The priorities that are required of student athletes can easily fill up a day. Getting home late from practice, keeping up with school work, and maintaining healthy relationships can create an overwhelming atmosphere for athletes. This can be handled when students manage their time well, but the issue is whether or not they are prioritizing certain aspects of their life.
According to East Ohio College, some ways for students to balance personal life and school is to create a schedule and stick to it, learn to say “no”, or limit time spent procrastinating. In today’s world, students can idolize aspects of their life rather than balancing them, such as sports, school, and relationships.
Senior Bence Burri is currently the kicker on Louisa’s varsity football team and also plays for the soccer team Alexandria MLS Next. Burri has soccer practice Monday through Thursday in Alexandria, Virginia most weekdays after football practice. With being on two different sports teams Burri deals with having to manage his time well between athletics, school, and relationships.
“I sacrifice a lot of time, obviously, right after school I have football then right after that I have soccer, it just takes a lot out of my day,” Burri says.
Student athletes can have a hard time managing their time between school and athletics. According to the National Library of Medicine ,“Student athletes are constantly dealing with the responsibilities of athletics and academics and can lose sight of where their identity lies.” Prioritizing certain parts of life can lead to struggle with identity, but with a balance between all aspects student athletes can have much healthier habits.
“I think if you put too much energy and effort into sports and instead of letting yourself live, you’re going to look back in ten years and think I should have actually enjoyed my life outside of sports, “ Burri said.
Senior Peyton Brady is a varsity student-athlete and balances being in a relationship at the same time. This isn’t uncommon, but teenagers can sometimes idolize their relationships over other aspects of their lives, but Brady focuses on what is important in the moment.
“In school, I focus on school, at practice I put my all into practice, and with my relationships, I make it all about that,” Brady said. “I just try to focus on one thing at a time.
According to Motion Therapy, student athletes should not over commit to certain parts of their life, but instead build a good support system that encourages a healthy balance. Physical and mental exhaustion can result from overcommitting, and lead to burnout in both school and sport aspects.
Junior year is typically one of the hardest academic years students face as well as the most important for college athletic recruiting, and students need to learn to maintain a healthy balance when it comes to these priorities. Blue Ridge Governor’s School student Abigail Reutinger maintains her time cutting out time for both school and sports, and not prioritizing one or the other.
“I don’t really let it affect my stress load,” Reutinger said. “I think learning to manage your time is important because it teaches you how to be a stronger person.”
