What defines a successful student athlete? Is it determination? – But even the most meditative types are still determined. Is it hard work? – But even to write songs the musician must work hard. Well then it is it competitive spirit? – But even Jenga players are competitive and, as hard as they try to persuade us, Jenga is no real sport.

So in looking for the one true thing that identifies a sportsperson we got a little lost. Maybe then, instead of trying to find the one thing, It’s probably a whole heap of things which combined together create somebody who is great at sports.

To find out if that’s right, we’re going to get a little closer to the heart of the matter. As the British Colleges and Universities Sport Awards 2014 just happened, we can look at some of the most successful student athletes and check out their success stories to see what made them so awesome at what they do.

What Makes the Top Players?

1. Alex Clayton – The University of Southampton student who snapped up the £1000 Chris Potter Award which recognises all the hard work and time he dedicated to the two wheeled machine. He’s on a big a winning streak too – having already won the British Cycling Go-Ride South Young Volunteer Award earlier this year.
2. Kay Wilson – The Cardiff Met student who won the Supergrad Player of the Tournament award, netting a well earned £2014 which she intends use to continue her hard work and volunteer effort with the England Women’s Rugby team. Expect Wilson to compete as we get closer to the Women’s Rugby World Cup in August 2014.
3. Andrew Sears – The University of Reading student who rebuilt the institution’s football club, which was struggling with bad debt as well as an unfortunate reputation. As the president of the club, he won the BUCS Deloitte leadership award and he received mountains of praise for his leadership. This is a guy who knows how to get his team to compete.

That’s three examples of the kind of student it takes to get success. Each of these individuals have shown they have qualities of determination, hard work, and a competitive spirit, with not one quality being their only defining feature. We think it’s a mixture of these three things which makes them appear to be almost superhuman.

How it feels to be on top of the world

Feeling sporty? While you are spending time in student accommodation, it’s an excellent time to get involved in the kinds of sport available to you at university. Who knows – if you keep the training up it could be you who’s collecting an award at the BUSC dinner next year.

Plenty of students have been in touch to tell us about their university experience, and the things that they achieved may include sporting excellence. We’re always happy to hear from students, so when you want to talk about your sport, university and student accommodation don’t hesitate to get in touch.