Jeff Huebner

English 250

Sports Plus School Equals Stress

            It’s a known fact that both high school and college students have numerous amounts of stress when having to manage time between getting good grades and playing sports. According to the annual Stress in America, the American Psychological Association found out those individuals, ages 16-22, report feeling more stressed than older individuals. In the NCAA Student Athlete Myth article, they interviewed many student-athletes and asked whether they were also students, and athletes. A good percentage of them, especially the basketball players responded “no”. They stated that most of those so called “student-athletes” have “assigned note takers or rarely attend class” (Mahoney 1), like once a month, proving that student-athletes have much more stress put on them than a regular student or a regular athlete. It all has to do with the student-athletes practicing five days a week, struggling to find time to study for exams, making sure they are able to even make it to class to be eligible unit wise for the sports, and passing the class just enough to play that Saturday’s game.

            Practice for a regular student-athlete consists of five days a week for about 2-3 hours. With all that practicing it’s a wonder how any of these students are able to sit down and study for their exams the next day. Their daily schedule would basically be going to school, then practice, then having alone time to study which all turns out to be very time consuming at the end of the day. A swimmer from the NCAA states, “I swim laps, I study for tests” (Mahoney1) A baseball player stated the same comment, “I work hard in the gym, I work hard in the lab” (Mahoney 1) How on earth are these students able to enjoy any aspects of their college life? There really is no college life other than their sports and their education, especially when students attend a college on an athletic scholarship. You are even more expected to make sports you’re priority and maintain good grades to keep that scholarship to attend school. These students just go back and forth and rarely have any breaks in between. This also shows why student-athletes may have more stress than the average student. Above all that, student-athletes may have to deal with family drama, relationships, or working a part-time job to support themselves that add on more stress than they could handle.  

With their schedule full of things to do, how on earth are these students able to manage their time well enough so there won’t be anymore stress put on them? That varies, of course, from person to person. Not many people are organized persons. Some are definitely not able to have their schedule hour for hour so everything they do fit into a certain type of schedule and they would not have to worry about what needs to be done or what should have been done. But a schedule is a good way to manage time all those studies and all those practices so you wouldn’t have to overload and overwhelm yourself. It is suggested that you at least take a fifteen minute break so you can stop, eat, focus your thoughts, and rest your mind and body before doing another task. It is also advised that you make sure you don’t cram everything into a daily schedule. So if a student thinks they can handle having a three hour practice, five hours of school, and extra curricular activities but isn’t sure if they really should, it is advised to not to do so. That is the main cause for most of the stress put on student-athletes. They seem to cram everything onto their plate and overwhelm themselves and risk their health because they have expectations to live by. So instead of cramming their daily schedule, they should try to do other activities to reduce stress put upon them.

Studies show that other physical activities have been proven to relieve stress. Students should try taking calmer activities such as yoga, meditation, or aerobics to induce their stress level and be able to focus on what’s really important. Other activities, such as “skateboarding, hiking on a mountain trail, or even rock climbing” (Wayer 1), also help to relieve these stressful students. Excising will “strengthen the cardiovascular muscles; increase blood circulation, and your focus will shift from your stress to the physical activity” (Wayer 1). Another way to reduce stress would be to spend good quality time with your friends and family and take your mind off of everything that is bothering you. With the support of your loved ones beside you, you are able to rethink all the stressful situations and be able to take care of yourself so your health and well being will be in order. And it’s also good to take your mind off those big brain struggling textbooks and relax. This will make the student-athlete successful not only in school and sports, but also in life.

Anna Huebner, my mother, would be an excellent example of a student-athlete. She believed that “stress is what you bring on yourself”. She, herself, knew hands on what it was like to manage both school and sports and how to deal with that stress she so calls “put upon herself”. While she was in college, she carried 18 units her first semester and 21 units her second. On top of that, she played three sports; volleyball, basketball, and softball. Even though she only attended one full year of college, due to family issues, here is a list of what she did to relieve her stress. The first thing she did was take time out of her social life, just enough so that she’d be able to focus that time on her school. Second thing was that she always studied with a group of friends rather than by herself. Not only was she studying with her group of friends, she was also studying with the same group of friends that were in the same position as she was. Last was neither she nor her friends ever gave up on themselves or each other no matter what the situation was.

Let’s face it. Everyone has stress every now and then. But no one can amount to the stress put on by student-athletes. With practices, getting good grades, making it to class, and passing the class just so they could play at the next game, its no wonder why most of us in society admire the work that these student-athletes put in. They not only have to deal with school and sports, but they also have to deal with family, relationships, and working that part time job. Student-athletes are by far the most overworked, overstressed, and the hardest working students in today’s society. The question is, are you up for this challenge?

Works Cited

Mahoney, Neale. “Making Over March Madness.” The College Hill Independent. 24 March 2005. <http://www.brown.edu/Students/INDY/archives/2005-04-14/articles/sports-mahoney_student-athlete.htm>

Wayer. “Stress Managing Exercises.” Associated Content. 22 September 2008. <http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1024304/stress_management_exercises_for_high.html?page=1&cat=72.>

Huebner, Anna [Mother, Jeff Huebner]. Personal interview. Prunedale, CA 11 September 2008.