There is no doubt that high schoolers face many stressors in their life. A lot of pressure is put on them every day ranging from issues with friends to having so many assignments that they only have a few days to complete.
But many students do not only face these challenges but they also have to balance sports. According to the CHSAA website, 58.01% of high school students are involved in a school sanctioned sport.
All these kids who play sports have so many things on their plates which leads to a lot of different tactics of how to manage time and stress efficiently.
Kenzie Luft, 09, is on the Girls Varsity Swim Team and has had a very successful first season so far.
She claims, “I manage my stress by using my off periods to get all of my work done on time. I also always make sure to have a good night’s sleep and eat food too.”
Luft has some very hard classes, being in English 10 Honors, but she always gets her work on time and she has very good grades.
Another student athlete that attends Arapahoe is Elizabeth Gentry. She is a senior on the Arapahoe Basketball team.
She has already gotten multiple D1 scholarship offers but recently committed to Creighton.
Gentry is a very talented athlete as well as a student. She has to manage her time with all of the practices and hours she puts into basketball.
Practice can be longer than two hours not including the lifting before or after plus games. With all of the homework teachers assign and the need to study for tests she has to be very intentional with her time management strategies.
Gentry said, “After practice I give myself an hour to decompress and then study for 25 minutes on and 5 minutes off until I get my homework done”
Gentry tries her best to balance both the student and athletic aspects of her life. She manages the stress this can cause by sleeping at least 8 hours every night, and by taking time to plan out her day. She makes sure to acknowledge what she needs to get done and puts aside time to complete it.
She takes time to meditate every morning and night helping her release stress. She also tries to complete all her work throughout Monday and Saturday so she can have Sunday off as a rest day and mental reset.
One big struggle for student athletes is simply finding time and energy to get things done. Gentry has learned to prioritize things important to her, and to cut out other things including social media.
To Gentry, the most rewarding part of being a student-athlete is the skills she has learned and the opportunities she has received. She says it has taught her about hard work and time management, as well as giving her a way to connect with people and form long lasting friendships.
Although everyone is different, we all manage to have one thing in common. We all have stress in our lives. From using your off hours to using time between practices, there are good strategies for everyone. The important thing is to not let stress take over your life and to remember that it will all be okay. What stress management habits work for you?
