Competitive sports require a time commitment, a desire to play, and a love for the sport. In the Bay Area alone, there are at least six professional sports teams and many more youth development clubs. At NDB specifically, there are 26 teams ranging from golf to flag football to lacrosse. Some of NDB’s sports are more competitive than others, however, all of NDB’s programs require a rigorous time commitment. As a student, balancing competitive sports in a school program or a different program can be difficult. Many teams practice multiple times a week, for multiple hours. As a student-athlete, it is important to learn to manage one’s time to balance school work on top of competitive sports.
Sophomore Juliette Ramirez is a softball player both at NDB and also for a competitive team. Ramirez practices two times a week for two hours during club season and every day of the week for two hours during school season, allotting for not much time to complete her school work outside of school.
She stated that in the past getting her school work done has been difficult, but she would find time and “do it in the car, and at home,” Ramirez said, emphasizing “not procrastinating on homework.” Some strategies she suggested for other athletes were, “use teacher’s office hours, and try to have motivation to do homework and study even after long days.”
Sophomore Autumn Deetz-Rodriguez is a cross country runner for NDB’s team. Cross country practices six days a week for two hours, for a total of 12 hours a week of competitive practices. With that many hours going to practice, it might be hard to find time to do one’s work.
“I have a planner that I use to keep organized, so I don’t load too much work on myself,” said Deetz-Rodriguez. She also recommended athletes “Talk to a coach about your practice schedule, and definitely talk to your counselors and teachers if you are struggling a lot.”
Emily Wiseman, a freshman and competitive volleyball player for Red Rock Volleyball Club and for NDB, said, “For school I practice every day for one hour and thirty minutes, and for club I practice three times a week for two hours.”
“[I find it] a little bit hard to manage my school work, but I like planning out my time,” said Wiseman. For students struggling to get their work done, she suggested, “Get straight to your work, do not dilly-dally, do not distract yourself, also do not go on your phone before doing your work.”
With long hours during the week and games or competitions on weekends, it can be hard to find time to do one’s work and manage one’s time. However, as a student athlete, it is important to learn strategies to manage one’s time and commitments. When talking to other athletes about how they manage their school work, there were three main ideas that were apparent: staying focused, using the resources available and being determined.