satisfactory return to College life.
Travelling is unpredictable and can offer benefits and difficulties beyond what can be controlled. However, for those away now or preparing for an exchange, there lies a comfort in knowing that the pillars of one’s Trinity life remain patiently standing, waiting for you to return.
