A 24-year-old law student and lacrosse athlete sat in a Prague hotel room two weeks before her oral exam, checking her grades alongside teammates after securing silver for Germany’s women’s box lacrosse team at the European Championship. Amelie Richter had carried her laptop to the tournament specifically to monitor her exam results—an unusual but necessary precaution for someone balancing elite sports and legal studies.
Strategic Separation of Sports and Studies
Richter’s dual career is rare even in Germany, where student-athletes often prioritize one over the other. She paused her training for months before her first exam cycle in March, stepping back from coaching the second women’s team at her Munich club and reducing her match schedule. The trade-off was deliberate: “I knew I had to separate the two completely if one failed,” she said. When her results arrived mid-tournament, she reviewed them with two teammates before rejoining her team on the practice floor, where their celebration carried her through the next games.
Box lacrosse, lesser-known than field lacrosse but growing in popularity, demands full protective gear and a physicality closer to ice hockey. Richter began playing at 12 after a summer camp convinced her it was her sport. By 15, she was making her debut for the club’s second team; by 20, she’d earned a spot in the national squad. The discipline of high-level athletics, she says, directly translates to law school. “You don’t succeed without putting in the work first,” she explains. “That’s true in training, and it’s true in studying.”
The Academic-Athletic World Contrast
Her exam results arrived during the EM, a timing she’d anticipated. The mental shift from competition to academia wasn’t seamless. After landing back in Munich, she walked into the library the next day, her first post-tournament lecture, while friends picked up her exam protocols from the courthouse. The contrast between the two worlds was stark: one demanded precision under pressure; the other required endurance through repetitive drills.
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Richter’s schedule during her studies was grueling by design. Three weekly team sessions, plus independent strength training, left little room for socializing. Weekends were often consumed by tournaments or training camps, with three of four weekends per month dedicated to lacrosse. Yet she insists she never felt behind in her studies. “I skipped some parties, but I didn’t miss the core,” she says. The key, she believes, was treating both commitments like high-stakes deadlines, with the same focus, the same acceptance of failure, and the same ability to move on.
Lessons from the Field and Court
Her advice to other student-athletes is pragmatic: “Set your limits, but don’t assume they’re impossible.” The overlap between sports and law extends beyond time management. Teamwork in lacrosse, she notes, mirrors collaboration in legal work, whether drafting contracts or preparing cases. The pressure to perform, the need for adaptability, and the satisfaction of meeting a goal are shared experiences. “You learn to compartmentalize,” she says. “One day it’s the exam; the next, it’s the game. You can’t let either occupy your mind after it’s over.”
The next major test for Richter is the world championship in two years. Until then, she’ll balance her role as a research assistant in energy law with national team duties. Her immediate focus, however, remains the transition from student to practitioner. The referendariat, the German legal traineeship, awaits, followed by a career in law. For now, the laptop stays packed for tournaments, and the study schedule remains flexible. The two paths, she’s proven, don’t have to compete.
