After a long week of classes, exams and the other daily stresses that go with college, the desire to kick back on the weekend is more than understandable. But for student athletes, the ritualistic and omnipresent experience of college drinking is often forgone.
Or at least pushed until Saturday night.
"I don't think you can have a good day of practice [after a night of drinking], even if it's a run-through," said senior Brandon Udelhofen, an offensive lineman on the football team. "It really affects your performance, even mentally."
That's why the football team, along with several other Tufts athletics teams, has instituted its own alcohol policy. The team instituted the policy several years ago and it stipulates that drinking is prohibited except on Saturdays, and then, only in moderation.
While the players are primarily responsible for policing themselves, the coaching staff enforces the policy as necessary. Senior Mike Ott, a backup quarterback, was suspended earlier this season for two games after it was determined that he had violated the team's drinking policy.
Coach Bill Samko recognizes the detrimental effect of alcohol on his team's success.
"[Alcohol] affects performance, it affects rest, which affects performance, and it affects weight, which affects performance," Samko said.
Yet Samko realizes that alcohol is ubiquitous on any college campus, and stresses that players be accountable for moderating their own behavior.
"This is college," Samko said. "Are you going to tell them not to drink?"
The Tufts Athletic Department has its own alcohol policy, which states that athletes are prohibited from consuming alcohol "when representing Tufts athletics." This refers to practices, games, team vacations and traveling done as a team.
Director of Athletics Bill Gehling acknowledged the policy is rather vague and pointed out that many teams have their own rules for alcohol.
"We do not have a set department policy for how we would deal with alcohol," Gehling said. "What we're setting here is sort of the bottom line requirements. The department rule focuses on when you are representing the team in any way."
Athletes must also obey any and all rules of the University regarding the consumption of alcohol.
"Student-athletes are first and foremost students and are subject to all rules pertaining to students with respect to alcohol and anything else," Gehling said.
Coach Martha Whiting of the women's soccer team said that her team has no formal policy, but rather observed rules decided upon every season by the team.
"Every year we have our seniors make team rules and they will usually come up with something that the team can agree on," Whiting said.
Whiting and other coaches have to trust that their athletes are taking care of themselves and behaving in ways that are both safe on an individual level and that contribute to the success of the team.
"You have to trust that they're grownups out on their own who can make relatively wise decisions most of the time," Whiting said.
Whiting talks to her players about the responsibility they have individually to each other and to the team, and emphasizes that their actions have an impact on team performance and also reflect upon their coaches, teammates, parents and school.
"If there's a commitment to being the best you can be, you hope that they can be reasonable with their decisions," Whiting said.
Upperclassmen and captains play a large role in setting the standards that are beneficial to the team's performance. Self-policing from within the upper ranks of the team is generally the most effective form of moderation.
"We'll talk to guys and say 'Hey listen, you're part of a team. You can't be messing around,'" Udelhofen said.
For sports teams to be successful, athletes must always have the larger goals of the team in the back of their minds, even on Thursday and Friday nights.
"There shouldn't be distractions," Udelhofen said. "You should be focused on what you're doing. It's not sensible."
