By Dennis Tran
Sport practices and games can take up much of a student’s time, so how is it possible to balance grades with time-consuming practice schedules?
Many athletes say that the key to keeping up your grades and participating in a sport is to use free time to its fullest potential. Running back and forth from practice to home can take up much time, but smart planning will help to reduce time loss.
Demi Dang (’14), who is on the Varsity girls tennis team, practices almost every day of the week, and typically has two to three games a week.
Because she is so busy with tennis, Dang has to stay up late to do homework and wake up early to finish it before school when necessary.
Although juggling sports and school can be a daunting task, Varsity track runner Sammy Hirata (‘15) stated, “I am able to balance my schoolwork and sports schedule by implementing good time management.”
Because practice and meets take many hours away from her time, Hirata has to make sure not to waste any time. “I usually start my homework right when I get home. If I’m not diligent enough, I’ll have to stay up later, which is difficult when you have a sport that takes up a lot of your time!”
Not all Baron athletes find it challenging to participate sports while maintaining their grades. Erika Zinn (’14) stated that cheer practice takes five and a half hours from her schedule per week, so she goes home after fourth period and finishes her homework. “If I don’t finish all of my homework, I just do it when I get home from practice,” she said. This is Erika’s third and last year on the FVHS cheer team.
As long as all free time is used wisely, playing sports and maintaining good grades should not present many challenges.
