Student athletes have a hard job, regardless of all of the stereotypes about the jocks and how they rule the school. While some of those stereotypes are not entirely incorrect, student athletes have a lot to deal with.  

No matter what sport you play, whether it’s basketball, football, track and field, baseball, or even tennis, balancing a sport, academics, and a social life are just as hard as running a business. Okay, maybe not that hard, but it most definitely feels like that.

If you’re an athlete and struggling to keep your grades up, while going to practice and simply being a regular teen, this guide is for you! Managing all of that stress doesn’t have to be so hard and it most definitely shouldn’t be an extra task on your busy schedule.

Managing your time is a big must for a student-athlete and it makes things EASY! I know the word “easy” isn’t in an athlete’s vocabulary, right? No one ever says easy work pays off, but I guess I will because this can be easy. The first step is managing your grades.

Being in high school, the workload can get a bit hectic, but it’s not like college is going to be easier, so if you want to do well you have to COMMUNICATE! Teachers are here to help you, regardless of what some of you might think.

If you need help, talk to your teacher right away and if you feel like that teacher might have a grudge against you, get your coach to talk to the teacher, so you can get your grade up. Remember, bad grades don’t get you any playing time.

Also, making a list of things in order of most importance can help a lot as well. You can make a list in order of which is due first or which more is worth a lot more points.

You don’t want to complete a paper that’s only a homework grade rather than completing a big paper that’s probably worth half your grade just because the homework is due tomorrow. Prioritizing is the key to success for an athlete.

The next step is time management.

Regardless of what we teens might think, we are terrible at managing our time. We always think we can multitask, and I’m here to tell you, we can’t. Unless you’re a robot and can read a book and write a ten-page paper at the same time, I recommend not multitasking.

You may think that you’re multitasking, but you’re really either half-focusing on your work and the other half is maybe on your phone, texting your friends. Either way, your work is going to be done inefficiently.

If you struggle with time management as I do, then try putting things in order of how long each assignment will take. If you have three assignments that you know you can do in two minutes, do those and get them out of the way.

Doing the harder and longer assignments first will leave you tired and drained, so you’re not going to do your easier assignments.

Now for the last step: HAVING FUN!

You’re in high school. This is going to be the only time in your life where things are going to be this easy. Whether you’re going to college or just working the adult life, it’s going to hit you like a truck and it will be the worst feeling ever.

Always make sure to take time out of your day to relax, hang with some friends, or even just sleep. As a high school student and a student-athlete, I know sleep is something all of us are getting very little of, which isn’t good. A good night’s rest goes a long way.

Now that we’ve gone through all the steps to be the best student athlete you can possibly be, I expect all of my fellow athletes to be on their A game for the rest of the year. GO ‘RINES!