Being a student athlete requires discipline, time management, grit, and dedication. Getting up at 5:40 a.m. and getting home at 6:30 p.m. every day is not easy.
Depending on the sport and its practice schedule, people can have very difficult daily routines, but they still do it because they love their sport.
However, student athletes also know that being a student must come first, so finding the time to do schoolwork is important and must be prioritized accordingly.
Student athletes Claire Cowles ‘27, Steele Pizzella ‘25, and Grace Voelz ‘25 shared their secrets about how to be the ultimate student athlete.
GETTING HOMEWORK DONE REQUIRES DISCIPLINE AND TIME MANAGEMENT.
At Notre Dame students are lucky because of X-period. This 80-minute feature of Gold Days is especially helpful to athletes because it gives them time to do their homework and talk to their teachers before the school day ends.
Varsity softball player, Claire Cowles ‘27 said, “I try to get my homework done at X-period, but if not, then right when I get home. Sometimes I’ll wait till after dinner if I’m procrastinating, which is usually the case.”
Procrastinating is something we have all done before. It’s not a good feeling and it’s something student athletes cannot do because of their busy schedules.
Varsity quarterback Steele Pizzella ‘25 said, “I get my homework done during X-period the majority of the time, and after practices late at night.”
Other athletes not only use X-period but utilize any time available to get their homework done.
Varsity volleyball player Grace Voelz ‘25 said, “I get my homework done either in other classes, before practice, after practice, or before games while I watch freshman and JV play.”
Some sports teams have time before or after their game to do their homework. If they must stay for the varsity game, or come before and watch the JV game, they can do their work then.
Lots of people use every X-period available. This is especially true for the student athlete.
WHAT ABOUT A SOCIAL LIFE?
Because athletes have such busy schedules, they don’t have much time for their social life. Most high school athletes have their high school sport during the school week, and they might have a travel/club sport on the weekends. That might give athletes one day a month to hang out with friends.
Cowles said, “If we are in season for high school then I hang out with my friends on the weekends mostly, but I usually have a tournament or practice on the weekends. But I would still say most weekends whenever I’m free.”
Pizzella said, “I hang out with my friends on the weekends, never during the week because of practices.”
Voelz said, “I only really hang out with my friends outside of school on the weekends, but most of the time I don’t have energy, so I just stay home.”
Playing a high school sport is very tiring. As a student athlete myself, I usually hang out with my friends at football games so I can chill and sleep in on the weekend.
Some people hang out with their friends more than others, depending on how much homework they have or how many sports they do.
I play two sports and I’m in season for one of them right now. My other sport is starting very soon, so I’m going to have to balance both sports, and my schoolwork.
THE BEST COURSE OF ACTION IS TO MAKE A ROUTINE.
Having a routine really helps, but you need to make sure that meets your needs. Everyone must make a routine that works for them.
“I wake up at 5:30 a.m. if we have [weightlifting] but if not then 6:30 a.m. [I] have a good breakfast after or before! [I] Start school at 8:25 a.m. and end at 1:30 or 3 p.m. [Then I] go to practice if we have one. Once I get home, I do my homework, then dinner. Go to bed around 8:30-9 p.m. but it depends on if I had practice or not,” said Cowles.
Pizzella said, “My everyday school routine starts with leaving [home] at 7:30 a.m. and going through school as normal. I then try to get homework done in X-period or in 4th period football. I then get changed into football attire and go to meetings between 3-4 p.m. Then football practice starts and goes until 6:30 p.m. I then drive home and eat dinner. I get ready for bed and finish any assignments. I try to get to sleep between 9:30-10:30 p.m.”
On game days, football players probably don’t go to bed until 11:00-11:30 p.m. Getting sleep is very important to have a productive day.
Voelz said, “My everyday school routine starts at 7:15 a.m. when I wake up. I go to school from 8:20 a.m. to 3 p.m. (or 1:30 p.m. on gold days), then I usually have practice from 5:15 – 7:15 p.m. On gold days I have [weightlifting] from 3-3:45 p.m., then I go home and shower, I have dinner, then I finish up any homework or [do additional] studying and then I go to bed around 11 p.m. – 1 a.m. On game days I usually have to leave school early and don’t get home until 8 p.m.”
Everyone has different routines that work for them. Once you have a specific time in your schedule to do your homework, you don’t have to worry about whether you’ll have time to get it done.
It is not easy to be a student athlete, especially if you play two sports at once, but many students at Notre Dame manage to play the sports they love, earn good grades, and find time to have a little bit of a social life.
The athletes who contributed to this article shared what works for them, and with some trial and error and a big dose of self-discipline, you can find the routine that works best for you.
