A Day in the Life of a USF Student Athlete
Watching Sofia Chepenik score, you’d think she was born to play lacrosse. The first female lacrosse player to sign a lifetime NIL deal, Chepenik earned First Team American All-Conference honors last season. She’s a key reason why USF’s lacrosse team dominated its inaugural 2025 season with 13 wins, including two against NCAA Tournament-bound teams.
But this success didn’t come easily to her.
Chepenik didn’t pick up a lacrosse stick until sixth grade — much later than most players, who start as early as kindergarten. “I could not catch to save my life,” she remembers. “I was so bad.”
Her sister — naturally talented at the sport — teased her, “You’ll never be able to catch the ball.” The teasing came from a place of “sisterly love,” but it pushed Chepenik to work even harder.
“That struggle became my strength,” she says on her website. “It shaped my work ethic, my mindset, and my belief that grit beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”
Once she learned how to catch, she fell in love with lacrosse. Now, she mentors other young female athletes and plans to become a motivational speaker.
What does her life look like behind the scenes? Let’s dive in.
What’s a Typical Day Like for a USF Student-Athlete?
Buckle up: Chepenik’s schedule is packed.
Wake Up Before Dawn
Life starts early at the lacrosse house where Chepenik lives with five teammates.
She loves sleeping, but she’s trained herself to rise at 5:30 a.m. “I'm really big on my routine, especially when we're in the midst of playing,” Chepenik says.
On top of her team’s tough training schedule, she does 10 extra minutes of exercises every morning and evening. “Over the span of the year, that's a bunch of work that I've put in that no one else has, so it gives me a little bit of a competitive edge.”
Mentally preparing for the day is just as important. She reads her Bible (currently: Proverbs) and does leadership reflections from a course she created on her platform, Sofia's Squad.
“I'm a leader who lifts my team with my voice,” she reflected recently. “My voice is strong, confident, undeniable, on and off the field.”
“She will prepare as hard as she can,” agreed Coach Mindy McCord in an interview with the Oracle. “She brings a spirit that is uncanny to a team.”
Assemble the Team
While most college students are still just waking up, Chepenik heads to rehab with an athletic trainer, grabs a quick breakfast (favorites: granola, yogurt, and hardboiled eggs), and joins the lacrosse team meeting led by McCord.
McCord is “literally my second mom,” Chepenik says. They go way back. McCord was her coach back in sixth grade — the one who pushed her to excel against all odds. She’s a big reason Chepenik chose to transfer to USF before her sophomore year.
McCord’s door is always open, and she’s been there for Chepenik in some of the toughest times of her personal life. USF’s coaches “truly care about you more as a person than as an athlete,” Chepenik says.
Practice on the Field
Chepenik and her team head to the outdoor field, glistening with early morning dew. After warmups and fundamental training, they play against each other.
“There’s so much creativity,” she says. Trick shots and strategy make lacrosse a high-speed trial of both athletics and intellect. Plus, she just loves being on a team.
One of the things that drew her to USF is that she could help steer their historic, first-year Division I lacrosse program for women. She’s proud of the results: “I’ve helped build a program rooted in hard work, high standards, and real sisterhood.”
Lift and Lunch
Chepenik loves putting in the work in the weight room and also, she loves their coach, Big John. “He has two little boys, but we always tell him he has 40 daughters as well … You can tell that he just truly cares about us and wants the best for us,” she says. “Everything that we do with him, [for] strength and speed and agility, all translates to the field.”
Snagging a quick lunch (a mix of nutrient-rich staples: ground beef, peppers, onions, and bone broth), Chepenik heads to class.
Study Hard
Chepenik is a mass communications major with a focus on broadcasting. In Fall 2025, she took five classes:
● Food and Culture (online)
● Spanish (online)
● The Criminal Justice System (online)
● Leadership and Communications (in-person)
● Radio and Podcasting (in-person)
“My Leadership and Communications class has been just incredible. I've learned so much about how to be an effective leader,” she says.
On days when class isn’t in session, she heads to the Judy Genshaft Honors College, grabs a Buddy Brew latte, and studies. As a member of Chi Alpha Sigma, a national honor society for student athletes, academics are just as important to her as athletics — a mentality McCord fosters.
“There is life after collegiate sports,” Chepenik explained in a recent interview. “If you’re not prepared for that, then our coach believes that she didn’t do her job. She’s really on top of us about our academics.”
Excelling on and off the field, USF’s lacrosse players study everything from health sciences to chemical engineering, criminology to finance.
Conduct Business
Chepenik works as an entrepreneur and motivational speaker. She created an online community, Sofia’s Squad, where young women can “have the tools, mindset, and confidence to rise.” Between 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., she builds new courses, lines up her next guest speaker, and makes posts on social media, which she hopes can “help empower the next generation of young female athletes.”
With over 200,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram, her voice is already making an impact.
Eat Dinner with Roommates
At the lacrosse house, it’s time for dinner (sushi is an all-time favorite) with her boyfriend and roommates. “It’s just so fun because I feel like even though we see each other 24/7, we all just love each other. We’re all super laid-back and chill and watch movies together [and] talk about practice.”
Exhausted from the day, most of the lacrosse house is getting ready for bed by 8 p.m.
Exercise and Wind Down
After Chepenik finishes her evening exercises, she winds down by watching a TV show (currently Welcome to Derry and Stranger Things) or reading a book (currently Talk Like TED by Carmine Gallo). Bedtime comes early; tomorrow’s another 5:30 a.m. wake up.
What’s Game Day Like for a USF Student Athlete?
You’ve lived a typical day in Chepenik’s cleats, but you’re still curious: What’s a game day like?
Wake up Early
Game days start like every other morning: wake up, make bed, read Bible, exercise. A teammate, Morgan Zimmerman, braids Chepenik’s long hair in intricate styles to keep it out of her face. Then Chepenik heads to the lacrosse facility for team breakfast.
Wrap Cleats in Pink Tape
In the locker room, Chepenik wraps her wrists and cleats in her signature pink tape. As high school players, she and her sister were required to wear helmets, which made it hard for their dad to spot them on the field. He solved this by buying them custom-colored shoes, but eventually Under Armour discontinued their custom cleats, and so her dad started wrapping her cleats in tape, also called spatting. The color is extra meaningful to her now since two of her relatives survived breast cancer.
Before every game, her sister sends her an inspirational Bible verse, and her dad writes her notes. “He gives me three things to focus on,” Chepenik says.
Chepenik writes the verse and the notes on the tape around her wrist. When she’s on the field, she can glance down at those three reminders from her dad, like play fast, see the net, or dominate.
“Then I'll always call my mom, and we'll always talk before my games.”
Coach McCord leads the team in visualization exercises, where they picture themselves succeeding on the field, before they discuss the game plan.
Sing the National Anthem
Chepenik loves to sing. Thanks to her rich, resonant voice, she’s often asked to perform the national anthem before USF games (including some of her own).
“I don't know how she does that,” McCord said in an interview with Fox13. “That seems very stressful, but she owns it because her confidence and preparation is second to none.”
Touch Grass
Chepenik and her team walk onto the field in two lines, shouting encouragement to each player behind them. “Go Chepenik. Go Morgan. Go Bulls!”
She grips her lacrosse stick, with an endcap from her hometown store, Bar Down, and touches the grass of the field. “I always touch the ground before I play … just to remind me that I am where my feet are,” Chepenik says. It’s a technique she adapted from this grounding exercise, where you notice:
● 5 things you see
● 4 things you feel
● 3 things you hear
● 2 things you smell
● 1 thing you taste
Score Big
Once the game starts, everything else stops. “I definitely get wrapped up in the game, and I only focus on that,” Chepenik says.
She loves the IQ required for lacrosse — it’s a game of quick reflexes and strategy. From the very first draw, adrenaline surges through her veins. The time flies by: lacrosse is known as the fastest sport on two feet for good reason.
Celebrate the Fans
The crowd erupts whenever Chepenik tosses a ball into the opponent’s net — especially if it’s a trick shot behind her back. “We have a huge fan base, and hearing them cheer us on after we score … it's just incredible to feel that support.”
After the game, Chepenik and her teammates high-five their opponents, run over to their fans, and sing USF’s alma mater. “Hail to thee, our alma mater / May thy name be told / Where above the gleaming splendor / Waves the green and gold.”
“They really are the best fan base,” Chepenik says.
Ready to Join the Team?
Want to cheer on Chepenik at her next game? You can find USF’s lacrosse schedule here and prep for game day with our article on what to yell at Bulls sporting events.
Curious about other USF students’ daily lives? Watch our Day-in-the-Life playlist here.
Interested in becoming a student athlete? Over 500 student athletes represent USF across 21 sports, including football and basketball, volleyball, soccer, golf, track, and of course, lacrosse. Our friendly Office Admissions staff is here to help you with any questions you have about the application process. You can contact them by email at admissions@usf.edu or by calling 813-974-3350.
Go Bulls!
