You have probably met someone who does sports for the school team, and you may have noticed that they were tense, tired, or rushing schoolwork. There is a good reason for this: being a student-athlete is hard and balancing your schoolwork with your sport is just as hard. 

We student-athletes love our sport, more than we will ever admit, but the only reason we can actually do the sport is because we sacrifice sleep, time, and relationships. We force ourselves to get the work done, no matter what we have to give up, because for many of us, our sport is not just a simple physical activity after school; it’s an activity that develops bonds, respect, camaraderie, and discipline.  

All kinds of sports take a mental and physical toll, and volleyball is not the exception. As a player for the Miami High men’s varsity volleyball team, I can confidently say that the sacrifice hurts. We used to get in the gym at 7 p.m. and leave at 10:30 p.m., just to wake up at 6:30 a.m. for school the following day. Many of my teammates would throw up, collapse, and sweat all over the place, but not once did we quit because it was hard.  We just kept going as a team, and that’s what made us a good team. 

Being an athlete is not just about playing well; you must eat extra well to perform well. Jaxon Neely, a sophomore on the women’s varsity volleyball team, says that athletes must eat balanced meals that meet the requirements that their body needs. Skipping one meal could mean you cannot jump or run at your maximum, possibly costing you and your team a whole match. 

Now going inside the court, players experience A LOT, ranging from nerves and anger to pride and joy, and it changes in a matter of seconds. Outside the court, it may not look like it, but the athletes’ minds are going at 500 m/p/h, whether it may be looking at what the other team is planning to do based on body language to just trying to keep their emotions in check, players go through a lot at once. Sophomore Daniela Alvarez, part of the women’s junior varsity team, says, “A lot of players overthink mistakes, but at the same time they are trying to stay focused and keep pushing through.”  

In the 2025-26 season, the Miami High men’s volleyball team performed quite under the bar they had set for themselves having a final record of 9 wins and 13 losses. After having a very rocky start of 6 losses in a row, they went on to win their first match as a team, which was against West Boca Raton. The match ended 2-1 in favor of the Stings. 

After that match the stings climbed up a rocky path all the way to their worst loss against Columbus in the semifinals of the District Championship. The Miami High-Columbus game was held at Columbus High School, the match was done quickly after a clean sweep in favor of the explorers, resulting in a 3-0. The official set results posted on MaxPreps were: 14-25,19-25, 12-25 . 

      This loss hit the Stings hard, but especially the seniors because this loss meant that they would never play with the Miami High jersey on ever again.