About the privilege of turning one's favourite sport into a career, training routines and making sacrifices in student life: Maria Luisa Grohs, 21, is studying mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Munich - and is the number goalkeeper with the FC Bayern Munich 1st team.
You just spent the day at the FC Bayern training facility. How do you combine life as a professional athlete with your studies?
No two days are the same for me. It depends where I am in the semester and in the soccer season. I’m in my fifth semester right now. One thing I’ve noticed: whenever I’m really busy at university, studying hard and keeping long hours, I play better soccer, too. It obviously helps my mind find a healthy balance. Then I’m even more focused on the field. But I’ve also realized: when things aren’t going right on the field or when I’m injured, I also have a harder time with my studies. They’re both connected.
So you’re probably very good at time management by now.
Well, I certainly try to put in the time for university. There are good and bad phases. Of course when we’re on the road a lot with the club, that’s more difficult. But when we're in Munich for extended periods it’s easier for me to spend more time in the library and I make a point of doing that. At the beginning of the semester I always think about which exams are my top priority. And towards the end of the semester I focus on those ones.
