By Aleem Prince,

As a student athlete, sports take up a lot of your time, so it can be almost impossible to make time to study. However, that should not be an excuse to do poorly academically. The life of a student athlete requires a great amount of dedication and determination, not only to succeed in sports but also academically. Practice is held every day and sometimes you are exhausted, but you have to create a balance between practice and class schedules. Therefore, it is imperative to learn proper time management.

Time management is key when you are a student athlete. When you can manage your time, it becomes easier to study, to practice and even to hang out with your friends every day. A great way to manage your time is to make to-do lists before going to bed at night. Write a list of all the activities you have to perform the next day. This helps you to plan and to always have a clear idea of all your obligations. When you complete an activity, cross it off the list. Then you enjoy the great sensation of completing tasks without stressing. By managing your time, you will not be frustrated, especially when you have a hectic schedule.

Many student athletes are ‘stars’ on the court, the field, or anywhere they play sports but when it comes it academics they struggle. As a student and an athlete, you should strive to succeed in both areas. In the future, if you become a professional athlete and you suffer an injury or choose to change career paths, you will have an education to fall back on. Hence, always try to achieve and maintain a GPA of at least 3.0 so you can get into a good college.

Attend class, take good notes and listen to your teachers. Students who do not understand the value of education might try to discourage you but you have a choice to make: do you let that discouragement get to you or do you persevere?

To succeed will not be easy; there will be many obstacles to overcome including people telling you that you will never succeed. Indeed, it will be hard but you should always think about your goals, visualize the end product of those goals, then work relentlessly to achieve them.