By Mason Vargas
“According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 1991-2019 High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data, about 57% of high school students played on at least one school or community sports team in the past year” (edweek.org). The number of student athletes in the United States is difficult to comprehend. A student athlete is someone who is both a student and athlete.
Participating in a sport is seemingly a rite of passage when you’re growing up. You may try a sport as a teenager, or, perhaps you’ve been playing a sport your entire life. Athletics are important for the youth as they foster connections. An important part of your childhood is exposing yourself to stimulus. Humans develop through simulation. As a teenager, sports provide a sense of belonging and a way to gain connection in a society where in-person interaction is difficult to come by. Additionally, sports allow many an escape and/or source to root passion in. In many ways, athletics are advantageous for one’s development.
However, despite the numerous benefits of sports, there is the ever-common complication of participating in one: balancing it with school. Student athletes around the world are tasked with managing their school studies along with their chosen sport. A difficult school week with additional practice times builds up and can offset one’s schedule. This could result in accumulating sleep debt (the amount of lost sleep calculated from sleep needed to sleep obtained). Sleep is vital in the development of adolescents. It allows for the body to heal and the mind to replenish itself. The human body’s system and brain power is directly affected by the amount of sleep we get. As adolescents are constantly developing, we find difficulty balancing our commitments which results in excessive stress. This enduring process becomes tiresome and student athletes experience wear and tear. Efforts to maintain studies on top of sport practices can result in sleep deprivation. Consequently, stress levels gradually increase. Outside factors pile on top and add more and more to an already packed schedule. Motivation to complete studies becomes replaced by the need to “catch a rest” and take a phone break. Student athletes still conquer this feat impressively; however, for many a continuous cycle is repeated wearing down their body during the week and recovering over the weekend with languished motivation. Coaches, teachers, mentors, and all, please give student athletes some slack!