High school can be a challenge for everybody, but when you’re also an athlete and you have a lot of homework, that adds a ton of stress. 

For a student athlete, the minimum hours of practice per season is just over 110 hours. Traveling to different schools for games or matches adds up to a little over eight hours. Athletes still have homework that they need to get done, which causes lots of stress for most students. However, stress like this can also give athletes long lasting rewards.

According to the National Federation of High School Associations (NFHS), high school sports help athletes build leadership skills, as well as valuable relationships with others.  

“My favorite part about being a high school athlete is probably all the relationships you get to build with your teammates and other teams,” said junior Morgan Hall, a player on the volleyball team.

While high school sports can be very fun, they can also come with difficulty.

Junior Mario Asebeury thinks that the hardest part of being a student athlete is balancing athletics and school at the same time. 

“Sometimes our soccer games could end at nine [p.m.] and we would still have homework to do, so we don’t end up going to sleep until late. Then we have to repeat that for weeks,” said Asebury.

According to NFHS, high school sports can have long-lasting benefits. Athletes learn the importance of leadership, building relationships and the foundations of fitness. They also have to learn to stay positive, even when under pressure — something that the undefeated Lady Knights Swim Team knows all about.

“For the past 3 years, we haven’t lost a dual meet, and we also have won the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference championship. The whole team faces the pressure of swimming their best to keep the win streak alive, and it’s a lot mentally to deal with it,” said junior Nadia Moore. 

The consensus among high school athletes seems to be that balancing school and sports at the same time can be extremely challenging but the lessons learned through sports make those challenges extremely worth it.