Are you struggling to balance school and sports? As a high school student and a competitive fencer, here are several tips listed for you!
1. Don’t Procrastinate!
It might sound like the hardest thing to do on this list, but procrastination takes away your free time! Get your studying done while keeping ahead of due dates and deadlines. If you have to make up work, especially a test, be sure to do it as soon as possible while the information is fresh in your mind. Time management can help you finish your work on time. I recommend writing down things to do in a planner to keep yourself motivated. I promise this will help you rest more!
2. Know your priorities.
In order to succeed in both school and sports, you need to know what is more important to you and what is not. For example, if you have a lot of homework and tests, I would recommend staying home instead of going to practice because missing one practice won’t hurt you.
3. Rest when you need to.
Based on my personal experience, resting is a big part of the process for success. There is no point in going to practice when you are tired because then, you end up not trying your best. That practice won’t help you improve, and it just might make you more tired. Instead, I recommend resting once or twice a week, it will help you focus even more when practicing. I also recommend taking naps; it will give you extra energy to work hard in both school and academics.
*Note: 30 minutes to 1 hour of sleep is enough! Don’t sleep more than an hour or else you won’t be able to sleep at night!
4. Maintain good relationships with your surroundings.
I believe that having good relationships with your friends, coaches, teachers, and family will highly benefit you, including your mental and physical health. When you are mentally or physically tired, you can always reach out to them, and they might help you! Try to maintain good communication with the teachers especially. You can keep them updated with your tournament schedule, so they can prepare you for absences. It is good to show them how serious you are about academics by making up your assignments and tests in a timely manner.
5. Use your time wisely.
When you are in a car or on a plane to compete at a tournament, use that waiting time for homework or studying. I recommend using the weekends to catch up on work that is assigned to you, or even prepare for upcoming tests and projects. That will make the following week much easier, while you are busy with practice or tournaments.
It is still hard for me to follow these steps as well, but I know for sure that these tips can help you to succeed in both school and sports at the same time. I wish the best of luck to all the student-athletes!
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