Nelson Maldonado- UF Baseball

Hello everyone! Today I got to see what a day in the life of a Gator baseball player is like. 

-Hope you enjoy learning about a new athlete and sport!

Nelson Maldonado - Baseball 

Nelson is a junior on the UF Baseball team and has consistently been named a starter as Designated Hitter this past season. This past summer, Maldonado went through labrum repair surgery in his shoulder so he has still been a little bit limited. During his freshman and sophomore season with the Gators he played a lot in the outfield. He currently has a .289 batting average. It is still early in the season and Maldonado is looking to get in the groove of things again. Find out what a day after a game is like for Maldonado. 

Wednesday's with Maldonado

8:15 a.m. Wake up and head to the weight room.

8:30-9:30 a.m. Weight room workout with some other teammates. 

9:45 a.m. Grabs a recovery shake and some breakfast before heading to class. 

10:30- noon Goes to the Hawkins Center (academic center for UF athletes) and has a tutoring session for his Macroeconomics class. 

12:30 p.m. Lunch time at the field with some other teammates who aren't in class. 

1:30 p.m. No official team practice today because they played yesterday but Maldonado went to the batting cages to work on his hitting. 

2:30 p.m. Freshman pitcher Tommy Mace didn't play in last night's game so he asked Maldonado if he would hit off of him for some practice. 

4:00 p.m. Goes to see his team Athletic Trainer to get some treatment done to be sure he is recovered for the rest of the week. Maldonado got a massage on his back and arms, iced his labrum injury and did a contrast bath. 

*contrast bath is 3 minutes in the cold tank, 1 minute in the hot tank. He did this 3 times. 

5:00-6:00 p.m. Heads to dinner at Training Table with other UF athletes. 

6:30-8:00 p.m. Back to the Hawkins Center to work on more homework and sees a math tutor for questions on his homework. 

9:00 p.m. Walks back to the dorm and plays some video games with his teammates until he's ready for bed. 

11:00 p.m. Goes to his room to get ready for another full day of workouts, practice, classes and homework. 

As you can see, a day in the life of an NCAA student athlete is always jam packed. Maldonado does a good job of balancing a school/sport/personal day and he is looking forward to another successful season. 

Talk to you again soon!

-Cheney