Like most high school athletes, the physical and mental strain of being both an athlete and student puts kids under an extreme amount of stress.
For members of the tack and field team, this is especially true for the runners.
“Sometimes it can be tough being a student-athlete and making sure you have time for both practice and homework, but it’s definitely worth it,” sophomore Courtney Simonetti said.
Many of the student athletes said one thing they could change about being a student-athlete would be the amount of stress involved.
“I would definitely change the amount of pressure that builds up trying to focus on school and running. It would be nice to once in a while come back home feeling relaxed after workouts instead of being handed a stack full of homework to do,” Simonetti said.
One of the biggest complaints for these athletes is missing school for meets, but find a balance that works.
“Its usually not too hard making up school work on days I miss for track if I talk to the teachers beforehand, but I definitely feel behind for a day or two,” Simonetti said.
Like many other sports track used to have a class period for practice but it was taken away a few years back. But this year, the in-school period was reinstated and both coaches and athletes expect a big turn out.
“I like having period as a track class because it gives me the time to work on my muscles and increase my strength in order to improve my running,” sophomore Nidhi Kuchimanchi said.
Track overlaps a number of sports and coaches often have a difficult time splitting players between the sports.
“Being in soccer and track its really difficult to got to both practices when both of them are in the afternoon. Track has a set schedule but my soccer schedules changes every week,” sophomore Taylor Stone said.
Sophomore Stephen Demerson thinks its worth all the trouble. His favorite thing about track is hitting his goals and knowing that all his hard work paid off.
The return of the in-school period is allowing more time for those who are not able to make it to the after school practice because they are in a second sport.
“The bond I have with the track team is so strong because everyone is so supportive and encouraging,” Simonetti said.
The first meet is February 12. The meet is a practice meet with McCallum and Anderson at Bowie High Schools and will include all levels of action, including varsity and sub varsity as well as boys and girls.
After the practice meet, the team will head off to Bastrop for the Bastrop Relays, which will be held on Saturday, February 22.