Beyond the uniform: the dreams of college athletes span greater than the sport

Story and photos by Maddie Panzer

College athletes are constantly practicing and working hard to compete in their chosen sport. While pursuing that sport is pivotal for many athletes in school, they also have goals and aspirations for the future that show a side of them you wouldn’t be able to see just by watching them play.

“The swim coach said that I wasn’t old enough to swim, and that was when I was 4 years old. On the other hand, the dive coach saw my build. She recognized my potential pretty quick.”

Anton Svirskyi, 21, is on the diving team at the University of Florida. Svirskyi was born in Ukraine and has been training most of his life to be the diver he is today, but at one point this diver had a huge fear to overcome --- the fear of heights.

When Svirskyi’s parents saw that fear, they knew that putting him in diving would help him overcome it.

“My parents wanted me to get into this sport professionally; that’s how things are in Ukraine. We can’t just do it for fun,” said Svirskyi.

Svirskyi had to stop diving for about five years when he came to America in 2015. He was living in New Jersey, and the facilities for diving weren’t that great. During those years Svirskyi took on other sports, such as track and football at his high school.

That wasn’t the end of diving for Svirskyi, though. He still wanted to conquer his fears.

Before coming to UF in 2020, Svirskyi went to St. Peters University in New Jersey, where he got back into diving. It was then that he was finally able to look down from the diving board and feel relief rather than panic. It was time for him to really commit to the sport and take his abilities to the next level.

“We train with professionals every day. We not only look up to them, but we’re at the same level as most of them. We have people going to the Olympics and bringing back multiple Olympic gold medals,” said Svirskyi about the UF diving team.

Although Svirskyi still has two eligible years left at UF, he has big dreams of what he wants to accomplish post-grad.

“I want to win an Olympic gold. That’s been my dream since I was 4 years old.”

An Olympic medal isn’t the only type of gold Svirskyi strives for; he wants to win a Nobel Peace Prize. When Svirskyi isn’t diving, he can be found studying biochemical engineering. When Svirskyi was little, his mother gave him the idea to always help others and reach for that honor.

Svirskyi isn’t the only athlete at UF with big dreams. Shemar James, 19, is a freshman Linebacker at UF with plans of his own. James grew up in Mobile, Alabama where football was big and influenced many kids including himself.

“All people talk about is football. I started playing football around seventh grade. I got into it because I felt like I was good at it. People always told me growing up that I should play, but that was the first time I got serious about it.”

It wasn’t until his junior year of high school that he saw an opportunity for playing college football.

James said he chose UF because of the family environment, and how welcoming everyone was.

He has big dreams of making it to the NFL but working with children one day is another desire.

“I see myself playing football after college. That’s my dreams and aspirations. Football has to end one day, and I want to work with kids eventually.

James is studying psychology in school and wants to work with children, helping them better themselves as individuals. James wants to be the role model he never had to these children.

“I didn’t really have that positive role model growing up, so I just thought about it. Since I have a lot of nieces and nephews, it came to me.”

Other athletes are enjoying their sport right now but don’t plan on playing after college.

Paige Clausen, 19, is a forward for the UF women’s basketball team. Unlike some of the other athletes, Clausen has a unique case, in which she came to UF as a regular student, and eventually joined the team as a walk-on the summer after her freshman year.

Clausen started playing basketball at the age of 5, where she would play against her brothers and dad at home in Naples, Florida. She joined her first recreational team in first grade, and it wasn’t until middle school that she started to play basketball competitively.

The thought of playing in college crossed Clausen’s mind a few times in high school, but her plans ended up changing.

“My process was a little different because I wasn’t recruited to play at UF,” said Clausen.

Clausen thought her playing days were over freshman year when the team had a lot going on and wouldn’t add any more players to their roster. With some hope left, Clausen was able to show off her skills at walk-on tryouts the following summer and claim a spot on the team.

Although Clausen loves the sport, she wants to keep it in college and pursue her academic career in finance.

“I just think it’s a super cool experience to do in college. It’s a once in a lifetime experience, but I wouldn’t want to play professionally. I like sports, but I also like math."

Clausen loves math and says she aspires to work in finance when she gets out of college.

“Right now, I’m thinking about going into investment banking,” said Clausen. “I’m going through the interview process right now. It’s crazy that it’s happening this early, but this is what I want to do straight after college.”

Whether it’s playing a sport professionally after college or pursuing academic careers, college athletes are motivated and driven. They have big dreams in life that will eventually turn into realities for many of them. A college athlete is more than just a player; they aspire, they desire and have plans like the rest of us.

Sipping on Spirit

Ingredients:

Edible purple glitter

Dash of sugar

4 ounces pineapple juice

1 ounce blue curacao

Ice Frosting

Gold sprinkles

Sparkly glass

Directions:

Get out any sparkly glass you have and you’re ready to start. For this you will want to dip your glass into vanilla frosting, and add sugar to the rim.

Then, you will mix 4 ounces of pineapple juice and 1 ounce of blue curacao with some edible glitter and gold sprinkles.

Strain your mix into your glass, add ice and you’re ready to drink!