Wake up. Get ready. Eat. Classes. Practice. Shower. Homework. Dinner. Sleep. Repeat. While this crazy schedule might sound like a nightmare to some people, this is what is considered a typical day for many student-athletes: jam-packed with little time to do anything else.

With such little time in the day to do practically anything, many student-athletes face stress when trying to fit everything in and trying to do it all well, whether it is by losing sleep to study for a big test or sacrificing social events for athletics. In order for students to learn to handle this stress, it is important to understand where it comes from.

While the forms of pressures vary for many, the most common kinds for these students include struggles with time management, pressure to do well in academics and athletics, and the stress of being able to keep up with their peers.

Between combining 7 hours of classes and then countless hours more of practices and games and bus rides, little time is left for students to have to themselves to do basic tasks such as showering and eating, much less being able to get the recommended 8-10 hours of sleep.

For example, Sawyer Call, a sophomore soccer and indoor/outdoor track athlete, when asked how she feels about her athletics and their effects on her, says that “I obviously want to do good in both and there’s a lot of pressure on me because of it. It’s mostly pressure I place on myself though. Sports take up a lot of my time, and sometimes I’m getting home at like 10:30 pm and still have homework and have to shower and eat.” 

Fitting in so many necessary tasks into such a limited amount of time is nearly impossible for some students. Even though everyone has the same twenty-four hours in their day, it does not mean they have the same free time available to get everything done, which is an unfortunate but consistent struggle that many student-athletes face. 

Other students, such as sophomore Sophia Vasapolli, a field hockey and lacrosse athlete, described it by saying, “It’s like a juggle, stressful because you want to make sure you’re always there at practice, but also to be able to be home and study.”

The pressure to get everything done is nerve-racking, with students feeling as though they are walking on eggshells trying to handle it all. The stress never ends.

When asked about how sports impact her, Kamryn Bonneau, a tenth-grade softball athlete, said, “I get pressured because I want to be good at both my sports and my academics and there’s not enough time. There’s pressure mostly from me because I don’t want to let my parents down, even though they say they don’t care. I just don’t want to be that one kid who can’t keep up.” 

It is difficult to manage so many responsibilities in the small timeframe athletes typically have and while not every person faces the same pressures or for the same reasons, a majority still feel it in some way or another. Fortunately, not every athlete feels it in a bad way, though, and for some people, it can help give them a push in the right direction.

Abby Daniels, a Pentucket junior who plays field hockey, said that “If I do feel any pressure it’s from myself and wanting to get better as a student athlete. I mean, maybe a little pressure from coaches but my parents always try to encourage me so there isn’t really any pressure from them. The main thing is just wanting to get better and reach goals I set for myself.”

She is not the only one who feels this way. The Pentucket Head Coach of girls’ field hockey and lacrosse, Rachel Thornton, explains her perspective, saying how “I think more students do well when they’re in a sport because they have a structured schedule and because they have others who are supporting them and doing the same there as they are.”

Even if students face countless amounts of pressure during sports, it is not always a bad thing; it just depends on the student themself and the support they receive during the athletic season. Every person handles it differently, and the first step towards being able to help them manage it is to understand what they are going through and how it affects them.