Balancing academics and athletics can be a challenge for students who compete in sports while keeping up with schoolwork. Several students and teachers at The Columbus School shared how they keep up with school while still being great athletes and what support looks like within the school environment, especially in high school.
Eleventh grade student Amelia Morales, a high school show jumper, explained that time management is a major challenge. “I only have time to study in class, so I do all my work in class,” Morales said. Because of this tight schedule, understanding from teachers can make a difference. Morales added that the school “really provides a system where teachers might understand your current situation of being a student athlete and very focused on the sport.” She also noted that some teachers are flexible and very supportive of student athletes. “I think some teachers might understand that I have a busy schedule and might give a extension because they understand the situation,” she said.
From a teacher’s perspective, expectations may be adjusted, but standards remain the same. Camilo Hoyos, a high school teacher from ICS, shared his perspective on these students. “Oh yes, I definitely have adjusted expectations for a student athlete. Well, not expectations so much in terms of quality of work, but expectations in terms of what to ask for the students to submit.”
While assignments may be adapted, Hoyos emphasized the importance of learning outcomes. “Well the standards, I try my best to have all the standards be approached by the student because at the end what matters in education is the standards that you achieved and also the skills that you achieved,” he said.
Hoyos also observed that students involved in sports often develop strong organizational skills. “In general students that have extracurricular activities such as sports are very organized,” he said. According to Hoyos, “Probably the most important strategy is to keep a close eye on the schedule. That is something that automatically these types of students have.”
Student athlete and boxer Pascual Baquero, a 10th grade student, said finding time for both school and sports is challenging. “The most challenging part is finding time to do both things and do it with the best efforts,” Baquero said. To manage this, Baquero gave some tips he uses to keep his mind clear and make sure everything gets done. “Some strategies that I do is like have a journal that says what I’m gonna do for the day and organize my schedule for the week,” he said.
Despite the challenges, Baquero believes being a student athlete has lasting benefits. “So being a student athlete is very important because it teaches discipline and it helps you, not only with the physical, but also mental things that translate into school,” Baquero said.
Together, these perspectives highlight how student athletes rely on organization, discipline, and understanding from teachers to succeed both in the classroom and in their sport. Despite all the challenges faced trying to balance both, we can see the strong benefits these students gain and the amazing skills they learn from this experience.