IN DEPTH: Baskerville Successfully Balancing Academics and Athletics

Classes, exams, homework, workouts, games, and a social life - being both a student and an athlete isn't easy sometimes. Managing all of the different aspects of life as a student-athlete can be a lot, but few know better how to manage all of it than redshirt sophomore forward David Baskerville.

Baskerville, who is in his third year at Canisius, has found success on and off the ice. He was named an Atlantic Hockey Student-Athlete of the Year each of the last two years and recorded a perfect 4.0 GPA in both semesters during the 2018-19 season. He was also one of nine Griffs hockey players to be recognized as an All-American Scholar by the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) last season.

How does he do it?

"I like to write a ton of things down," he said. "I usually make a list of items throughout the week - what do I have to do? When do I want something done? Then I stick to that, because a lot of the time toward the end of the semester, teachers throw a lot of stuff at you all at once. It's easy to become overwhelmed."

I use a planner a lot, so I like to just lay it all out, Baskerville added, noting that he makes a list for each day of the week and checks items off as he completes them. It's a balance, for sure, especially with hockey and workouts.

Some people don't understand. They're like 'Oh my gosh, the stuff you have is busier than people who work 40-hour work weeks.' Yes, but it's all stuff that I enjoy doing, so it's a happy medium. You've just got to find the right balance."

Baskerville certainly enjoys playing hockey. He's appeared in 46 games for the Griffs, recording one goal, four assists and more than 40 blocked shots while serving as a key member of the team's penalty-kill unit. But he also enjoys the academic side of things. As a biology major, he's in several classes that are specific to his major, and looks forward to what's to come.

"I've always been interested in medicine," Baskerville said. "I've always just been inclined to gravitate toward science and math. When I took anatomy in high school, it was an introductory class, but I just fell in love with it."

I think a turning point was when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. I was her support system, and I was interested in chemotherapy and radiation and the stuff that went on behind it."

Baskerville's goal upon graduating from Canisius in a few years is to go to graduate school - and hopefully stay local - to become a physician's assistant. His experience surrounding his mom's battle with cancer has inspired him to possibly specialize in oncology.

"There's just so much out there," he said. "Medicine is evolving constantly, so that's where my head always goes to."

The fall semester is nearly over, with exams on the horizon. The hockey season is also in full swing with Canisius having just played its final games of the fall semester last weekend at AIC.

The Griffs are now in the midst their traditional end-of-semester break, allowing the players to focus on exams and enjoying the holidays with their families. Canisius will return to action Dec. 28-29 with a home series against Atlantic Hockey foe Holy Cross.

"This semester is more work, but it's interesting things to me. It's all medical-related," Baskerville said. "This is crunch time now, but the semester's gone pretty good so far."

I know that when Fridays and Saturdays hit, I usually don't do too much homework. I might do an hour here or there, but I usually try to load up the front-end of the week so that the end of the week, I can focus on hockey and putting my best performance forward and getting a good night's rest."

Prepping for exams and finishing up papers amid the busy hockey schedule certainly takes some balance, but Baskerville has a method for managing everything during the busy time.

"I usually like to start a week or a week in a half for all of the exams I have," he said. "Just slowly chip away, a couple topics at a time. Then once it gets closer to the day, I'll start reviewing all the material instead of trying to study and cram it in my head. The week prior to an exam, I'll study pretty thoroughly and then kind of wind down a bit so I'm fresh for the exam."

Of course, balancing school and athletics isn't new to Baskerville. He previously balanced a light course load in the year after high school while playing with the OJHL's Buffalo Jr. Sabres, but gave himself a year off from school to play with the NAHL's Corpus Christi IceRays, where he focused on developing as a hockey player without distraction.

Canisius, it seems, has been a perfect fit for him to succeed both in the classroom and on the ice. Baskerville's older sister graduated from the college, and he was able to shadow her to get a feel for the classes and the campus.

"It's nice to be close to home," he said. "I'm only 40 minutes from home, so I can see my family on weekends. If I'm having a bad day, I can go home."

Former Griffs assistant coach Scott Moser also played a part in Baskerville's decision to attend Canisius. Moser and Baskerville met during the younger player's time with the Cazenovia Chiefs. Years later, they stayed in touch and Moser helped bring Baskerville to Canisius when the time came.

"It all connected and came full circle," Baskerville said. "Scott reached out to me when I was a junior in high school and said, 'Hey, would you like to come check out Canisius?' I knew I wanted to stay local, because I'm a family person. I like to be close to my family."

In the end, academics, athletics and the local flavor all helped Baskerville decide to join the Griffs.

Now, as the semester wraps up and Baskerville's third year at Canisius is nearing its halfway point, he'll work to continue balancing all of the different pieces of life as a student-athlete.

"It's definitely a grind," he said. "There are days when you're beat from a long weekend of games and you don't really want to do much. But it's all worth it. If you just say, 'you know what, let's do a little bit here and there.' Divvy up your time.

You can't be too consumed in one thing. If you're too consumed in hockey, your grades are going to fall. If you're too consumed in academics, you won't perform properly on the ice. It's all about a balance, and that's what's helped me throughout my three years at Canisius and in life in general."

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Players Mentioned

#20 David Baskerville: F; 6' 0"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#20 David Baskerville
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: F

Players Mentioned

#20 David Baskerville

Players Mentioned

#20 David Baskerville