Daily Life Of A Multi-Sport Student Athlete

The typical student with no extracurriculars attends school for 1,440 hours per year compared to a student with a sport attends school for roughly 2,520 hours a year. Choosing to be a part of a team adds roughly 1,080 hours of EXTRA work per student. Now it can vary depending on the student. For example, some students don’t practice as long, have easier classes etc. but either way, it’s no lie when they say a student with extracurriculars has to devote extra time to achieve success. A 12-14 hour school day is considered normal for students with one or more sports. Waking up each morning to attend 8 hours of school, followed by 2 hours of practice, and finishing the day off with 2-4 hours of homework. Somewhere in that time you have to eat, catch up with your family/friends, shower, and get to bed at a reasonable hour. Sounds a little stressful to me, wouldn’t you agree?

Rio Groves is a junior at Fruita Monument who plays both basketball and lacrosse. She has been playing basketball for 8 years and lacrosse for 5. Each day she gets out of school, goes straight to practice, and then does homework and takes care of herself. 11 PM is the earliest she gets to bed. On game days, it’s even more busy because she has to stay at the field/court supporting her teammates which usually lasts until 8 o’clock at night. Rio works tirelessly to balance both her school work and sports and is always making sure to get her homework finished and turned in on time. The most stressful thing Groves would say is “balancing homework when traveling because time is limited for actually sitting down and doing your homework. You also come back to school just to receive all the homework you missed while being gone.” 

So why does she play sports? Groves has the dream of playing at the collegiate level with lacrosse and also has a passion for both sports in different ways, “For both sports, my favorite part is definitely the relationships you establish with your teammates. We all have a unique bond that makes the sport more fun. I also know each of my teammates have my back which really is something special. I am also willing to do anything to help pay for my college. I think playing at the college level would be a really fun experience for me where I can learn a lot while also being active,” said Groves. Being a multi-sport athlete is something Groves takes pride in. While it might be difficult or stressful at times, the lessons and memories made are priceless. 

Trigg Hayward is a senior at Fruita Monument who also plays multiple sports . Both golf and tennis have been some of Trigg’s biggest passions from a young age. When he was 8 years old, his parents started him in tennis because his whole family used the game as a fun family activity; however, the love for the sport was not immediate. “I actually hated tennis the first 3 years I played because it was so hard but my parents made me keep working at it. I started to win matches and compete so it became more enjoyable.”  

With golf, Hayward started to play about three years ago because of his dad. “ My dad really enjoyed golf so I started to go with him and then my family started to join. We were all so bad, but we continued to work at it and now we all golf regularly. It’s a really fun family activity because we can all participate and spend the day together. I’ve always been so competitive with my dad so even though I would get frustrated I kept playing and now he doesn’t even come close to beating me.” 

Unlike Groves, Trigg plays the sport because of the challenge. “Both sports are almost completely individual games. You can’t blame your teammates, you can’t blame your opponents, all you can do is blame yourself for your failures and credit yourself for your success. I also love both sports because they are both heavy technique driven sports. You have to be close to perfect if you want to succeed, and the pursuit of perfection is difficult but it’s a very fun challenge.” 

Hayward plans to go to film school after high school so he will not be able to play at the collegiate level but stated that he will be able to play both these sports for the rest of his life. Hayward  agrees with Groves that the most stressful thing about being a multi sport athlete is the school that is being missed. “I’m able to stay caught up because I have a first hour release and an aiding hour. I also knew when I was picking my classes that my first semester was going to be really busy so I scheduled myself to not have super hard classes so I wouldn’t feel overwhelmed.” This strategy is actually quite common when it comes to multi sport athletes. Scheduling your classes with when your season is is one thing to help each student stay caught up and not feel as stressed out. 

Being a multi-sport athlete is a full time job. It takes time, patience, drive, and passion. Some might say playing more than one sport is too stressful but the benefits that come with being a multi sport athlete are plentiful. Studies show that being a multi sport athletes develop a strong set of skills over the years of practice. Being a part of a team keeps you organized, helps with problem solving and decision making, boosts communication skills and teaches conflict resolution. While it’s not feasible for some to go to school, play sports, and balance a social life, it is inspiring to see those who can succeed.