“I can’t wait to get home and take a good nap,” is what many students say after a long day of school. However, to student-athletes, that’s just a dream they will never wake up from. You might believe that your life has been taken over by school, but student-athletes really live the definition of busy.

Some wake up at 5:30 a.m. and have practice until 8 or 9 p.m. on school days. “I go to practice from 3 p.m. to 6 or 7 p.m., with constant drills and exercise,” said varsity soccer captain Jose Sanchez, a junior. “Then, I get home around 8 p.m. and go to sleep very late due to homework.”

Senior varsity football player Trayvon Shannon said that his days are exhausting with work-outs in the weight room right after school until 3:15 p.m., then practice from 3:30 until 6:30 p.m.

Balancing both sports and school is a tough task. “Being focused is essential in both, sports and academics. Many students get distracted sometimes from their goals or could undergo stress because of the work and sacrifice they do,” says varsity volleyball player Idalia Quinteros, a junior.

Some athletes, however, have no trouble playing sports and doing well in school. The required GPA to participate in any sport is a 2.0. Usually most student-athletes are able to keep it at that average or higher, as long as they do everything efficiently and the right way and really want to succeed. “To be honest, I don’t know why athletes think it’s so difficult to excel in academics and sports,” said track athlete and varsity basketball player Tommy Collins, a junior. “I don’t have a problem with it.”

In spite of the challenges of being a student-athlete, many athletes are happy with their choices.  Varsity volleyball player Diana Aguilar, a senior, says, “Some might think to themselves, what’s the point of being a student-athlete if you have to undergo all this work. Well, there’s many advantages to it, like being a fit and healthy person, keeping your body active, obtaining possible scholarships, making new friends, and making your high school experience more fascinating with many memories.”

But there’s also disadvantages. Varsity basketball player Kevin Reyes, a senior, says, “If you’re a student-athlete, you could have potential injuries, or bad relationships with your coaches, and academic difficulties.”