The life of a student-athlete is extremely busy and demanding. They are expected to maintain the same standards as every other student but have an additional obligation with their sport.
Abi Frandsen is a Carlson School of Management student, majoring in Marketing and minoring in Strategic Management. In addition to a full course load and a spot on the starting lineup of the Minnesota Gophers soccer team, Frandsen holds two part-time jobs.
She works as a contracted marketer for Clinic Ellena Aesthetics and works at Arlo Boutique in sales. At Arlo Boutique, she works on the sales floor, consulting with the store’s owners on what brands to invest in and other miscellaneous marketing inquiries.
These part-time jobs have prepared Frandsen for a career in sales. Recently, she accepted a full-time position at Cargill in the sales division after graduation.
Frandsen’s weeks can get pretty busy, so she became a master of managing her time. She took The Minnesota Daily along for a week to provide insight into her demanding schedule and the organizational skills she applies to reach Sunday.
Monday
Minnesota soccer started the week with an off day. Frandsen started her day at 9 a.m. and took the time to work on her schoolwork and part-time jobs to prepare for the week ahead.
Frandsen spent the first part of her morning at Ellena Aesthetics to film content for their social media. After filming, she traveled back to campus for her 10:30 a.m. class, her only one of the day.
With a light class schedule on Monday, Frandsen ate a healthy lunch and headed to the weight room for recovery exercises. This usually includes light biking,stretching and rolling out her muscles.
In the evening, she spent time doing homework, studying and spending time with friends.
“[My favorite thing to do with Abi is] going over to her apartment to watch a show,” teammate and friend Josie Wood said. “Right now we’re watching ‘The Golden Bachelor’ together.”
Tuesday
Frandsen’s Tuesday was much busier. She spent her morning in classes from 8 a.m. till just past 1 p.m. Afterwards, she attended team lifting at 1:30 p.m.
After the team lift was completed, she went to Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium to watch last week’s game film. During the film session, the coaches showed select moments from the game to analyze what went well and what changes should be made for future games.
Immediately after watching the film, the team started their training. They practiced for about an hour and a half, and Frandsen did not leave Elizatbeth Lyle Robbie until 5 p.m.
The soccer team usually has dinner together at Athlete’s Village for Taco Tuesday, one of the best parts of the week, according to Frandsen.
“We’re all there together,” Wood said. “It’s a nice time to debrief and talk about stuff that isn’t necessarily soccer.”
Wednesday
During the weeks when the team has an away game, Wednesday becomes a travel day. Frandsen likes to get work done early in the morning on these days to ensure she is prepared for the remainder of the week.
Frandsen is excused from her 10:30 a.m. class when the team has to travel. This past season, there have been two away games on Thursdays, so she has missed the class twice. Frandsen said she felt fortunate all of her professors have been extremely understanding when it came to missing classes.
At the start of the semester, Frandsen gave all of her professors a travel letter, detailing which classes she would be excused from. However, the assigned work in class is not excused, so Frandsen takes notes from a recorded lecture or receives notes from someone in class if the lecture is not recorded.
During the day, Frandsen lifts and trains before meeting with a scout to discuss their upcoming opponent. The scout explains the opponent’s strengths and weaknesses, detailing what their set plays look like and how to defend against them.
After practice, the team heads directly to the airport. Once they land, they get on a team bus and drive to dinner. Dinner usually consists of “carbo-loading” at Italian restaurants with pasta.
“Dinner is super fun because it’s not often that you can have dinner with 30 of your best friends,” Frandsen said. “That’s an awesome experience.”
Finally, the team arrived at the hotel. Frandsen said she typically has tight calves, so this is where she gets her treatments before the game. After she is treated, she is free for the rest of the night to study, spend time with her teammates or spend time with her family if they travel with her.
Thursday
The team began preparing for the game at 9 a.m. They have breakfast before having free time for the rest of the morning. Frandsen usually spends this time doing homework and catching up on what she missed in class.
After having lunch, the team went on a walk to get their legs moving. From there, the day revolved around the game.
The team got their game-day hair ready, got tape around their joints and muscles if needed and had a pregame meeting.
During this meeting, they established the keys to the game. The keys of the game are important aspects players should be focusing on the field. They generally fall into two categories: the head or the heart. Keys focusing on the head include tactical strategies during the game, while keys focusing on the heart are more intangible, asking players to put in constant effort throughout the game.
Right before the team trots onto the field, they watch a hype video. Each game has a different video put together by one of Frandsen’s teammates. Once they are hyped up for the game, the team hops on the bus and rides to the field.
After the game is over, they go back to the hotel, have dinner and spend the rest of their night freely. Frandsen and her teammates are generally tired and go to bed and sleep.
Friday
Following game day, Friday is dedicated to recovery and travel.
Frandsen usually practices her recovery exercises in the mornings. The coaches assign the workout for the day, taking into account how much each individual played. Players who didn’t play or got less playing time have to work out more.
After their workout, the team travels to prepare for their game on Sunday. They either take a bus or plane depending on the game’s location.
The team goes directly to the hotel, where they hold dinner all together. They have a relaxing night which typically consists of hanging out together or working on homework.
“Just the conversations that we have are so fun,” Frandsen’s teammate and friend Christa VanLoon said. “There’s a bunch of laughs shared. The conversations are the best part.”
Saturday
Similar to Wednesday, Saturday is full of game-day preparations. After breakfast together, the team began their pregame training.
These exercises are short in time but extremely high in intensity. Frandsen’s favorite pregame practice consists of a two-minute, five-on-five scrimmage.
After the pregame practice, the team met with a scout for their next opponent. The scout went over the same information as they would on Wednesday: going over the opponent’s strengths and weaknesses and how to defend set plays.
In the evening, the team decided on a place to eat dinner. Usually, they get a list of popular restaurants in the area that can accommodate the entire team and staff.
“One of my favorite parts of my college soccer is just getting to be all together and go to different restaurants,” Frandsen said. “[Going out to eat] and traveling together is the best combination ever.”
Sunday
To end the week, the team plays one more game. Sunday games are generally in the afternoon, so the team starts their routine earlier. They replace their pregame meal with a heartier brunch-style breakfast at 8 a.m.
After breakfast, Frandsen started to get ready for the game.
Following her preparation, the team conducted a similar pregame routine. Their meeting included new keys of the game, focusing on the head and heart again and watching a hype video.
Directly after the game, the team showered at the opponent’s facilities and got on the bus to the airport. Frandsen returns to Dinkytown at around 8 p.m., where the rest of the evening is up to her and her teammates.