Balancing school work and sports can be difficult, but it is not impossible. Leaving school early all the time for sports means you have to miss many classes, and the more classes you miss: the more work you have to make up. Whether it’s getting home at 10:00 p.m. after an away game or finishing early, it’s hard to have energy left over to do school work. There are many methods for students. Here are some examples!
The majority of students at Pahrump Valley High School try to get all of their school work done by cramming them into the periods while they are still at school. Freshman Aviana Michel is an example: “I keep up with my school work while being in sports by making lists of assignments and taking advantage of any free time in school.”
Being ineligible from your grades can lead to being suspended from the team or even taken off the team, no matter how long you have been playing. Making sure all your work is caught up is very important for leading up to bigger accomplishments. Many students use the motivation of staying successful in their sport. Junior Evalenne Armendariz says, “I think it’s important to stay on top of your work; stay in touch with teachers so that you don’t fall behind. That way, once it’s time to practice or perform in your sport, you can focus on that alone. Some teachers are forgiving and give a little bit to athletes who miss school. It’s good to know who will and who won’t so that you can better prepare yourself.”
Another method some students use is staying up late at night or waking up early in the morning just to get it done, no matter how tired they are. Freshman Jaelyn Rodriguez-Gomez said, “I balance my work and softball by staying up one-two hours to make sure it’s turned in so I don’t fall behind.” Falling behind is very stressful, but freshman Maria Igwe manages it while taking time for herself in the spare minutes she’s not busy, as well as listening to background noise. “When I’m catching up on my school work, I turn on a show or listen to music so I can do my school work at my own pace while doing what I love.”
Freshman Kylee Lusk keeps up her work by getting a packet of everything the day before and does it on the weekend to make sure she doesn’t fall behind. Staying ahead is a great way to get your work done before you have to leave early for sports.“Getting a packet of everything helps me stay focused on soccer throughout the week while also having some free time on the weekends to hangout with friends because the school work I usually need to do only takes me a couple hours. This helps me start the week fresh with no stress.”
There are countless amounts of methods students use to balance school work and their sport. Whether it’s ten assignments or one, having a source of motivation can impact you in so many ways. If you’re ever struggling with keeping up and maintaining school and sports, don’t forget to ask other athletes how they stay successful!
