Practice schedules make managing time difficult for athletes. Athletes struggle with socializing, attending family events, and having days to relieve stress. Freshman Ava Renn states “We had practice every day and morning practice on Saturdays.” Ava discovered an issue with the practice times during her fall and winter seasons of dance.
Due to an IHSA rule, Grant athletes rarely get days off. This IHSA rule is known as a “rest day” for athletes. They require all high school sports to have at least one day off during the week. On Saturdays, the dance team would have consistent 6-8 morning practices. Ava along with her teammates, started getting into the habit of forgetting homework. Students are often assigned homework on Fridays, have practice after school, and then have to go to bed so they can wake up early for practice. After morning practice students try to make plans with friends given that it’s a Saturday. That leaves Sunday for anything that needs to get done, being busy all week makes students more prone to procrastination. ESPN interviews student-athletes every week. In April 2007, Scott Smith from Cal Football stated, “Of course, we should get more time off…We train year-round and only get selected holidays to be with family.” While having time off can affect athletes’ performances, they all need time to rest and spend time with family. Cori Alexander, an athlete on Portlands women’s soccer team, says that “Portlands staff does a great job of balancing athletics, academics and personal time.” Most schools make athletes feel slightly overwhelmed when not having time to focus on other important things.
Freshman, Leah Terryberry, has played sports for years and has learned how to manage her time successfully. Despite
her hectic schedule, she consistently has good grades. This neglects her social life. “I sometimes miss my friend’s sporting events that I want to see or I’ll miss family parties,” Leah explains. Missing activities and events are tough on athletes, making them feel guilty or sad that they can’t spend time with people outside of their team. The way Leah balances her time is simple, “I do my work during study hall, and during TEAM I go to the labs.” Her academic life is thriving. However, her social life, family life, and other events are neglected. These sports are a source of happiness for athletes. Without it, it often feels like a void that is unable to be filled with anything else. The solution isn’t to make athletes quit, the solution is to give athletes free time.
