How to Balance Study and School Sports

How to balance study and school sports
Getting behind in your studies while playing on a high school sports team? Here are tips for balancing the two.
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Many high school students play sports and go to school at the same time. This is fun, but often we find that the balance scale is tipped towards sports instead of school. Academics should always be first in life, no matter what the circumstances. You can’t shortchange school for athletics. Sometimes you may even have to give up a sport to regain what you have lost in the learning process when assignments don’t get done or lessons aren’t remembered. There are ways, however, to stop the problem before it begins. Here are a few of them. |
Number 1: Never spend too much time in sports. Many athletes practice all afternoon after school, every day, cutting into homework and study time. Instead of using all your time practicing, finish your homework, review the day’s lessons, and take another look at tomorrow’s assignments to make sure you’ve got everything covered. Many athletes put off homework until the last minute, when they arrive home, tired and hungry after hours of football or basketball practice. Postponing homework is the foundation for falling behind. Finish homework first thing before or after practice. Number 2: Always pay attention in class. Students who are involved in extra curricular activities often daydream about games or doze from being tired. There is a time for everything, so during school hours, remember to focus completely on schoolwork. This will help because when doing your homework later, you’ll understand it better than if you weren’t paying attention in class. When at study hall, skim a lesson. When you have free time, take a few notes. You don’t have to study all the time, but the more you do, the better off you’ll be. You will play better knowing that your grades are going well, and your coach may be able to help get a tutor or suggest a mentor. Coaches love it when

Links: Many high school students play sports and go to school at the same time. This is fun, but often we find that the balance scale is tipped towards sports instead of school. Academics should always be first in life, no matter what the circumstances. You can’t shortchange school for athletics. Sometimes you may even have to give up a sport to regain what you have lost in the learning process when assignments don’t get done or lessons aren’t remembered. There are ways, however, to stop the problem before it begins. Here are a few of them. | Number 1: Never spend too much time in sports. Many athletes practice all afternoon after school, every day, cutting into homework and study time. Instead of using all your time practicing, finish your homework, review the day’s lessons, and take another look at tomorrow’s assignments to make sure you’ve got everything covered. Many athletes put off homework until the last minute, when they arrive home, tired and hungry after hours of football or basketball practice. Postponing homework is the foundation for falling behind. Finish homework first thing before or after practice. Number 2: Always pay attention in class. Students who are involved in extra curricular activities often daydream about games or doze from being tired. There is a time for everything, so during school hours, remember to focus completely on schoolwork. This will help because when doing your homework later, you’ll understand it better than if you weren’t paying attention in class. When at study hall, skim a lesson. When you have free time, take a few notes. You don’t have to study all the time, but the more you do, the better off you’ll be. You will play better knowing that your grades are going well, and your coach may be able to help get a tutor or suggest a mentor. Coaches love it when players are good students. Number 3: Know when to quit. This may seem harsh, but if you simply can’t keep up in both sports and school, stick with school. Sports can come later. School is long term. Sports aren’t. It is well known that good-paying jobs are becoming harder to find. You need an education at just about everywhere you apply. Take advantage of your free public education. If you do drop your sport, spend the former practice time catching up in your grades, then you can join the team next year, or play for a community league later. You have the rest of your life to play a sport. Pursuing a high school diploma gets harder as you get older. Get it while you can. If you follow these steps and apply them when necessary, your grades should go up and you’ll be happier. It is always better to have a good future then a great past. Your education should always go first no matter what the circumstances. I would also recommend talking to a teacher to discuss how to balance the two. School is cool! That is why you should choose to learn first. | hbsss