Balancing academics and athletics is a challenge that pushes student-athletes to their limits, requiring discipline, sacrifice, and determination every single day. While many students go home after school, athletes continue with practices, games, training, and late nights of homework in order to succeed both on the field and in the classroom.
As stated by Jonathon Rhodes, Ph.D., in his Psychology Today article, most Fortune CEOs were once athletes. In fact, 95% of all top executives played sports growing up, and 68% competed at the college level. More importantly, 94% of women who are CEO executives were former athletes. Showing a strong link between athletics and leadership.
Being active in school sports can help students manage their stress and maintain their focus. According to Brotz, a former Notre Dame high school student athlete, who returned to Morgan to find a better balance between academics and sports, says, ¨It gives you something to do after school instead of just lying down on your bed and scrolling on your phone. You get to go out, get some vitamin D, and you get to be with your team, and it’s great. Nothing compares.¨
Brotz´s comment on vitamin D is supported by research, which shows that time spent outside can have a positive impact on both physical and mental health in student-athletes.
According to the Mayo Clinic, vitamin D keeps your bones strong and supports your immune system. It also helps your brain function by protecting the brain cells and supporting their growth. It also helps control chemicals that send signals in your brain. Low vitamin D can lead to problems like memory loss or depression.
Sports also provide an outlet for human interaction and keep teens off their phones as they focus during practices and games. The National Library of Medicine argues that participating in athletics reduces screen time, physical exertion, and face-to-face social interactions. Phone use leads to physical inactivity, social isolation, and mental health challenges in teens. Participating in sports helps promote a balanced and healthy lifestyle for teens.
The National Library of Medicine and the Aspen Institute Projects Play Report compared kids who play sports with those who spend more time on screens. They found that sports help with health, mood, and social skills, while too much screen time can cause problems.
According to the online article by Matt Flanagan, who is the co-owner of Sportzwire, high school athletes can lose between 10 and 20 hours of free time per week, depending on the sport. Schedules are filled with practices, games, travel, conditioning, and team commitments. In addition to returning home late from games or training, student-athletes must complete homework, study for tests, and maintain their grades. This forces many students to sacrifice personal time, sleep, and other activities to balance school and sports.
Esteban Orozco is an example of this busy lifestyle. Orozco is a junior who plays soccer for both The Morgan School and Hartford Athletic. He has a full and busy schedule managing his school work, two separate soccer teams, and also finds time to assist in coaching the U15 Clinton travel soccer team. His typical day includes 6 periods at school, followed by soccer practice, games, or coaching. Orozco stated that ¨I like to do work after practice or games. During the day of a game, I like to focus on the game first and worry about homework after.¨
According to Orozco, ¨I try to fit in time with family and friends, but if there isn´t time for that, I´m not phased. It is a sacrifice that is needed.¨ Orozco says he is willing to do whatever it takes to meet his goals and excel.
As reported by the National Library of Medicine, participating in sports helps some student athletes remain engaged in their studies so they can stay on top of their workload. Brotz shared, ¨Some students have a harder time with managing practice schedules and games while getting their work done, but then other students, it kind of pushes them to get their work done faster and more efficiently.¨ Brotz also shared his opinion, saying ¨Sometimes I struggle with fitting all of my schoolwork into my schedule, but knowing I need to get my work done to play on the team is a huge motivating factor to get it done.¨
The constraints of a packed schedule force student-athletes to maximize their focus during limited windows of academic time. It also helps to have disciplined schedules and block out specific time for studying, training, etc.
In the end, the goal should not be choosing between academics and athletics, but instead creating an environment where students can thrive in both. Lilah Baird, who is a sophomore and plays on two soccer teams, The Morgan School and ¨CT Rush Soccer¨ shares that ¨Academics are a large part of a student’s time in high school. And it is essentially their job until they graduate to learn and maintain good grades. At the same time, good grades don’t define who students are as people, and they shouldn’t be overly obsessive about them.¨
