An athlete’s life is very difficult because they are juggling homework, jobs, and the sport(s) that the athlete is playing. Sophia Melillo, Braylen Dabney, and Lily Sargent, are just three athletes,out of many, at Lowellville who are juggling sports with academics. These student athletes all work very hard when competing in their sports and still find time to work hard and excel academically.
These students all have a lot on their plate. With school work piling up, and sports taking up a lot of their time, how do they find time to keep up with school work ? They have a lot of information and advice to help any other student athlete who is struggling with balancing academics with athletics.
When asked if it was difficult to play these sports and be in school, Braylen Dabney, an eleventh grade football player said, “Yeah, it’s very hard in my opinion. (Just) all the school work we get, we're in school eight hours a day too, so it kinda affects how I practice sometimes and how I play in games.” He said athletes will have to work hard in order to find a way that works for them.
Sophia Melillo, a senior, said, “I feel like I have pretty good time management. Throughout the weekend, on Saturday and Sunday I get my work done, and I have two study halls.”
Younger student athletes may find it harder to adjust to a more demanding schedule when entering high school . Lily Sargent, a student athlete in 7th grade, Said, “No…(‘it’s not hard) because I just manage the time well, and one of them (sports that she plays) is at night and one of them is in the morning.” She is a firm supporter of doing school work in study hall. “I normally get my school work done in my study hall, or at home between my sports.”
All of these student athletes had some advice to share with other student athletes who are struggling with keeping up with sports and school work. “(Just) don’t get behind honestly, and if you ever get confused ask your teacher or ask one of your teammates in any sport, honestly they’d be more than happy to help you,.” said Braylen.
“Use your time wisely in class when they give you time to do it (homework) do it, and don’t be on your phone instead of doing your work” said Sophia Melillio.
“Try to get your school work done in school or right when you get home, so when you need to practice or play sports you don’t have that pressure,” Lily Sargent said.