Whether basketball, soccer, hockey, bowling, or any other sport, students love watching athletic competitions. However, many students don’t know what it’s like to balance their sports and academic lives. Sophomores Gael Mendoza Vasquez and Rashad Mitchell are two student-athletes responsible for balancing their school work and sports.
“I feel a little pressure of not being able to play because I want to make my dad proud, and if I am ineligible to play because of my grades, I feel like I would let him down,” Mitchell said, who plays basketball on the Loy Norrix JV team.
It’s not rare for student-athletes to feel pressure. Balancing schoolwork with extracurriculars often puts a burden of time management on them, and many student-athletes are forced to choose which to prioritize.
“I think that if you are a student-athlete, you have to maintain good grades so you can play your sport and stay on the team, and that should motivate you to do school work and get good grades,” Mitchell said..
Vasquez feels a similar familial pressure to perform well in his extracurriculars.
“I began to play football because my family wanted me to be fit and forced me to,” Vasquez said.
He played volleyball with friends and enjoyed dominating his opponents. As more of his friends told him he should try out for the team, Vasquez decided it would be a good idea. He went to tryouts, landed a position, and fell in love with the sport.
Vasquez pushes himself to manage schoolwork to stay eligible to play, making sure not to let himself and his family down. Vasquez feels time management related to getting homework done is the most difficult part of being a student-athlete
“Some assignments are really big, and after you get home from practice, you just want to lay down and rest,” Vasquez said.
Being a student-athlete is much more difficult than it may seem. Most student-athletes do not play sports for a living after high school and college, meaning academics must be prioritized.
According to the study Physical Activity and Sports Team Participation: Associations With Academic Outcomes in Middle School and High School Students, by Claudia K. Fox, MD, “higher physical activity levels are associated with greater academic achievement among students.” Joining a team is not just about the game: it could set the stage for a brighter future.
“I think it’s important for everyone to do a sport at some point because you might fall in love with it, and you’ll get an experience, and it’s a great way to gain opportunities in college. However, sports can only get you so far, so it’s still important to get your education,” Vasquez said.