By Natalie Hanna & Karma Paez

Trying to juggle both school and an extracurricular activity can be extremely difficult for most students. Students have to prioritize their education and hobbies along with learning what to sacrifice. It is especially difficult when students are enrolled in honors and Advanced Placement (AP) classes that are more time-consuming. 

As a student-athlete, it feels extremely rewarding when you can excel in both areas, given such a demanding and harsh schedule. Many student-athletes at Granada Hills Charter (GHC) have found that despite the challenges of balancing their schoolwork and sports, being a student-athlete is worth the struggle. 

“Sports have been a huge part of my life, so to me, the struggles are worth it if it means I get to play one more time,” senior and Volleyball player Jozephine Gbadamosi said. “I get injured easily, so anytime I get to play is a blessing.”

Through challenging themselves to be hard-working athletes, students learn many life skills, such as responsibility, communication, and time management.

“You have to manage your time with academics and being an athlete on the field,” senior and Soccer player Isabella Cubias said. “Practice and homework are time-consuming and they overlap with each other. Sometimes practice schedules make it difficult to manage your homework. When it comes to tests, you have to study super late and sometimes can’t study at all because of practice and games.” 

Many student-athletes have learned to skip a practice or take a rest day to allow themselves to focus more on their studies. Players have learned to take “mental health days” and dedicate their time to their well-being. During this time, athletes rest their bodies, meditate, or spend time with family.

Time management is not the only difficulty student-athletes face. Another challenge they encounter is learning how to cooperate with difficult teammates and coaches. To combat this issue, athletes learn to communicate with their peers, coaches, and teachers. Communication is a key aspect of any sport, and learning this allows student-athletes to apply this skill to the real world. 

“Communication is important with teachers because if I don’t let them know what I’m going through, it’s a lot harder for them to help keep me on task,” senior and Baseball player Jackson Lyons said. “It helps keep my grades up so that I can do what I need to as an athlete.”

Besides struggling with finding the balance between education and sports, student-athletes also have to deal with the overwhelming pressure of earning scholarships, which can affect their mental health at times. It can make one question if they are working hard enough or are talented enough to play at the next level. 

“It’s difficult trying to juggle two things at once because a sport takes up a lot of time and so does school,” senior and Baseball player Collin Azoy. “It’s stressful having to juggle baseball and school but having a good support system around you like the staff at Granada and friends playing the sport helps encourage me to deal with the stress.”

Being a student-athlete isn’t always stressful as there are many benefits. On college applications and job resumes, it shows a student’s willingness to persevere no matter the circumstances. 

Through their sport and hard work, student-athletes can create unbreakable bonds with teammates to help manage their stress and surround themselves in a beneficial environment. It has opened many doors and shows students that they are capable of great achievements if they are willing to push themselves.

Having the opportunity to play a sport at school has helped many students want to succeed in their education. To be eligible to participate in a sport at GHC a student must have a 2.0 GPA or higher and less than ten hours of detention. This policy forces student-athletes to do well in school first if they want to play. 

Being able to play and share their passion for a sport with others also motivates student-athletes at GHC to keep going. 

“Playing volleyball has been worth the extra struggles,” senior and Volleyball player Brayton Harmon said. “The amount of friendships, connections, and experiences I’ve gotten the chance to make outweigh all the hard days. In the end, it’s always worth the grind.”

Despite the many challenges a student-athlete faces, their love and passion for their sport is their motivation to handle any challenge that comes their way. The encouragement of teammates, friends, and determination has pushed student-athletes to be the very best version of themselves they can be in any environment. Taking the lessons learned in their sport and applying them to their surrounding world, has given them the chance to excel.