LIFE OF A STUDENT ATHLETE

A ll student athletes can relate to having priorities and debating what is more important to them. They all have assignments and tests due, but also games or meets that happen to fall on the same day. Each student has his or her own way of thriving in both situations.

Junior Alicia Coleman has participated in track since middle school, she continued to develop a way to balanced her grades and be a top ranked track star. She admitted that it had made school more of a challenge than usual, but it was not impossible. She officially started International Baccalaureate (IB) program this year and had to make sacrifices in order to maintain a high grade point average (GPA).

Coleman shared, “ As a cross country runner my practices are three hours long. Right when I get home I eat then it’s pretty much crunch time. I go straight to my room to finish all my homework and look over my notes.”
Junior Aaron Adams a running back in football had been on the team since his freshman year. As a student in the Computer Science (CS) program, he was definitely busy maintaining his grades in tact with his challenging classes. He understood he had no time to waste when he got home from practice and games to be on his phone. He prioritized his school work over being on social media.

Adams stated, “ It’s pretty hard. First off, cut all distractions like texting, calling on the phone, being on Snapchat and Instagram. If you limit that you will be able to get your work done.”

These two athletes understood the real sport was balancing these two jobs of maintaining their grades and excelling in their sport. Teachers have also understood as well that the students have the responsibility to do those tasks and the teachers become reasonable when tests come up or assignments are due.

Junior Jeral Chang a cross country runner, dive swimmer, volleyball player, and former wrestling player, in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program loved to get involved in extracurricular activities but was quite careless when it came to school work.

“To be honest, I just don’t do my homework. I leave it for the next day. I study later on and then you know I get what I get on my tests.”

Chang was someone who made sports his main priority. He believed sports were more important to him than completing his school work. School work ended up being completed the mornings it was due. These actions affected his grades in school because of not balancing his time wisely with both activities.

Overall, for all the student athletes struggling in school, it is important to dedicate time for both physical and mental activities. Social media also is an important factor to remember to put on the side while doing homework and studying. As one grows improving those skills, the outcome in the field and academy will prosper.