Being a student before being an athlete

Many people only see student–athletes celebrating touchdowns, game–winning shots or game–changing plays. Fans and spectators alike, sometimes only think of athletes for what they do on the court or on the field, but forget how just like all of us schoolwork is still a part of their busy lives. Those rare, hardworking students, the ones juggling all the responsibilities of being both a student and an athlete, have a tough time balancing two busy schedules.

Being a student alone is considered a tough task at times.  Students can have hours of homework a night, not to mention the time needed for quizzes and tests. With roughly six classes a day, each of them with different sets of homework and studying to do, many hours are devoted to becoming a good student.

Now take that amount of work and add a two–and–a–half–hour practice every day. Bones aching, mind and body tired, coming home to a stack of homework. Your body is been drained, but you know you have responsibilities as an athlete as well as a student, so your night is not quite over.

“Some nights can get pretty late with the amount of schoolwork and volleyball,” senior volleyball player Marie Georgilous said. “The last thing I want to do after playing volleyball for hours is to come home to the sight of a mountain of homework.”

Personally, when I get home from practice, I like to shower, eat dinner and then get right into the homework. Rather than taking a break,  I dive right into it so I do not waste time and it goes by much faster. If I waited to finish my homework, I would forget or not want to do it and it would never get done.

When home, try to put all electronics and other distractions away, so all your focus is on your homework. You will be amazed at the amount of time wasted doing homework, by spending time on distractions like Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat. It is important to make a system to help guide you through the amount of work. With a system, both your sport responsibilities and school responsibilities get done in an easier fashion.

“When I am in season, I  balance the workload of [both school work and   sports,]” senior Kevin Donoghue said.       “The more prepared you are for the situation, the easier it is to handle while in season.”

Student–athletes are a rare breed, because of how much work is put in day–in and day–out. Just figure out which time is appropriate, to pick up the pencil, or pick up that ball.