Off-season workouts, both before the season and during the summer, consist either of team regimented or self-created workouts. All athletes interviewed listed activities such as weight lifting and running as off-season activities. Other favorites included rollerblading, skulling, aerobics, and swimming--both swimmers and non-swimmers mentioned this last activity.

Even an athlete's summer is not entirely his or her own.

"Before we leave for the summer, the team gives us a battery of tests," Gilmore says. "They test us in the weight room, and running. Then they do the same when we come back, so they can tell if we've been slacking."

"It's hard to gain the valuable work experience, like internships, that are supposed to be important for future employment," Gilmore says. "Working on basketball is still so prevalent, even in the summer."

Other athletes aren't as worried about full-time summer employment, or lack thereof, affecting future opportunities.

"I think an employer will look at a person's character," Durkin says. "If they see that you've devoted a lot of time to something, that is going to speak positively about you."

One needn't be an employer to appreciate the hard work and dedication of Harvard's student athletes.