Playing a sport can have many pros and cons. You get to interact with people, be outside, and do something that you love. But one of the cons is managing your grades while being on a team.

Many athletes go through this struggle keeping up with their grades while playing a sport or even multiple sports at the same time. Sophomore Jared Naulgan has been running track for two years and swimming for seven. He struggles to manage schoolwork and sports because of the amount of homework and challenging AP classes.

“I have to read,” Naulgan said.”I have to do a lot of homework for other classes.” He didn’t realize he was struggling to manage his grades until high school when he started taking AP classes. He would schedule his time for homework, reading, and AP when he would come home from practice.

Sophomore Khava Tsarni also would use scheduling and time management as strategies to manage grades. “It’s pretty difficult, but you get used to it so much that you make a schedule for yourself,” Tsarni said. She runs cross country and swims and sometimes it is really hard coming back from practice due to having all that work.

Although some people struggle with playing a sport and having good grades, some people find it easy. Freshman Adilia Sequeira plays field hockey and runs track and hasn’t had any struggles managing grades while playing sports. Her advice is to do your work during school. “You skip a practice and stay after school in the media center,” Sequeira said.

Naulgan’s advice for people struggling with managing grades and playing a sport is to schedule what you do after practice. “You should probably do your homework while it’s still early,” Naulgan added. “Because you don’t want to stay up all night doing homework especially when you have practice the next day.”

Tsarni’s advice is to not slack. “Try to do the best whatever you can because at the end it’s going to pay off,” Tsarni added. If you’re an athlete that struggles managing grades and playing a sport, try following one of these advice from our Watkins Mill athletes.