Looking at the life of an athlete

Some students have more obligations and responsibilities to attend to than some other kids. Many high school students sign up for a sport not knowing that it will affect their school life as well.

Usually once students join a sport they won’t be able to do anything other after school activity, putting a lot of their time into training and practices.

But some students have a passion for the sport and are willing to have the commitment.

When participating in these activities it also helps kids learn important life lessons that can’t be taught in classrooms. “Sports help me learn how to work towards a goal. Having to set goals and work towards them is important in sports.” said Sophomore, Maxwell Lanham who is a basketball player that plays on two teams one in and out of school. “It also helped me learn that I have to be accountable for my actions, needing to change my mistakes.”

The problem about playing a sport is having to juggle all the work that is thrown at them and their social life.

Madeline Dosen, a Sophomore, plays soccer on a travel team but also plays varsity for Annandale High School and talks about how her life as an athlete is very busy, affecting her school and social life.

“I have a lot of school work but I also have a lot of soccer events to go to. Playing travel soccer makes me unavailable a lot of the times and not always having the time to hang out with friends or go to other events. However, playing a sport teaches me how to balance my time having to manage my academic life and social life.”

Freshman, Tyson Nguyen, who plays football on the Freshman AHS team said, “Since I play on a team it helps me learn how to work with others and make new friends in a different environment.”

Playing a sport has its pros and cons but students like these show that it is possible for people to move past the cons and stay for the pros.