Hello all,

Hope all is going well for you back in Austin. I thought I’d give you a little insight into life at DePaul University for a first-year student. The first few weeks have been a little hectic trying to adjust to a new schedule new people. The hardest thing that I’ve found about the differences between college and living with Coach Newman is that I don’t know what to do with all of my free time. Don’t get me wrong, I’m keeping plenty busy, but just know that no matter where you go to school, nothing will be more demanding then the College Prep program.

chaffee

My schedule is pretty heavy this fall since it’s technically our offseason. I wake up at 5:30 in the morning to eat breakfast before 6:15 morning workouts until 8. Then I go back to my room to take a nap until my 9:40 class which runs until 11:40. Then I grab lunch and go to the training room at 1 o’clock to get treatment for a wrist injury. Then I have to walk about a mile to the tennis courts and we are required to be at the courts by 1:45 for a 2 o’clock practice so that when our coach shows up he can start doing whatever he wants. After practice I shower then eat dinner as I’m going to my night classes on Tuesday and Wednesday from 6-9:15. Then I start my homework, and am normally asleep by 12 or 12:30.
The major difference I’ve found between college and junior tennis is that no matter how hard you think you worked as a junior, people in college work harder than you. The level of practices and workouts are insane. For the first 45 minutes of every practice, we just rally down the middle and crosscourt, and for every ball you miss, it’s a push up then you run to get the ball. Outside of tennis,  I am really enjoying getting to meet a ton of new people every day, and seeing everything that Chicago has to offer. The thing that is definitely the most challenging about college is trying to balance all of the opportunities that present themselves to you while here. Luckily all freshmen are required to complete 4 study hours in the Academic Advising office, but in all honesty I probably spent more like 15 hours there last week completing 3 separate papers for 3 different classes all due last Thursday.

I think that if I could go back to high school and give myself one piece of advice, it would be to ensure that I got all of my schoolwork done as soon as it was assigned. That is the biggest difference between college and high school. The professors don’t care if you finish your work; they’re getting paid either way. Other than that gloomy piece of advice, I hope you all are kicking butt in your tournaments and working hard.See you soon,

Aaron