Student Athletes Keep Their Balance

Being a student-athlete is something that can be very fun, but may hold more responsibility and work than you might think. While being a student-athlete, you must remember that school always comes first. Although you can get overwhelmed and stressed by constantly trying to be caught up with both schoolwork and sports, creating a balance can be the key to maintaining both without getting off track.

Athletes such as freshman Ava Goodfield have their own ways of juggling their commitments. “Being a student-athlete, school comes first and you have to have good time management skills, like doing your homework after practice or on the way to practice,” stated Goodfield. Examples of practicing good time management can also include getting an early start on your homework in class, doing your homework as soon as you get home, and doing it while eating dinner or at school while eating lunch.

Another key to juggling sports and school is to take responsibility. “Being a student-athlete, I sometimes struggle to find time to constantly be caught up with school work,” said freshman Savannah Morris, who also participates in travel sports. “Since I do travel as well, it doubles the stress, but I have found ways to juggle both with time management skills such as finding time to stay caught up to maintain my grades,” Morris added.

High school athletes can get overly stressed, so maintaining good mental health is also important. To keep your stress in check, you may need to take a day off and skip practice occasionally, and dedicate that time to focusing on school work. It may also help to work things out so you can come out on a day without doing schoolwork to rest.

When you have found your own method of juggling school and sports, you may find it easier to enjoy the sport with your teammates, as well as feel like the weight on your back is gone. “Being a student-athlete sometimes feels like a lot of work and can become stressful. But it just encourages me to work harder because I feel even better when I know that I don’t have to worry about school because my grades are good,” said sophomore Finley Eichler.

For more ideas on how to successfully juggle school and sports, check out these links: https://breakingmuscle.com/fitness/tips-for-helping-teens-balance-school-and-sport/
https://www.cmasas.org/7-tips-how-juggle-school-and-sports