By AVERY HILLS
Sheridan High School Student
Editor’s note: The following column does not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Reporter, its staff, or its owners. As a column, it is an opinion piece and should not be taken as news.
Being a student-athlete is not for the weak. Being a student-athlete means early mornings, long nights, and a whole lot of bumps and bruises.
I am a part of the 57 percent of students who participate in a sport. I play soccer for my high school, Sheridan, as well as being a player on the Indy Eleven ECNL 2010 team. This means that year-round, I play soccer and attend high school.
I’m here to tell you what a typical game day looks like for me while playing high school soccer.
My morning starts bright and early at 6:00. Waking up this early gives me enough time to get ready, and hit snooze. By 6:15 I’m out of bed and heading to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. If the game is home, I have to dress up for school, and if it’s an away game, I have to wear Sheridan gear. I usually lay out my clothes the night before to eliminate stress; however, I still tweak a few things about my outfit the morning of.
Next, I do my hair and put on mascara. If my hair is clean, I’ll curl or braid it, and if it’s dirty, a slick back to hold until the game. After that, I pack all my things for the game. My gameday necessities include gel, brush, deodorant, perfume, lip balm, and lots of hair ties and hair spray. I also check to make sure all my jerseys are in my bag, along with cleats and shin guards.
By 7:15, everything is packed and ready for the day, so I dig through my sock bin to find matching socks, and put on my shoes. At 7:20, I grab my lunch, eat a quick protein bar, and head out the door by 7:30.
I arrive at school by 7:40 and head inside at 7:45, chatting with my friends. My first period is weights, which is easier on game days. Next, I head to math, then Spanish, SRT (homeroom), chemistry, and language arts. This part of my day takes forever, but it helps that I am with a lot of my friends this year. After language arts, I have lunch, where I get to sit with almost all of my friends. After lunch, I only have two class periods, AP US History and study hall. I spend study hall working on any homework or talking to teachers about events coming up.
After school ends, I head to one of my friends’ cars. Together, along with some freshmen, we go to her grandparent’s house to eat, hang out, and get ready before the game. Then it’s back to the school to meet in the locker room or get on the bus for an away game. The bus rides to games are filled with music, talking, and braiding hair.
Home games mean a locker room full of energy and music. Once warm-ups begin, the focus shifts to the game, and soon enough, it is kickoff. Games last around an hour and 45 minutes, and after that I either head home with my parents or take the bus back from away games.
At home, I eat a snack, shower, and lay out whatever clothes and other items that I need for the next day before starting on homework. By the time I crawl into bed, it’s usually around 11:00.
The days are long, but I’m grateful for the opportunity.
Being a student athlete is tough, but it has helped me become the person I am. I have learned how to manage my time, work well under pressure, and be resilient. Without soccer, my life would be completely different, and I am so grateful for the opportunities it provides me.
My days may be long, but time has flown by, and I couldn’t be more grateful for them.