PLAY HARD; WORK HARD?

Elizabeth Kelly

Over the years, there has been an increase of the hours put into practices in colleges everywhere. The amount of hours spent on sports and not into studies have also escalated. This issue has been present in many high school student athletes as well. In universities, the average amount of hours of practice range from 32-34 hours a week. This does not allow much time for school work. 

In high school, these practices aren't nearly as intense, however there are still complications when it comes to a student's athletic life and school life. Practices are usually no more than 18 hours a week. There are a number of students that feel the pressure of having long practices help them stay focused on school and work harder but there are others who think it's just too much and feel as though they would benefit from spending more time with school work.

Varsity field hockey player Madison Claps (‘20) says that on average, she gets home by 6-7 and on game days usually 10 o'clock and it takes her about two hours for homework which makes it hard for her to manage school work and a good sleeping schedule. Because of this sometimes she doesn't have time so doesn't complete some of her assignments which leads to f’s for that work. 

Other students feel differently though, Austin Keller (‘20) , a Lacrosse player, feels as though his grades get better while playing. “It's a lot easier, when I get home and there's an empty slate, maybe 6-7 hours to do my homework, it doesn't get done.” When there's a bigger gap for him to do his work, there is no motivation for him to do it. However when he is under pressure with little to no time to complete his assignments, he feels that he gets it all done more efficiently. 

A lot of students can benefit or struggle with this system. Some use the little time they have as a motivation to get it done, but when it comes to having a lot of free time procrastination kicks in and it doesn’t end up being done. On the other hand, it can be extremely difficult to finish all your objectives when you get home as late as 10 and need to eat, shower, and get sleep.