Sports Avery Franks
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Is More Less?
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here are some nights when senior Eyob Gebru gets home at 10:30 p.m., after a late soccer game. He eats, showers and does homework, knowing that he has a morning weightlifting session the next day at 7:15 a.m. and an hour-long commute to school. Gebru, a three-sport varsity athlete competing in football, soccer and track, sometimes gets only three or four hours of sleep because of his athletic schedule. To him, the mental health benefits he gains from this lifestyle greatly outweigh the costs. “I love being around people and the whole social aspect of playing sports,” Gebru said. “Hanging out with my teammates and being active makes up for all of the drawbacks brought by schoolwork, helping out my mom and sister, and the college process.”
Stress Relief Playing a sport at Greenhill is generally a 12-to-15-hour commitment per week. That adds significantly to the heavy course load and fine arts pursuits that most students are also undertaking. While this could serve as added stress, some student-athletes agree with Gebru. “I think going to sports gives your mind a break so that, when you get home, doing work is easier because you have a clearer mind after a long day,” said junior Kaylee Wilson, a varsity cross country and track runner. “Sports put me in a really good mindset. If I didn’t do them, I would be a lot less healthy, and I would also be more stressed because I wouldn’t get those few hours to myself.” Practices and games are a time when students are forced to unplug and be present in what they’re doing, without being bombarded by the other stressors and obligations in their lives. “It’s exhausting thinking about everything you’re worrying about all the time, so playing sports is great for me
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I think going to sports gives your mind a break so that, when you get home, doing work is easier because you have a clearer mind after a long day. Sports put me in a really good mindset. If I didn’t do them, I would be a lot less healthy, and I would also be more stressed because I wouldn’t get those few hours to myself.”
because it gives me a mental break from everything else that I’m worried about,” said sophomore Zoya Iyer, a varsity field hockey, soccer and track athlete. There are scientific reasons why playing sports can serve as a buffer between student-athletes and any pressure they may be facing from school, family or other extracurriculars. “Physical activity releases endorphins, also known as ‘feel-good chemicals,’ into your brain, which make you happier, give you a chance to escape the stressors of the day and truly relax as you focus on your sport,” Upper School Counselor
Greenhill Student-Athletes Believe Adding Sport to Their Schedule Reduces Stress Levels
Amanda Frederick said. “Any activity or hobby that you truly enjoy is beneficial to a student’s mental health and can serve as
a coping mechanism for stress and anxiety.”
Scheduling Conflicts While there are many mental health benefits to playing sports, they also present a challenge for Greenhill students trying to maintain good grades and participate in other extracurriculars. “Sometimes I’ll go home and look at my assignments, and I’m just too tired to do some of them,” Gebru said. “I just can’t function on three hours of sleep five days a week, so I have to set my priorities and email teachers for extensions when things start to get too busy.” While overscheduling is a problem for many Greenhill students regardless of what their specific activities are, many student-athletes believe it is not an unmanageable task to stay involved without jeopardizing their mental health. “If there’s a period of time where I feel like I’m not doing anything productive, I make it productive,” Iyer said. “I make sure I never waste my free period and, on Sundays, I get as much as I can done because I know I don’t have time during the week to do homework.”
Balancing Academics Almost all sports require missing a class or an entire school day for games or meets, which leads to make-up work in addition to regular coursework, which serves as an added stressor. “Classes like math or science are really
stressful to miss because you have to make up the homework that you miss, but you also have to make up the classwork that you missed,” Iyer said. “Some teachers aren’t very understanding about giving extensions if you’re missing school for sports or if you have a late game.” Since Greenhill emphasizes being well-rounded, administrators believe that teachers and coaches should be accommodating for student-athletes as they attempt to manage several commitments at once. “Missing class for sports is going to happen and teachers need to be adaptable,” said Director of Academics and Head Varsity Cross Country Coach Jason Yaffe. “I think teachers need to have a system in place for how they are giving that student directions about what work they’re missing or giving students tools of how to follow up with them; however, I also think that the athletic department should continue to look at sports team schedules to see how much class time is being missed.” While teachers are often willing to work with student-athletes, Wilson feels that being forced to communicate with teachers about missed work gives students an opportunity to take initiative and have more control over their learning experience. “As long as teachers are willing to be flexible and help you catch up, I think that’s kind of the best they can do,” Wilson said. “After that, it depends on how much work I’m willing to put into catching up, being prepared to take an assessment that I missed, or getting notes for a class that I missed.” The pressure to keep up with school on top of playing sports has the potential to be overwhelming; however, it is many student-athletes’ genuine love for the sport and team environment that keeps them showing up to play year after year. “This year, our football team went 0-9, and I couldn’t care less,” Gebru said. “This season was the best thing I’ve ever experienced in my life. It was a blast and, regardless of the outcome and how we played, at the end of the day we were a team, and we were having fun just being around each other.”
Graphic by Sophia Chao