Advice From Our Multi Sport Athletes

Jackie Robinson was most famous for his career in baseball and breaking the color barrier, but few know that during his time in college at UCLA he also played football, basketball, and track. Even though he played four sports, he still managed to find time to keep up with school. Many students at Juab High School play multiple sports, myself included. Those athletes know how much of a struggle it can be to keep caught up in school work and still find time for friends, family, and jobs. How do you do it, you may ask.

I asked three multi-sport athletes a few questions. How do you stay caught up in schoolwork during sports? Are you able to find time for family and friends? Do you get burnt out during the season?

Wes Nielsen, a Junior, plays football, basketball, and track. He says, “I try to have a study hall class to stay caught up in my classes. With the study hall class it makes it so I can still hangout with friends and family.”

Grace Holman, a Junior, does swimming and wrestling—two sports that take place simultaneously. She said, “I manage my time at home and also take advantage of Sundays and Fridays after school. This semester I also added a study hall.” She also said that she inevitably had to make sacrifices… especially with friends. She does not get burnt out with swimming, and thinks that swimming year round has helped condition her to do that. “But I can’t imagine wrestling and swimming every day of the year. I think I would have gotten burnt out if the season was longer,” she added.

Alivia England, a Junior, plays soccer and track. She says that she puts reminders on her phone for assignments and things she needs to do so she stays caught up. She said that these reminders make it so she can still spend time with family and friends when she doesn’t have games or practices. She has become good at prioritizing and managing her time. Alivia admits that sometimes she does feel burned out, but focuses on her priorities. She wisely adds, “I also remember I only have a couple years to play the sports I love.”

As you can see, many of our athletes have different ways to stay on top of things. The most common, however, being to get a study hall and take time and make sacrifices out of their lives to do so. So if you are one of those athletes or even just a student needing guidance, follow their advice to help you keep up and have extra time to do other things. After all, we are called student athletes and our priorities need to be in that order.