Freshman Emma Yackley has a full schedule of all advanced classes, including two math classes. Additionally, she’s a dedicated soccer player. In order to juggle school and sports, she often stays up late or scrambles to finish homework on the way to games.

“I have trouble staying awake,” Yackley said. “I can’t really focus [in class] that well especially when they play videos, and they play videos a lot.”

Practicing 17 hours a week, senior Cierra Campbell has had to find ways to balance homework and swimming.

“Sometimes I don’t get enough sleep, but homework comes first, so if [I] have to take a practice off just so [I] can catch up, it’s okay,” she said.

Freshman Rowan Laufer agrees.

“It wears down on you,” he said.

Through the years, junior Emily Venters has found school responsibilities can pile up quickly.

“It’s really hard because I get a lot of homework in certain weeks [and] there’s a bunch of tests,” Venters said. “Then I don’t have much time because of sports.”

Despite the difficulties, Campbell has found a way to balance everything throughout the years.

“I’m really good at time management, so I honestly don’t have that much homework ever,” Campbell said.

Laufer has found other ways to assist his homework struggles.

“I talk to my teachers a lot,” Laufer said. “I still need to have a good education while I continue my sports career.”

Although players may have to stay up late or cram homework in during different parts of the day, Campbell believes it provides a nice break from school.

“[Sports] definitely get you out of your head for a little bit,” she said. “If you just sit at home doing homework for five hours, you want to die. I definitely think it’s a good idea to better yourself and do something that’s helping you and your body. Mentally, it’s really good for me.”

Starting in fall 2016, Campbell will continue her swimming career at Indiana State University. Although she anticipates a large workload, she feels she’ll be able to find a balance between swim practice and the increased studying college will need.

“It’s something I’ve always done so I don’t think it’ll be that big of a deal,” Campbell said.

Venters plans to continue track and cross country after high school. In order to maintain both school and running, she anticipates she’ll have to make sacrifices.

“I probably won’t be partying or joining a sorority,” Venters said.

As well as helping getting into college, Venters believes participation in sports offers other rewards.

“It brings you closer to a bunch of people really quickly and that’s where you meet a lot of your friends,” Venters said. “It’s a really good

way to get involved.”