Track and Field. Soccer. Baseball. Softball. Tennis. With so many sports during spring season, there is a very high student participation rate. With better weather also comes longer practices, meets, and games. If there is one thing spring athletes are known for, it’s for missing classes and leaving early a lot. How do athletes find balance between school and their sports?
If there is one sport known for its involvement no matter if it’s a middle of the school day or not, it is golf. “We usually have matches two times a week and leave during 5th or 6th”, Madi Grogan, senior and captain this year, explains. Grogan also has found ways to keep the grades up, when her life revolves around the sport. “One thing I learned real quick is to schedule classes I can miss pretty easily towards the end of the day. P.E. would be a terrible class to have in the last half of the day.”
Madi Taylor and Delaney Scott who are both captains on the tennis team, also have to leave early several days a week. “I usually do my homework with other teammates because we have similar classes. It’s not that distracting. I mean, if anything we’re the distractors,” Taylor and Scott say in unison with a smirk. Both have been on the tennis team for three years and have managed to maintain high grades through the seasons.
One freshman this year, Jonny Haskins, is beginning his first year on the high school baseball team. “It’s hard to balance just my school classes. I am not sure how hard it will be to balance it all once the season begins,” Haskins explains. He plans to bring his work with him especially on away games and hope that the upperclassmen will give him a hand.
Overall, students have seemed to be able to work through the difficulties of balancing. It may make their schedule a little harder than an average student, but it’s for the love of the game. As Scott explained, “I love it. It’s my life.”