Student-athletes often struggle with completing their homework assignments on time and maintaining good mental health. Not only does practice cut into homework time, but students also get physically and mentally burned out.
“Sometimes when I come home, I just don’t have enough time to do my work and get a good night’s sleep. It can be really difficult to fit homework into a busy schedule,” Henry Frasca, a sophomore and varsity track athlete, said.
To cope with this issue, students have to come up with creative solutions to manage their time. Eunice Wang, a senior and varsity fencing athlete said, “I actually do all of my homework on the weekends. Sometimes I’ll just sit in the cafe and do my homework from 8 am to 6 pm.”
Another way that a student has combatted this issue is by proposing to change school policy. Sophie Moussapour, a senior, has been on multiple varsity teams throughout her high school career. Moussapour is in the process of writing a bill for the executive committee that, if passed, will “implement a policy within athletics where players can take a mental health day for practice 1-2 times per season depending on if you’re a varsity or junior varsity player.”
Additionally, Moussapour conducted a survey of the whole upper school. “A lot of people were giving feedback like ‘there’s a noticeable drop in my grades when I’m in a varsity season’ or ‘I get home 2 hours later’. This made me realize that athletics has become too much of a burden” Moussapour added.
In addition to time stresses, student-athletes can face lots of pressure to perform. This can stem from coaches, family members or teammates who expect a high level of performance from an athlete.
An article by John Hopkins Medicine, featuring psychologist Valerie Valle, said that young athletes “may have an unrealistic standard for themselves and start to equate their athletic performance with self-worth.” This can lead to a sports performance affecting daily mood or confidence.
Frasca said, “It took me a year or so to develop something against feeling negative about a bad race. If I have a bad race, I wouldn’t want to come into school and be affected by it, which I am good at now.”
Another issue that many student-athletes face is mental burnout. Head track and field coach Ian Mook said, “We try to get students to a place where running feels like part of their life. That way, it’s almost like a lifestyle.” This helps prevent students from getting mentally drained by the constant physical effort, which is particularly important for runners, considering that it’s offered year-round.
Wang, on the other hand, uses her time fencing as a break from the long school day. She added “It’s a time for me to relax myself and let out some of my worries and stress.”
An effective method that Mook uses to keep athletes motivated is to have them set their own goals. He said, “When an athlete independently says ‘I want to qualify for nationals, I want to be an All-American,’ they’re more likely to stay engaged and excited for those achievements, rather than when it feels like the goal is forced on you.”
