The life of a student athlete
By Veronica Vega
As we all know, once you turn sixteen a lot of students begin to start looking for jobs and begin working after school and on weekends. Oftentimes it can be difficult to juggle staying on top of your classes, participating in extracurriculars and a job, but it can be done with the right mindset and motivation.
Those who chose to have jobs while still in school said that they see it as a way to keep themselves busy or out of trouble. On top of trying to maintain high grades, stay focused in class, manage your social lives, being a part of a sports team on campus adds after school and morning practices, exhausting your body and extremely long days. When you add a job on top of all those responsibilities, life can become pretty difficult.
Some may think being a part of extracurriculars is already too much, so why add working outside of school? After speaking to several student athletes on campus, there were various reasons as to why they enjoyed working outside of school. They said that with the right routine and responsibility anyone can achieve it.
Here are some student athletes’ responses to how they deal with working outside of school:
Senior Vivika Green, a varsity softball player said:
Q: What are the challenges of being a student athlete while working outside of school?
A: “I would say one of the challenges would be being able to keep pushing myself even when I’m super tired from school, sports and work.”
Q: How do you balance both working and participating in sports?
A: “I would say managing my time better makes my days more productive and easier on me.”
Junior Jasmine Palacios, a varsity softball player said:
Q: What made you want to start working while in school?
A: “I wanted to learn the understanding of independence and money management when having a job as a teen.”
Q: What are the positive things you’ve learned from working while in highschool?
A: “Knowing I’m capable enough to multitask and provide for myself at a young age.”
Senior Juan Acosta, a varsity soccer player said:
Q: What are the challenges of being a student athlete while working outside of school?
A: One of the main challenges of being a student athlete and working outside of school, is finding the proper balance for all 3 things and making time management for school, work and soccer, because each one of them requires your 100 percent effort and dedication in order to succeed in all aspects.
