Beep, beep, beep. You hit the alarm and groan, still in a daze from too much homework the night before and not enough sleep. You shower, eat breakfast, and head to school from 8:15 to 2:51. After the final bell rings, you sprint down to the locker room to get ready for practice, and there’s no time for even a breath before you start. It can last anywhere from 1.5 hours to 3. Then it’s a rushed dinner, either in the car or during your brief half-hour break at home. Club practice is next, with no time to think about homework piling up or tests slowly creeping closer, not when you still have hours of sports. When you’re finally home, there’s still so much left to do. It’s time to think about that assignment you put off after an away game went late and the essay you got an extension on. It seems never-ending, as you write a rough draft and take messy notes as quickly as possible. Maybe tonight you’ll get six hours of sleep before you have to do it all over again tomorrow. 

This is the reality for more than half the students at AHS. Student athletes spend six hours a day in school and then practice with their school—and sometimes club—teams for almost as long as they’re learning. That’s without even mentioning the hours of homework they’re assigned on top of all this. 

Isabelle Marquis, captain of the cross country team, said “It’s difficult to balance cross country with school. While I love the sport and team, by the end of the week, I typically feel extremely burnt out. This year, especially with college applications… I have no free time and it’s been hard to stay on top of my school and college work.” This struggle was echoed by Amelia Barron, captain of the AHS Women’s Swim and Dive team, who emphasized how late it gets before she even starts her homework.

According to Marquis and Barron, they and many other athletes are staying up late to finish homework. This means they don’t get enough sleep, which can affect their performance both in the classroom and in their sport. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, is a global leader for research, training, and education programs to promote the prevention and treatment of heart, lung, and blood diseases. According to the institute, lack of sleep affects focus and reaction, which are vital for both a student and an athlete.

William Dever, captain of the football team, expressed a different opinion than his peers. “[Playing football] definitely makes it tougher [to manage my time] than when I’m not doing a sport, but it’s manageable,” he said. “I find that I still have free time which is great. Obviously, college applications have definitely made it a little more difficult, but overall it’s not too bad.” 

In addition to time after school, H-Block is a valuable asset for these student athletes. It gives them more time to complete their schoolwork, as opposed to doing all of it late at night after their other responsibilities. It’s also an opportunity to meet with teachers, which can be impossible after school because of practices. 

English teacher Rachel DiGloria said, “I think H-Block is a great opportunity for student athletes to get the help they need during the school day, because they obviously have more commitments outside of school.” 

Students are big supporters of H-Blocks as well, with some even calling for an increase in the amount of H-Blocks. “I absolutely hate the days when we don’t have H-Blocks. They feel like they drag on forever,” Barron said, “[and] I think the difficulty balancing school and sports could definitely be remedied by more [of them]. I’m a huge fan [of H-Blocks] and I love being able to get all my work done before the end of the school day because I don’t really have a free second until 10:00 after I get home from my club swim practice.” 

Another valuable resource is teachers. Many teachers will allow extensions for any students regardless of their athletic participation. Most only require ample warning time and adequate reasoning for why extra time is needed. 

“If the student needs an extension, an athlete or not, I usually like to give it to them if I can,” DiGloria said. “[If an athlete is struggling] I would have a conversation with that student about where they’re going for their H-Blocks and if they may need to prioritize coming to my class and also using their time outside of school more productively.” DiGloria was also quick to mention that the vast majority of student athletes stay on top of their work and do a very good job of balancing the two most time-consuming parts of their life.

While there are struggles to being a student athlete, it’s also important to remember the positives: “l still love being a student athlete,” said Barron. “I’ve been swimming my whole life and it’s something that I really enjoy. I can’t imagine it not being a part of my life…[Swim is] worth it because I get to do something I love with the people I love.”